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Vol.24, No. 02 Sept. 11, 1998

In Pre-Season Action, Lions Win Scrimmage Against Dartmouth's Big Green

By Bill Steinman

In its annual pre-season scrimmage with Ivy rival Dartmouth, the Columbia varsity football team defeated the Big Green, 13-7, at Choate-Rosemary Hall School in Wallingford, Conn. on Sat., Sept. 5.

The bulk of the Lions' scoring came on two Dartmouth turnovers in the first quarter. The kicker, Neal Kravitz, a junior from Fairfax Station, Va., drew the game's first blood with a 33-yard field goal set up by a Dartmouth fumble of a punt deep in its own territory.

Columbia's only touchdown came after recovering a fumble on a running play at the Big Green 19-yard line. Senior quarterback Paris Childress (New Orleans, LA) then connected with end Justin Meadlin (junior; Arlington, Texas) for 12 yards. On first down and goal to go, tailback Norman Hayes (junior; Richmond, Calif.) scampered for seven yards to the one. The Dartmouth defense then stiffened, twice keeping Light Blue runners from breaking through the line of scrimmage. On fourth down, however, Childress tossed to senior quad-captain and tight end Bert Bondi (Sterling Heights, Mich.) in the right side of the end zone. Columbia's lead lengthened to 10-0 after Kravitz's successful extra point kick.

The Big Green responded with a 70-yard touchdown pass that ended the first quarter with the score at 10-7. The contest was from then on primarily a battle of defenses.

Columbia did manage to score once more on a Kravitz field goal from the 31-yard line in the third quarter.

"You expect the defense to be ahead at this point," head coach Ray Tellier said of the low scoring game. The Lions went into the scrimmage with only 10 days of practice. "No one has ever put a football team together in ten days," he said.

Tellier singled out "the whole front seven" for praise, as well as Kravitz and punter Ryan Kiernan (Cos Cob, Conn.), junior defensive back Brian Washington (Pensacola, Fla.) and freshman tailback Johnathan Reese (St. Louis, Mo.).