ON THE SIDELINES: Cavanaugh wins quarterback battle

NEW YORK -- The classic drop back passer met the unorthodox option scrambler for a Saturday afternoon showdown in the Big Apple, and head to head it was no contest. The jackrabbit feet and sheer will of Columbia quarterback Mike Cavanaugh overshadowed what was statistically Mark DeRosa's finest day of the season, and, not coincidentally, the Quakers' worst. DeRosa threw for a season-high 310 yards and two touchdowns, but it was passes he didn't complete -- and the pair of interceptions he did -- that proved to be a major factor in Penn's first loss in two and a half years. It all came down to poise and intangibles -- those nondescript words coaches throw around to define that magical confidence some players seem to exude, and up until 48 hours ago the Quakers personified. But Saturday, it was Cavanaugh, a converted wide receiver, who danced, darted and occasionally passed his way through the Penn defense and into the Columbia football annals. The senior quarterback from Troy, Mich., who platooned as the Lions' signal caller last year in addition to catching passes and returning kicks, accounted for 82 percent of Columbia's offense. Cavanaugh completed 10-of-15 passes for 147 yards, and ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions' hybrid offense. "Cavanaugh presents a dimension that's very difficult to defend against," Bagnoli said. "We knew he was going to cause some problems. That didn't surprise anybody. We knew he was a terrific athlete, and we had our hands full with him the entire day." But of all the numbers Cavanaugh put up, it was the goose egg that he recorded in the turnover column that may have sealed the Quakers' fate. "I think the better team won today," Bagnoli said. "They had no turnovers and made the plays when they had to make them." And they made the plays DeRosa didn't. On Penn's second possession, the Quakers' offense rolled down the field on the strength of Aman Abye's 59 rushing yards, in spite of Mark Fabish's weekly faux pas which turned out to be a sure touchdown falling through his arms. DeRosa would make an even bigger mistake. Facing third and goal from the two, Penn's quarterback rolled left, looking for Fabish sliding across just behind the line of scrimmage. DeRosa cocked and fired right into the arms of Columbia free safety Joe Cormier, who stepped in front and rambled 39 yards before he was dragged down from behind. "I didn't see the guy," DeRosa said. "I guess he just followed Mark all the way across the field. He appeared wide open when I came out. It's a little tougher ball throwing it over the left side. And I waited a little too long. The guy made a helluva play." It was nothing compared to what Cavanaugh would do on the next two plays. He found flanker Chris Valvo, who led the Lions with five receptions, slanting across the middle for a 27-yard gain on the first play after the turnover. Play number two called for a basic option left. But Cavanaugh, surveying the line of scrimmage as he swept left, was surprised to find a big opening just beyond the tackle. He slipped through the hole, accelerated, and cut through the secondary to the end zone like he was slicing butter. "The defense kind of overpursued and I just cut it up," Cavanaugh said. "The lane just opened up the middle." Cavanaugh was given an inch, and took a mile. DeRosa was simply taken. And it wasn't just once. Trailing by three, and facing third and long in the fourth quarter, DeRosa tried to dance his way free of a collapsing pocket. But Columbia's Charlie Bettinelli, apparently unimpressed by DeRosa's theatrics, promptly belted him, forcing a fumble that teammate Eric Keck recovered. Capitalizing on Penn's mistake, Cavanaugh engineered a flawless seven-play, 47-yard touchdown drive to put the Lions on top 24-14. Ironically, the score came on none other than third and goal from the two, when Cavanaugh sprinted to the right pylon and converted the big play. Cormier wasn't finished with DeRosa yet. On the ensuing drive, the free safety killed any possible Quakers rally when he picked off his second pass of the day, this time breaking in front of Miles Macik over the middle. The fact that DeRosa's eyes never left Macik didn't hurt Cormier's chances. "All you do is follow the quarterback's eyes," Cormier said. And all Columbia did Saturday was follow it's rascally quarterback's lead, straight into immortality.

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