He was trampled to death by a herd of wildebeest, Nottingham was only a little smushed by a herd of Rams…

I might be a couple of days late with my recap of this past week in Columbia sports, but the football team came up 45 points short of even a tie against Fordham on Saturday. The Lions lost their season opener to Fordham’s Rams by a score of 52-7 on Saturday. Despite the turnover-heavy performance and the lopsided score, Columbia wide receiver Ryan Flannery had an outstanding performance, hauling in six balls for 108 yards and a trip to the end zone. Defensive stars Trevor Bell and Vinny Pugliese held the Rams by their horns, helping to keep the game close going into halftime, at which point Fordham had a 10-0 lead. Not too much of a hill for the Lions to climb over?

In the third quarter, the Lions were driving when a Ram charged into Jr. QB Brett Nottingham’s blind side, causing him to fumble and the Rams to recover. It should be noted that Nottingham was injured and will be forced to miss the rest of the season. Mufasa is out of the game, and so Simba (Trevor McDonagh) took over at QB and gave the team its only points of the game on a touchdown pass to Ryan Flannery, who had some chemistry with Nottingham before the injury. Overall, Columbia committed three turnovers (the Nottingham fumble and two interceptions) and, despite some powerful performances from certain Lions, the gap in the score was too much to overcome. Sounds a lot like a New York NFL team I know and love…

Stats Time!

Ryan Flannery (Jr.) (WR): 6 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD

Marcorus Garrett (Sr.) (RB): 15 rushes, 89 yards

Zach Olinger (Sr. )(Def.): 9 tackles

Vinny Pugliese (LB): Forced fumble

Trevor McDonagh (QB): TD pass Fordham QB Michael Nebrich and RB Carlton Koonce had impressive performances as well.

Unfortunately, during the game, two Columbia players were injured and will miss the rest of the season. Thoughts go out to QB Brett Nottingham (wrist injury) (it was his debut, too!) and Senior Linebacker Seyi Adebayo (knee) for a full and quick recovery.

The Lions look to earn their first win of the season in their home-opener against Monmouth. Be there to show your Lion pride at 12:30 pm, Robert Kraft Field on Saturday the 28

In other Lion news:

• Field hockey lost 1-3 to Richmond
• Women’s soccer beat Farleigh Dickinson 2-0

Upcoming:

•  Men’s soccer is home against LIU Brooklyn at 7 pm on Wednesday (9/25)
• Women’s soccer visits Cornell in an Ivy League rivalry on Friday at 7 pm
• Women’s golf tees off on Friday at Penn State in the Nittany Lion Invitational
• Women’s tennis travels to the other side of the net on Friday in the Georgia State Invitational

(These scores will be relayed to you in next Sunday’s edition)

Mufasa mufasa mufassssaaa via Shutterstock