Final Stats

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Georgetown University football team fell, 35-14, to Columbia University in the annual battle for the Lou Little Trophy on Saturday afternoon at Robert K. Kraft Field. With the loss, the Hoyas fell to 1-2 overall, while the Lions improved to 2-0.

Tim Barnes (Oradell, N.J./River Dell Regional) started at quarterback and completed 7-of-12 passes for 81yards. Clay Norris (¬Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) took over late in the first quarter and finished 10-for-19 for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Michael Dereus (Hyde Park, Mass./Williston Northampton) recorded his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, finishing with four catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. Brandon Williams (Germantown, Md./Northwest) also hauled in four passes for 78 yards.

David Akere (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron) led the defense with 11 tackles. Ramon Lyons (Orlando, Fla./Ocoee/West Orange) and Wesley Bowers (Fort Washington, Md./Bishop McNamara) each chipped in eight tackles, while Lyons added two pass breakups. Jelani Williamson (Silver Spring, Md./Good Counsel) led the backfield with three pass breakups.

The Hoyas drove 86 yards over their first two drives, including 34-yards receiving from Dereus and 22 yards apiece from Luke Morris (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) and Justin Harrell (New Orleans, La./Newman), but a pair of missed field goals ââ'¬" from 50 and 44 yards ââ'¬" kept the game scoreless.

On the first play of the second quarter, the Hoyas attempted a fake punt, but Khristian Tate (Warner Robins, Ga./Covenant Academy) was stopped short of the first down. Columbia took over in GU territory and drove 46 yards, taking a 7-0 lead on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 12:22 left in the second quarter.

After a botched punt, Columbia used a short drive to take a 14-0 lead, going just 25 yards and scoring on an 11-yard pass with 4:44 left in the quarter. The Lions took advantage of another short field to score again right before halftime. Another 11-yard touchdown pass, with just seven seconds remaining, put the Blue & Gray in a 21-0 hole.

Following a scoreless third quarter, Columbia extended its lead to 28-0 with a 9-yard score on the second play of the final frame.

Georgetown got on the board with 11:29 left in the fourth quarter, as Norris found Carl Thomas (Floirissant, Mo./Lutheran North) for a 2-yard touchdown reception. Hurst's PAT kick made it 28-7. The drive was jumpstarted by a pair of receptions by Williams ââ'¬" a 56-yard catch-and-run on third-and-11, and a 7-yard slant for another first down.

The Lions answered, however, driving 75 yards to score on a 2-yard rush with 7:52 left to go back up by 28, 35-7.

On the first play of the next drive, Norris dropped back from his own 17-yard line and launched a deep ball for Dereus who caught it in stride just beyond midfield and ran in for the 83-yard touchdown reception to pull GU within 35-14.

Columbia ran out the final seven minutes of the clock to end the game.

The Hoyas will return to the Nation's Capital to host Harvard University at RFK Stadium on Saturday, September 30. Kickoff at the historic D.C. sports venue is scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the Patriot League Network.

Notes ââ'¬" Norris' 83-yard touchdown pass to Dereus was the third-longest passing play in Georgetown's history and the longest since 1997.