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HAMILTON – Colgate completed a four-game homestand in perfect fashion here Saturday, twice rallying from 16 points down for a 31-30 thriller over Princeton.
 
The Raiders (4-2) allowed Princeton's Dre Nelson to return the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. But Colgate's defensive PAT unit then halted the ensuing two-point conversion attempt in a play that proved decisive.
 
The Tigers (2-2) rolled to leads of 16-0 and 23-7 before Colgate rallied with two touchdowns in the final 52 seconds before halftime. Jake Melville sandwiched TD passes of 24 yards to Alex Greenawalt and 13 to John Quazza – the latter as the halftime horn sounded – around Mike Armiento's 56-yard interception return to send the Raiders into the locker trailing only 23-21.
 
Melville had never thrown for more than 159 yards, but he busted loose for 303 against a Princeton defense that limited Colgate's running game to just 111 yards. Greenawalt, Quazza and Brian Lalli caught five passes apiece for a combined 235 of those yards.
 

Vinny Russo was Colgate's tackle leader, finishing with 12 stops to assume the team lead in that category with 49. Kyle Diener added nine tackles to go with a key fourth-quarter pass breakup.
 
Armiento's interception was his second in as many weeks and gives him 14 for his career – third all alone on the Colgate career chart. The senior safety added eight tackles and three pass breakups.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 31, Princeton 30

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 4-2 with its fourth straight victory.
• Princeton dropped to 2-2.

Facts & Figures
• Colgate didn't win a home game at all in 2013, but the Raiders just completed a four-game Andy Kerr sweep. Wins over Cornell, Georgetown, Holy Cross and Princeton give the Raiders plenty of momentum heading into a three-game road trip that begins next Saturday at Yale.
• Demetrius Russell led the Raiders in rushing for the second straight week and third time this season. Russell ground his way to 78 yards on 23 carries, including a nifty 3-yard TD run that put the Raiders on the board midway in the second quarter.

• Sophomore receiver Risley Lesko caught the second pass of his young career and made it count for six. His 24-yard TD reception in the corner of the end zone – despite a defensive pass interference flag – pulled the Raiders within 30-28 with 8:36 left in the third.
• Saturday's win was Colgate's fourth straight against Princeton and seventh in the last eight meetings. The Raiders and Tigers are now tied all-time at 26-26-1. Colgate also improved to 2-0 this season against the Ivy League.
• Colgate's offensive output was its best of the season, with 31 points and 414 total yards.  The 30 points allowed matched Ball State's total in the season opener.
• Nelson's kickoff return for a touchdown was the first against Colgate since Lafayette's Ross Schuereman returned one 78 yards for a TD back in 2011.
 
By the Numbers
• First downs were even, 22-22.
• Time of possession was not. Colgate had the ball for 36:30 to Princeton's 23:30, including a 21:34 to 8:26 advantage in the middle two quarters.
• Colgate's defense continues to get better as the game goes along. Saturday, Colgate allowed Princeton just seven points in the second half after the Tigers led at one point 23-7. The Raiders are allowing just 19.5 points per game, and their total points allowed by quarter is even more impressive: First, 43; Second, 34; Third, 23; Fourth, 17.
• Princeton reserve linebacker Rohan Hylton finished the game with 18 tackles, including a 16-yard sack.
• The Tigers were led on the ground by DiAndre Atwater, who carried 18 times for 131 yards. Atwater is the son of former Arkansas and NFL great Steve Atwater.
• Colgate safety Jake Kern picked off his second interception of the season.
• John Maddaluna III returned five kickoffs for a 29-yard average. He might be leading the Patriot League at 25.9 yards per return when the statistics are released Sunday.

Turning Point

• If not for Colgate's furious rally in the final minute of the first half, it might have been Princeton's ill-fated decision to go for two after returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
• But Colgate put 14 points on the board seemingly out of nowhere to turn a 23-7 Princeton lead with 3:06 left before halftime to just 23-21 heading into the break.
• The Raiders first drove 76 yards in seven plays, with Melville finding Greenawalt from 24 yards streaking across the back of the end zone.
• Just 52 seconds remained in the half.
• But instead of running out the clock with a nine-point advantage, the Tigers chose to add to their first-half tally only to be victimized by Armiento's interception and 56-yard return.
• Nine seconds were left on the clock and Melville rolled left and found a leaping Quazza in the back of the end zone as the horn sounded.
• Jonah Bowman's PAT narrowed the Princeton gap to just two.
 
