Even mascot relations were testy when the Columbia Lions tried to defeat the Lafayette Leopards (0-4) for the first time in a full decade.

Quarterback Sean Brackett had a career game last time out against Princeton. Could he match that performance on Saturday? On the first drive, Lafayette was in Lion territory when the snap to quarterback Ryan O'Neill went high. The Leopards recovered the ball and got back enough yards to kick a field goal to go up 3-0.

Facing third down on Columbia's first drive, Brackett took to the ground, one of his many carries throughout the day. Later on in the drive, Brackett found Kurt Williams down field for a touchdown.

Lafayette had success running the ball early, and would soon take a 10-7 lead.

Columbia was getting roughed up, hearkening back to past losses against Lafayette, but linebacker Alex Gross had other plans as he returned an interception for a touchdown to give the Lions a 14-10 lead.

The Leopards answered on their very next drive with a 24 yard touchdown pass to go up 17-14. But a 54 yard kick return by Craig Hamilton put Columbia in position to turn the tide for good.

There were few reasons to cheer for the Lafayette faithful in the second half. Brackett and company shut the door, fooling their opponent's secondary and scoring on big pass plays.

Only 20 yards of offense separated the two teams, but Lafayette was undone by costly turnovers.

The away team had one last hurrah, connecting on a 69 yard reverse flea flicker. But time was not on their side, and Columbia picked up their third consecutive win for the first time since 1997.

Columbia Coach Norries Wilson offered his insights after the game: "They're just hungry to play. They're enjoying playing. I think in two months time they're going to look back at it and wish we played a 20 game season."

Sean Brackett added that this win happened as much on the field as it did in the film room: "They're a big blitz team. And when they blitz they kind of encompass teams so I was able to see the blitz, see the whole defense, and when there was a seam I was able to hit it.

Linebacker Alex Gross could very well have seen this victory as a measure of revenge, after getting injured last year in a game against Lafayette.

"People were trying to tell me that all week, 'it's revenge', 'it's personal', but there was nothing dirty on their part in terms of what happened last year. In my mind this was just a team in another colored uniform trying to interrupt what we're trying to do to make this into a great season. It's just about winning the game and beating whoever shows up, it's nothing more than that."