EASTON, PA (10/27/07) – Junior Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) carried 44 times for 194 yards and a personal best four touchdowns to rally Colgate (5-3, PL 2-1) to a 36-27 win over Lafayette (4-4, PL 1-2) Saturday at Fisher Stadium.

 

En route to his 21^st game over 100 yards rushing, Scott broke the school record for most rushing yardage by a junior with 3,973 yards.  He also moved into fourth place in career scoring with 238 points.

 

“I thought we really played well in the second half,” said Colgate head coach Dick Biddle.  “The key to the contest was scoring at the end of the first half, and on the first drive of the second half.  That got us back to within one score.”

 

“In the second half, we had a lot of players make big plays.  Everyone on this team rose to the occasion today,” said Biddle.

 

The contest wasn’t decided until the final minute after Lafayette had pulled to within one two-point conversion, 29-27, with 49 seconds left.  But senior defensive tackle Pat Nolan (Exeter, NH) sacked Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley preventing the tie.

 

The Leopards attempted an on-side kick, but Colgate’s Pat Simonds (Sidney, NY)scooped up the kick and raced 38 yards for a game-clinching touchdown.  Colgate wins back-to-back games for the first time since the tail end of the 2005 season.

 

Lafayette opened the scoring on the first possession of the game driving 71 yards in 13 plays for a 7-0 lead.  Colgate appeared to have the Leopards stopped when Davis Rodriquez missed a 27-yard field goal attempt, but Colgate was called for roughing the kicker.  Three plays later, Curley connected on a four-yard touchdown pass with Kevin Logan.  Rodriquez added the extra point.

 

Colgate took the ensuing kickoff and marched to the Lafayette 13-yard line, where Mike Buck (Basking Ridge, NJ) booted a 30-yard field goal.  The drive featured a fourth-and-five at the Lafayette 27 with Alex Relph (Victor, NY) hitting Simonds with a nine-yard slant pass for a first down.  The drive stalled after Colgate was called for an illegal lineman downfield.

 

The Leopards increased their advantage to 14-3 with 10:48 remaining in the second quarter.  Again, after Colgate appeared to have Lafayette stopped deep in its own territory, a personal foul gave the Leopards a first down at Lafayette 42-yard line.  On the second play, Curley broke loose on a quarterback sneak for a 49-yard touchdown run.

 

After forcing a punt on the next Lafayette possession, the Raiders had excellent field position on its own 31-yard line.  But on the second play from scrimmage, Marcel Quarterman intercepted Relph on the Lafayette 48, and returned the ball to the Colgate 12-yard line.  On third down, Curley hooked up with Shaun Adair on an 11-yard touchdown pass for a 21-3 lead.

 

Colgate’s first touchdown came with 3:08 left in the first half, when the Raiders marched 69 yards on eight plays for the score.  Scott capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run – his 12^th of the season.  Buck’s extra point made it 21-10.

 

Lafayette had a solid opportunity to put more points on the board following Tim Watson’s kickoff return to the Colgate 39.  But the drive stalled when Wayne Moten (Forestville, MD) came up with the second interception of his career.  Colgate moved into Lafayette territory on a long pass play to Simonds, but he fumbled, killing the Raiders chance for a last minute score.

 

Colgate opened the second half with an impressive 17-play, 65-yard touchdown drive that took 7:33 off the clock.  The Raiders moved to the Lafayette three-yard line where they faced fourth-and-one.  Scott carried for the first down, and on the next play scored from one-yard out.  Colgate trailed 21-16 after the two-point conversion pass failed.

 

After forcing a punt on Lafayette’s next possession, the Raiders took over at their own 13-yard line.  Using big plays, Colgate drove 87 yards in six plays to take its first lead of the game, 22-21.  Scott ran for 19 yards on the first play and Relph followed with a 13-yard run to the Colgate 45.  Later in the drive, Relph connected on a 40-yard pass play with Erik Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) to the Lafayette 13.  Scott finished off the drive with a nine-yard run up the middle for his third TD of the game.  The two-point conversion run failed.

 

Later in the fourth quarter, Colgate had moved into Lafayette territory, but Scott fumbled at the 42-yard line.  Lafayette took advantage driving to the Colgate 26-yard line, where Moten came up with his second interception of game, after Jim Meara (Montgomery, MA) hit Curley’s arm on the pass.

 

With 5:48 remaining in the contest, Colgate faced third-and-long before Relph connected on a long pass to Burke to the Colgate 49.  Seven plays later, Scott scored his fourth TD on the nine-yard run with 1:37 left.

 

Lafayette however came right back marching 60 yards in seven plays to cut Colgate’s lead to 29-27, before failing on the two-point conversion. 

 

GAME NOTES:  Simonds had five receptions for 43 yards, while Burke finished with four receptions for 87 yards … Burke moves into eighth place in career receiving yards with 1,678 and 10^th place in career receptions with 106 … Moten had a pair of interceptions for the Raiders – the second and third of his career … Relph connected on 16-of-26 passes for 220 yards … Mike Gallihugh (Midlothian, VA) had a team-high 12 tackles including one quarterback sack and one pass break up … Nolan, who leads the league in QB sacks, had one against the Leopards.

 

Lafayette came into the contest as the top defensive team in the FCS, allowing 249.9 yards per game, and they were third against the run (73.9) … Colgate finished with 457 yards (237 rushing, 220 passing).