Records Watch
• Bowman's 23-yard field goal gave Colgate its first and only lead of the day on the opening play of the fourth quarter. Bowman's kick was his ninth consecutive made field goal, breaking the Colgate season record set by Mike Powers in 1986 and tied by Lane Schwarzberg in 2003. Bowman now has made 10 in a row overall dating to last season, one shy of Schwarzberg's career-record 11 set in 2003-04.
• Armiento climbed to solo third place on the Colgate career interception chart with his 14th. He's now chasing No. 2 Paul Lawler (1974, 76-78), who had 16. Tom Wilson (1964-66) is the all-time Colgate leader with 20.
• In addition to Melville reaching 300 yards passing for the first time in his career, Greenawalt became Colgate's first 100-yard receiver this season. The first-year wideout finished with five catches for 103 yards and his second touchdown of the season.
 
From the Sources

• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the win) "It was exciting, and it was good to see the pass game bail out the run game a little bit. The defense, against that offense, to step up as many times as they did and create the turnovers they did and get the stops they did – just a great job. I don't care how many points they scored or yards they had; that is a great job by the defense."
(On the start to the game) "To rebound from getting the opening kick returned for a touchdown – the biggest play of the game was stopping that 2-point conversion. People don't realize it, but that was a huge play and it affected the rest of the game. And we ended up winning by one point."
(On his defense's second-half performance) "I'm not sure what they are putting in the water at halftime, but our defense comes out in the second half and plays really effectively and makes things happen."
(On the passing game) "It was really good seeing Melville throw for 300 yards. He is starting to develop some confidence in the wide receivers. It was good to hit a couple of big plays. We've tried to tailor the pass game where he has a little bit more open options and let him play with his favorite guys and some freedom with what routes they run."
(On rallying before the half) "I was happy just to get the first touchdown; that got us back in the game. And then they started driving, and Armey (Armiento) does what Armey does – he makes a great play and flips the field.
"I thought, 'Hey, let's take a shot to score a touchdown here!' We could have kicked a field goal, but we needed a touchdown. Quaz (Quazza) made a play, Jake made a play, and that really sent us into halftime with a lot of momentum. Again, it speaks to the quality of this team. This team has a lot of heart. I've said it along – when you have heart and have character, you can be a good football team."
(On the homestand) "We didn't win a home game last year, so to look at this four-game homestand and to win all four gives us a lot of momentum going into a real tough stretch of the season. We'll go on the road now for a little bit to test ourselves; our kids are fine with that. They took a lot of pride in defending the home field."
• Colgate safety Mike Armiento: (On his interception) "We knew they were going to throw the ball. We had to keep our technique and make a play when it counted, and that's what I'm trying to do out there is just do my assignment. They threw it my way and I was able to make a play on the ball, which was nice."
(On his return) "On the runback, I shouldn't have worked the blocks as much. I should have probably just run down the sideline. I doubted my speed a little bit. I could have gotten to the end zone if I had stayed on the sideline."
• Colgate tailback Demetrius Russell: (On the win) "A real close game – we were happy to get the game. Grinding out some big yards – that's Colgate football. Just like last week against Holy Cross."
• Colgate wide receiver Risley Lesko: (On his touchdown) "It was an audible called on the line by Jake. I knew I could beat the cornerback, so I put a little move and got him stacked and looked up and the ball was right there perfectly with the defender draped all over me."
• Colgate linebacker Vinny Russo: (On the win) "They got up on us a little early, but we made some plays at the end of the first half. Really, making plays when our backs are against the wall is what has helped us over the last couple of games. It's a mentality we've had all year. If they haven't scored yet, we still have a chance to change this game; we still have the chance to score ourselves.
"Getting turnovers, making big plays, getting them to turn the ball over is what we go by really.
(On his tackle total) "It was one of those games where they ran the ball a lot. I tried to get in on every play and never stopped running to the ball. Be around the ball at all times and something good will happen. Eventually we came out with the win."
 
Gate Grab Bag

• Saturday's crowd was 4,402.
• Colgate defensive coordinator Paul Shaffner and his 1979 Ithaca football team were inducted as a team of distinction Friday night into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame. Shaffner was a team captain and played center as the Bombers won the 1979 Division III national championship and were 1980 national runner-up.

Up Next
• Colgate returns to the road and closes out the Ivy League portion of its schedule with a 1 p.m. kickoff next Saturday at Yale. The Bulldogs are 3-1 after dropping their first game of the year, a 38-31 home decision Saturday to Dartmouth.

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