ITHACA, N.Y. -- Columbia's Griffin Johnson ran for 203 yards and a touchdown as the Lions closed their season by grinding out a 29-12 win over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Big Red slipped to 4-6 (3-4 Ivy), while the Lions improved to 2-8 (1-6 Ivy) with the victory.

Junior Garrett Bass-Sulpizio was 19-of-34 passing for 225 yards with one interception for Cornell, while sophomore Jordan Triplett led the Big Red with 67 rushing yards and a touchdown and added three catches for 60 yards. Senior Brendan Lee had six receptions for 78 yards to go along with an 18-yard run, and the Big Red finished with 313 total yards, with 225 coming through the air.

Senior Damon Barnes had a game-high 10 tackles to close his career with 177, good for 40th in school history. Sophomore Keith Williams Jr. made eight tackles for Cornell, while seniors James Reinbold and Joey Cheshire combined for 15 stops. Senior Michael O'Keefe and junior Tommy MacPherson both had interceptions.

Columbia's defense recorded four sacks, led by Justin Townsend's 2.5, and Jayden Marshall had what turned out to be a pivotal red-zone interception in the first quarter.

Columbia piled up 253 rushing yards and 423 yards of total offense, controlling the ball for more than 34 minutes and converting 8-of-14 third downs. 

Johnson carried 29 times, including a 14-yard touchdown run with 5:42 remaining that capped the scoring after a Cornell fumble set the Lions up at the Big Red 37. Michael Walters added 58 rushing yards and a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

Cornell moved the ball early but failed to cash in. After MacPherson intercepted Chase Goodwin's third-down pass at the Cornell 10 on Columbia's opening series, the Big Red marched 89 yards to the Lions' 1 before Marshall picked off Bass-Sulpizio in the end zone for a touchback.

Columbia immediately drove 80 yards the other way, with Goodwin hitting Elliot Cooper for 37 yards and Johnson chipping in a 6-yard run before Walters punched in a 1-yard score for a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Caden Lesiewicz put Cornell on the board with a 32-yard field goal in the final 30 seconds of the opening quarter, but Columbia stretched the margin in the second. Goodwin found Braden Dougherty over the middle for a 13-yard touchdown to finish a 75-yard drive, and after a Cornell answer, the Lions put together a backbreaking march just before halftime.

Triplett's 1-yard run with 1:57 left in the half pulled Cornell within 14-9, but Columbia responded with a 70-yard drive, helped by a pass-interference call in the end zone. A.J. Simpkins scored on a 1-yard keeper as time expired in the second quarter, and Titus Evans completed a two-point conversion pass for a 22-9 Lions lead at the break.

Cornell's defense stiffened in the third quarter, with Michael O'Keefe adding a red-zone interception to go with MacPherson's early pick, but the Big Red offense couldn't find the end zone again. Lesiewicz hit from 37 yards out on the first series of the fourth quarter to cut it to 22-12 before Johnson's late touchdown drive put the game out of reach.

Goodwin finished 12-of-26 passing for 170 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for Columbia. Dougherty had two catches for 34 yards and a score, while Beckett Robinson added five receptions for 66 yards, including a 52-yarder to set up a second-quarter touchdown.

NEXT UP
The 2025 season is complete.