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EASTON, Pa. – Colgate was nearly flawless on offense the first half, and its defense stood tall down the stretch to help the Raiders escape with a 28-24 win over Lafayette here Saturday.

The third Patriot League win in four tries sets Colgate up for another championship showdown next week against Lehigh. One year ago, Colgate rallied for a 35-24 victory at Bethlehem to claim the hardware. Andy Kerr Stadium is the site this go-round for Saturday's 1 p.m. kickoff.

"Our kids have found a way to win and it's very satisfying," Raiders head coach Dick Biddle said. "Now we have a chance to win another championship and you can't ask for more than that. It never gets old."

Colgate scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and went into halftime leading 28-10. Lafayette adjusted and closed to within four points, but the Raiders defense held the Leopards at bay on three fourth-quarter possessions. Lafayette's deepest penetration in the final 15 minutes was the Colgate 29-yard line.

"The thing I liked about it was we won the game on defense," Biddle said. "It was good to see the defense step up and seize the momentum. Our defense stood up three times when they had the ball and were within a touchdown.

"We didn't even let them get close to throwing the ball in the end zone."

Offense Clicking
Colgate grabbed the opening kickoff and went 79 yards in 10 plays, culminating in a 1-run TD run by Demetrius Russell (pictured below). The key to that early 7-0 advantage was a third-and-10 conversion pass right off the bat from Gavin McCarney to John Maddaluna III, preventing a three-and-out.

Lafayette answered with a 41-yard kickoff return by Ross Scheuerman that gave the Leopards possession at the Colgate 43. Despite the short field, Colgate's defense held the hosts to a 36-yard field goal by Ryan Gralish that made it 7-3.

Enter Jimmy DeCicco.

DeCicco has been battling turf toe since his terrific 141-yard rushing effort at Cornell one month ago. He's barely played since then, but Saturday his first touch nearly resulted in a 90-yard kickoff return.

Had DeCicco not bobbled the ball after appearing to clear the last line of defense, he would have completed Colgate's first true kickoff return for a touchdown since Ameer Riley raced 95 yards in a 1999 win at St. Mary's of California. The 74-yarder still served as Colgate's longest kickoff return of the season.

"I saw the end zone and as soon as I put it in my right arm it popped out," DeCicco said. "Luckily, I got it back and we scored on that drive. The kickoff team did a great job – it was a wide-open hole."

The Hurley, N.Y., junior said his injury won't keep him from contributing.

"It's a slow-going process, but once you're running you don't feel a thing. I'm not holding myself back; we're playing for a ring right now and I'm just fighting through it these next couple of weeks."

Touchdown Hat Trick
DeCicco's effort led, two plays later, to Russell's second TD rush of the game and a 14-3 lead.

Colgate's defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense took it from there. Drive No. 3 was the most impressive of the game thus far as the Raiders marched 82 yards in 12 plays and took 6:23 off the clock. Ed Pavalko did the honors this time from 2 yards out.

Lafayette put together its first TD drive of the game to cut the margin to 21-10 with 9:12 remaining in the half.


McCarney (pictured right) to this point was 10-of-10 passing for 95 yards, with his top three receivers being tight end John Quazza, Cameron Kline and Maddaluna.

"We wanted to get out to a quick start and help our defense," McCarney said. "Our offensive line blocked great today. And with the lack of receivers we have, a lot of guys stepped up – Cameron Kline in particular, John Maddaluna (playing with a bum ankle) and Brian Lalli.

"Plus we have our great tight ends who we can always rely on as well."

Three Big Stands
To start the second half, Lafayette made quick work and again pulled within 11 points. The Leopards drove 61 yards in just five plays to make it 28-17.

Colgate immediately drove into scoring position, reaching the Leopards 26, but McCarney was intercepted at the 3-yard line on a nifty play by Lafayette's Matt Smalley. The Leopards proceeded to march 97 yards in 14 snaps to trim the Raiders' advantage to 28-24 with still 2:02 showing on the third-quarter clock.

"Give Lafayette a lot of credit," Biddle said. "It was a tough, physical game and they came back. The key for us is they weren't able to consistently run the ball."

