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| Mike Saraceno completed 16-of-33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns against Lafayette. |
(Game Statistics)
EASTON, PA. (11/5/05) – Junior quarterback Mike Saraceno completed 16-of-33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns to lead Colgate (6-3, PL 3-1) to a dramatic 18-15 win over Lafayette (6-3, PL 3-1) at Fisher Field Saturday.
The Raiders’ win keeps their Patriot League championship hopes alive as they move into a first place tie with Lafayette and Lehigh.
The victory also assured the Raiders of their 10th straight winning season with their 10th consecutive victory over Lafayette.
“This was an important win for us in a lot of ways,” said Colgate head coach Dick Biddle. “It gives us another winning season, and provides us with momentum heading home to play Bucknell next Saturday. Our defense was outstanding today against a good offensive team.”
Colgate found itself trailing 15-12 with four minutes left in the game after the defense forced a Lafayette punt. The Raiders took over at their own 32-yard line with 3:55 remaining.
After moving to the 50-yard line, Saraceno hooked up with Erik Burke on a 32-yard pass play on third-and-seven to the Leopards’ 18. Two plays later, Saraceno found wide receiver Kenny Parker in the corner of the end zone with a game-winning 20-yard touchdown pass with 1:10 left. The extra point hit the upright.
Lafayette had one final opportunity to tie the contest, but Rick Ziska missed on a 49-yard field goal attempt with 38 seconds left.
Colgate opened the scoring in the first quarter taking advantage of three Lafayette fumbles. After Josh Wurst recovered the third fumble for Colgate, the Raiders marched to the Lafayette 14-yard line where Jacob Stein booted a career-long 31-yard field goal.
Lafayette took its first lead early in the second quarter on a nine-yard pass play from Brad Maurer to David Nelson. Ziska added the extra point for a 7-3 Leopard lead. The Lafayette score came after an interception by Torian Johnson at the Colgate 41.
In the third quarter, Stein kicked a 24-yard field goal to bring the Raiders to within one point, 7-6, with 3:59 remaining.
In the fourth quarter, Colgate took advantage of an interception by defensive tackle Josh Wurst at the Lafayette 49. Six plays later, Saraceno hit freshman Jordan Scott with a 20-yard screen pass for a touchdown. The two-point conversion pass failed as Colgate led 12-7.
Scott was the game’s leading rusher with 31 carries for 109 yards – his fifth 100-yard game of his rookie season.
On the next possession, Lafayette came right back to take a 15-12 lead with 8:16 left when Jonathan Hurt capped off a 75-yard drive with a four-yard run off the left side. Joe Ort caught the two-point conversion pass.
GAME NOTES: Colgate had 376 yards of total offense, while Lafayette managed 387 … Parker finished with four catches for 53 yards, while Burke had three receptions for 61 yards and DeWayne Long three grabs for 53 yards … Long moved into ninth all-time in receiving yards with 1,485 yards … Jared Nepa was the leading tackler with 14 including three for losses and two quarterback hurries, while Cody Williams 12 stops while one fumble recovery … Josh Wurst, Zach Dollar and Chris Petrone had sacks.
