Brown Falls To Georgetown In Season Opener
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Brown’s 137th season of intercollegiate football began on a down note with the Bears dropping a 17-3 decision to Georgetown Saturday afternoon in the nation’s capital. The Bears, who replaced 11 graduated seniors on offense, are 0-1 on the season, while Georgetown evened its record at 2-2.
Bears’ senior quarterback Marcus Fuller, making his first collegiate start, completed 18 of 31 passes for 202 yards. He successfully connected on five passes to senior Stian Romberg and four more to
junior Troy Doles. Senior tailback Andrew Coke rushed for 72 yards for the Bears.
“Marcus made some big plays, but he needs more consistency,” said Brown coach Phil Estes. “I’m sure Marcus would like to have a couple of balls back. He’s a very good quarterback who needs to settle down. He’s a competitor, but we need to protect him like I know we can.”
When Estes looked at the final stat sheet, he saw four Brown turnovers – two fumbles and two interceptions – that made the difference in the game.
“Penalties and big plays really hurt us,” said Brown head coach Phil Estes. “Our fumble at the goal line in the first quarter gave great momentum to Georgetown. As a young team you can’t make those
mistakes.”
Defensively, senior inside linebacker Xavier Russo led the Bears with 10 tackles and a quarterback sack. Senior safety Jacob Supron also had 10 tackles, while junior Jacob Walther had Brown’s lone interception, off a deflection.
Georgetown used a balanced attack on offense to rack-up 427 total yards. Quarterback Kyle Nolan threw for 177 yards, while Jo’el Kimpela ran for a game high 104 yards.
Fuller took all of the first quarter and into the second quarter to get comfortable, but guided the Bears down to the Georgetown one-yard line before a fumble turned the ball over to the Hoyas.
Undaunted, the Bears drove down to the Hoyas five yard line on their next possession and got on the scoreboard with a 22-yard field goal by junior Grant Senne with 7:42 left in the second quarter, capping an 80-yard scoring drive.
Georgetown answered immediately and took its first lead when Daniel Wright scored on a 57-yard run just 38 seconds later to give the Hoyas a 7-3 advantage at the half.
The Hoyas seemingly took control of the game when quarterback Kyle Nolan connected on a 25-yard touchdown strike to Jake DiCicci to pull ahead by a 14-3 margin with 7:40 left in the third quarter.
A late 44-yard field goal by Henry Darmstadter gave Georgetown the final margin of victory, 17-3.
The Bears open their Ivy League season at home next Saturday, September 27, against Harvard under the lights at Brown Stadium as Brown University celebrates its 250th Anniversary. Kick-off is
scheduled for 6:00 pm. A huge fireworks display will follow the game.