Colgate held Lafayette to just 83 rushing yards, putting all the pressure on quarterback Drew Reed. The freshman was terrific, completing 19 of 25 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns, but he was just 6-of-11 in the fourth quarter after starting the game 13-of-14.

Lafayette's opening possession of the fourth quarter found the Leopards once again in Colgate territory. Facing third-and-1 at the Raiders 29, consecutive rushing plays went for no gain and minus-1 thanks to the play of Anto Almasian, Demitri Diamond and Austin Dier. The clock showed 7:56.

Colgate couldn't muster a first down and Lafayette again claimed possession at its 32 with 5:31 remaining.

"The only disappointing thing for me is we didn't put the game away after we stopped them on fourth down," Biddle said. "If we get a first down we would have made them use their timeouts."

Didn't happen, but it didn't matter.

The Raiders defense forced a three-and-out of its own and Colgate regained possession with 4:27 left. This time, McCarney rushed twice for 11 yards to move the ball to the Raiders 41. The drive stalled there, but Lafayette was now out of timeouts and, after a Nikko Armiento punt, 74 yards from the end zone with just 1:54 remaining.

Final Drive
Reed completed his first three passes, all of the short variety, but gained 18, 8 and 5 yards in the process. The Leopards had a first down at the Colgate 43.

Reed tried to hit Mark Ross deep down the left sideline, but Diamond and Mike Armiento were there to defend (play pictured at right). His second-down pass was incomplete on the right hash, but Reed was able to hit Ross for a 4-yarder to the Colgate 39.

Clock was ticking and it reached 50 seconds when Lafayette's fourth-down set was called for a false start by center Pat Crosby. Since play was inside the final minute, Lafayette was assessed a 10-second runoff on the clock to 40 seconds remaining.

Reed's final pass attempt, again to Ross, would have been complete if not for the on-the-spot breakup by Raiders defensive back Josh Ford. Colgate had the win and a championship game to host.

"They caught us with some blown coverages on our part in the third quarter, but we really pulled together in the fourth with those three late stops," said Kris Kent, Colgate's linebacker who led the team with nine tackles. "There's nothing more you can ask of these guys. Everyone fought to the end and that's all that mattered."

Hometown Feel
Kent and cornerback Adam Bridgeforth hail from nearby Nazareth, Pa., and their friends and relatives helped make Fisher Stadium a great atmosphere for college football.

Said Bridgeforth, who had eight tackles and one breakup: "I've had this one circled on the calendar for a while. It was the first game that my dad (Linwood) was able to come and watch. It was a pretty big deal to me, and other guys like Jake Kern and Kris Kent – it was big for them too.

"We knew we were going to come out fired up."

Added Kent: "It was awesome to see so many friends and family in the stands. It gave me a boost. I just tried to use that to get the rest of the guys hyped up and ready to play. And we came out and won."

McCarney finished 14-of-19 passing for 149 yards and also rushed 14 times for 88 yards. Colgate tight ends Quazza and Kevin O'Connell had matching numbers of four receptions for 42 yards, while Russell carried 21 times for a game-high 92 yards.

Behind Kent and Bridgeforth, Diamond and Mike Armiento posted five tackles apiece, followed by Dier with four. Two of those four were sacks for the senior captain, with Victor Steffen adding a third. Dier takes over the team lead in sacks at 3½, with Steffen next at three.

To capture the school's eighth Patriot League championship, Colgate must accomplish something it hasn't all season: victory at Andy Kerr Stadium. The Raiders are 4-2 away from Hamilton but 0-4 at home.

"We're exactly where we want to be," McCarney said of the Lehigh matchup. "It's back at our place and we're very excited. It's a big week for us and we have to be ready by Monday for a great week of practice."

Raider Reel: Colgate (4-6, 3-1 Patriot) and Lehigh (7-2, 2-1) remain in control of their fates for the 2013 Patriot League football title and automatic FCS playoff berth … Colgate needs a win over Lehigh to clinch the title. If the Mountain Hawks win, the Nov. 23 Lafayette (3-6, 3-1) at Lehigh matchup would be for the outright Patriot League crown.