Brown Shares Ivy Title, Topples Columbia, 28-17

And now it's a fact. There are no tomorrows, no more opportunities to lose, and as a result, Brown is co-holder of the 1976 Ivy football title.

By defeating Columbia, 28-17, in New York on Saturday, the Bruins gained a share of their first championship ever. But it wan't easy.

A fired-up Lions squad completely outplayed Brown throughout the first half, gained a 7-0 and then a 17-7 advantage, and had they managed to hold onto the football during a final drive which reached the Bruins' 33-yard line, still might have pulled off the upset of the season.

No Way

As it was, Brown took advantage of this final break and scored its fourth touch-down to produce a final score which in no way indicates the closeness of the game.

As expected, Columbia scored first with Gerry Fitzpatrick scoring on a ten-yard pass from Cal Moffie. But the Bruins quickly recovered via a Paul Michalko seven-yard run.

In the second quarter the Lions went wild. Fitzpatrick scoring again, this time on a one-yard toss, and Bob McKeon kicking a 32-yard field goal.

Smokey the Bear

The halftime score hardly disappointed anyone in Cambridge, but the Brown lockerroom wan't too thrilled so the Bruins set matters straight in the second half.

Michalko scored from six yards out, Billy Hill from one and two, the Bruin defense stiffened up and when all was said and done, it was Brown and Yale in the driver's seat, with Harvard a semi-distant third. FINAL IVY LEAGUE STANDINGS     W L T Yale  6 1 0 Brown  6 1 0 HARVARD  4 3 0 Dartmouth  4 3 0 Penn  2 5 0 Princeton  2 5 0 Columbia  2 5 0 Cornell  2 5 0