Spooney, Seniors Lead Brown To 48-7 Romp at Columbia
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Brown senior tailback John Spooney (Northfield, OH) ran for 186 yards and scored two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Patrick Donnelly (Longmeadow, MA) threw four touchdown passes to lift Brown to a 48-7 victory over Columbia at Wien Stadium, giving the Bears their sixth consecutive winning season on the final day of the 2013 season.
Brown finished fourth in the Ivy League standings with a 3-4 Ivy record, 6-4 overall, while Columbia failed to win a game in 2013, falling to 0-10, 0-7 in the Ivy League.
Spooney, the Ivy League’s leading rusher, ran for 186 yards on 27 carries and became the seventh player in Brown history to rush for 1,000 or more yards, finishing his career with 1,170 yards, fifth best in the Brown record book. Spooney’s 1,545 career rushing yards rank eighth all-time at Brown.
Donnelly completed 21-of-36 passes for 301 yards, and finished his career as one of the top all-time passers at Brown. His 480 career completions rank fifth in the Brown record book, and he became the seventh player in Brown history to pass for 5,000 career yards, throwing for 5,035 yards.
Senior wide receiver Tellef Lundevall (Highland Park, IL) made eight catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, and finished his career as one of the top receivers in Ivy League history. His 216 career receptions are 7th in the Ivy record book, and fifth all-time at Brown.
Defensively, senior Emory Polley (University Heights, OH) intercepted his sixth pass of the season and finished his career with 11 career interceptions, sixth best in Brown football history. Senior Ade Oyalowo (Bowie, MD) led the Bears with 11 total tackles, including three tackles for a loss of 16 yards.
Spooney, a two-time Ivy League 100-meter champion, got the Bears on the scoreboard first, breaking two tackles and out-running the Columbia defense 45-yards for a touchdown, giving Brown a 7-0 lead midway through the opening quarter.
Brown extended its lead to 14-0 on a 13-yard pass by Donnelly to senior Jordan Evans (Brentwood, TN), who caught the pass in the corner of the end zone with 5:45 left in the quarter. The score capped a 54-yard scoring drive. Evans finished the day with6 catches for 91 yards.
Senior Alex Norocea (Hermosa Beach, CA) gave Brown a 17-0 lead with a 23-yard field goal at the 9:58 mark of the second quarter. Norocea would go on to kick a 29 yard third quarter field goal to give him 44 career field goals, a mark that ranks third all-time in Ivy League football history.
Following an interception by junior linebacker Daniel Giovacchini (Acton, MA), Brown pulled ahead by a 24-0 margin on a one yard touchdown pass from Donnelly to Spooney with 2:01 left in the half. The big play in the 60-yard drive was a 32 yard reception by Lundevall that advanced the ball to the Columbia one yard line.
Brown opened the half with a two play, 75 yard touchdown drive to take a 31-0 lead over the Lions. Spooney ran 35 yards on the opening play from scrimmage and Donnelly connected with Lundevall for a 40-yard touchdown, hitting him in stride at the goal line.
Columbia finally got on the scoreboard on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Trevor McDonagh to Toure Douglas with 11:54 left in the third quarter to trail, 31-7.
Donnelly’s fourth touchdown pass of the day came late in the third quarter when he connected on a 21-pass play to senior tight end Andrew Marks (Berlin, WI).
Senior tailback Jordan Reisner (Highland Park, IL) completed the Brown scoring with 31 yard touchdown run with 8:10 left in the game, capping a 54-yard scoring drive, to give the Bears a 48-7 lead.
