BETHLEHEM, PA (11/8/08) – Junior wide receiver Pat Simonds (Sidney, NY) caught seven passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns to lead Colgate to a wild shootout win over Lehigh, 34-33, Saturday at Goodman Stadium.  Simonds ties the school record for TD catches in a season.

 

Colgate (8-2, PL 4-0) wins its seventh straight game, and remains in a first place tie with Holy Cross in the Patriot League standings.  Lehigh is 3-6 overall and 2-2 in the league.

 

Colgate, ranked #24 in the latest FCS poll, rallied from two touchdowns down in the second half to snap a two-game losing streak at Goodman Stadium.

 

Trailing 33-21 with 7:45 left in the third quarter, Colgate started a drive on its own 27-yard line.  Behind the running of freshman Nate Eachus (Drums, PA) and quarterback Greg Sullivan (Monroe, NY), the Raiders moved to the Lehigh 19-yard line.  On second down, Sullivan found a leaping Simonds in the end zone for a TD, as Colgate cut the deficit to 33-28 with 2.48 left.

 

Midway through the fourth quarter, Lehigh found itself back upped to its own five-yard line, after Jarard Cribbs fumbled a punt.  The Raiders forced a three-and-out, and Colgate took over at the Lehigh 47 following a punt with 7:29 left in the game.

 

The Raiders moved to the Lehigh seven-yard line where they faced a third-and-five with less than three minutes remaining.  Sullivan found Simonds on a slant pass for the game-winning touchdown with 2:28 left.  The Raiders went for a two-point conversion, but failed on a pass play.

 

Lehigh had one final opportunity for the winning points, but after moving to their own 37-yard line, the Mountain Hawks failed on three straight pass attempts, and Colgate managed to run out the clock.

 

Sullivan completed 15-of-23 passes for 218 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, while Eachus finished with 26 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown.  It was Eachus’ fourth straight game over 100 yards rushing after replaced injured starter Jordan Scott, who was leading the country in rushing.

 

Colgate took advantage of Lehigh’s first turnover of the contest two minutes into the first quarter.  Lehigh quarterback J.B. Clark let the ball slip out of his hand while attempting a pass, after Colgate linebacker Greg Hadley (Fayetteville, NY)recovered the fumble on the Mountain Hawks’ 19-yard line.  Four plays later, Sullivan carried four yards for his seventh TD of the season.  Jacob Stein (St. Petersburg, FL) added the extra point.

 

Lehigh came right back with a eight-play, 67-yard drive with Clark hitting Troy Healion with a four-yard TD pass with 9:10 left in the first quarter.  Jason Leo missed the extra point leaving Lehigh behind 7-6.

 

Later in the first quarter, the Raiders took over on their own 21-yard line following a Lehigh punt.  On the first play from scrimmage, Sullivan faked a play-action run, before hitting Simonds over the middle with a career-long 79-yard touchdown pass giving the Raiders a 14-6 lead with 1:33 left.

 

Colgate upped its advantage to 21-6 with 8:42 after in the first half, when Eachus carried five yards for a touchdown, capping a 65-yard drive in six plays.  Eachus set up the TD with a 41-yard run to the two-yard line.

 

Lehigh came back with a pair of touchdowns before halftime with Sekou Yansane catching a 27-yard strike from Clark, before Adam Watson scored on a six-yard run with 2:06 remaining.  Backup placekicker Tom Randazza made both of the extra points as Lehigh trailed 21-20 at intermission.

 

Lehigh struck quickly in the third quarter to take a 33-21 lead on a pair of touchdown passes by Clark.  Both of his TD passes were completed to Mike Fitzgerald covering 23 and 39 yards respectively.

 

GAME NOTES: Colgate had 393 yards of total offense, while Lehigh finished with 398 with 338 coming through the air … The Raiders held the Mountain Hawks to 60 yards of rushing on 25 carries … Hadley was Colgate’s leading tackler with 11 … Zach Smith Thorofare, NJ) had a quarterback sack, while Carlton Walker (Columbus, OH) and Austin Douglas (Ashburnham, MA) also had one apiece … Wayne Moten (Forestville, MD) had a fumble recovery.