Oct. 11, 2003
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EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Marko Glavic hit a wide-open Jeremy Burkes for a 73-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, then proceeded to complete 25-of-33 passes for a school-record 453 yards and four touchdowns as Lafayette picked up a 41-27 non-conference victory over Columbia on Saturday.
Glavic also ran for a 21-yard touchdown and caught a one-yard scoring toss from junior tailback Joe McCourt. Burkes hauled in eight passes for a school-record 234 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
The teams combined for 1,184 yards of offense in the shootout.
Columbia answered the Leopards' opening salvo by marching 52 yards in 12 plays. Nick Rudd connected on a 33-yard field goal to cut Lafayette's lead to 7-3 with 9:38 remaining in the first period.
After the two teams traded fumbles, the Glavic-to-Burkes connection was good from 42 yards and a 14-3 Leopard lead with 2:42 still left in the first stanza.
Columbia scored twice in the final five minutes of the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room. Following a missed Lafayette field goal, the Lions drove 78 yards in seven plays, the final 19 being erased on a scoring toss from Jeff Otis to tight end Wade Fletcher.
The Lions began their final possession of the first half at their own 20 with 1:10 remaining. Otis threw for 72 yards and rushed for eight more on the drive, including a 31-yard touchdown pass to Zach Van Zant just 12 seconds before halftime.
Lafayette regained the lead on a 21-yard pass from Glavic to John Weyrauch with 4:10 left in the third period. Michael Beatrice's point-after attempt was blocked, leaving the Leopards with a 20-14 advantage.
The lead would be short-lived, however, as Columbia marched 70 yards in eight plays to assume a 24-20 lead. Otis found Fletcher in the end zone for the second time from seven yards out.
Fourteen seconds later, on Lafayette's first play from scrimmage following the kickoff, Glavic threw a 71-yard strike from Burkes that see-sawed the lead back to Lafayette, 27-24.
Columbia would answer yet again, tying the score on a 33-yard field goal by Rudd with 13:59 left in the contest.
Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani dug into his bag of tricks for the game-winning touchdown on the next possession. Glavic hit Weyrauch on a 57-yard bomb and McCourt ran two yards to the Columbia one. Following a Lafayette timeout, McCourt took a pitch to the right, stopped and threw back to the left to a wide-open Glavic in the corner of the end zone. Glavic dragged his back foot inbounds, Beatrice hit the PAT and the Leopards led 34-27.
Columbia answered by driving to the Lafayette 23 but a Matt Van Doren interception in the end zone killed the drive.
The Leopards iced the game with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took 4:25 off the clock. On fourth-and-two from the Lafayette 28, the Leopards lined up to punt, but Maurice Bennett took the snap and rumbled 37 yards up the middle to keep the drive alive. Facing third-and-11 from the Columbia 21 Glavic rolled right, tucked the ball and ran for his second touchdown this season. Beatrice nailed his fifth PAT and the Leopards led 41-27.
Columbia's final drive stalled with an incomplete pass on fourth down at the Lafayette six-yard line.
Weyrauch also eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark, hauling in seven balls for 130 yards and a score. Defensively, Blake Costanzo recorded 12 tackles (eight solo, four assists) and Bennett tallied 10 (five solo, five assists).
For Columbia, Otis completed 21-of-35 passes for 299 yards and three scores. Travis Chmelka caught nine balls for 116 yards, while Van Zant collected seven receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown. Lost in the passing fireworks was Ayo Oluwole's 166 yards rushing on 31 carries.
Columbia (2-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) returns to Ivy League play next Saturday, hosting Penn at 1:30 p.m. The Leopards (3-2 overall, 0-2 Patriot League) travel to Harvard for a non-conference clash at 1 p.m.
