Brown quarterback Michael Dougherty, seen against URI earlier this month, set an Ivy League passing record yesterday.

>

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

WORCESTER — In 131 years of Brown football, no quarterback had ever thrown for 500 or more yards.

Until yesterday.

Unfortunately for the Bears, quarterback Michael Dougherty’s Ivy League record of 526 yards passing weren’t enough, as the Bears fell to Holy Cross, 41-34, in a shootout at Fitton Field.

Dougherty passed for an Ivy League and Brown record 526 yards, completing 41 of 60 passes, including touchdown passes of 2, 13, 22 and 64 yards. His 526 passing yards eclipsed the Ivy League record of 501 yards by Princeton’s Bob Holly against Yale in 1981, and the Brown mark of 497 yards by Kyle Slager against Rhode Island in 2002. Dougherty’s 41 completions rank fourth in the Brown record book.

Dougherty also set a Brown and Ivy record for total offense, adding 12 rushing yards for 538 total yards. The previous Ivy record of 504 total yards was held by Columbia’s John Witkowski against Dartmouth in 1982, while the Brown mark for total offense was held by Kyle Rowley with 483 yards against URI in 2001.

The feature matchup of two of the nation’s top quarterbacks, Brown’s Dougherty, and Dominic Randolph from Holy Cross, didn’t disappoint the fans in attendance. Both quarterbacks passed for more that 400 yards for the second straight year.

Not to be outdone, Randolph completed a school record 41 passes, while compiling 430 yards and 4 touchdowns.

“Randolph has torched us for the last three years,” said Bears head coach Phil Estes. “We haven’t found a way to stop him.”

The two teams combined for 1,115 total yards, with Brown gaining 562 total yards, and Holy Cross accumulating 553 total yards.

“I’m please we got our offense going,” said Estes, “but we need to have a complete game to win — executing on offense, defense and special teams.”

In a frenetic first half, Holy Cross held a 31-21 lead as the Bears and Crusaders combined for 616 total yards of offense, with Brown gaining 251 yards and Holy Cross 365.

Colin Cloherty was the big receiver for the Bears, making 14 catches for 166 yards. His 14 receptions rank eighth in the Brown record book. Bobby Sewall also had a solid day, catching 10 passes for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Although it wasn’t a good day to be a defender, senior Steve Ziogas led the Bears with seven solo tackles, while senior Miles Craigwell had eight total tackles for the Bears. Senior Jon May registered the lone sack for the Bears, while also making five tackles.