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ITHACA, N.Y. – Colgate withstood a furious Cornell fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Big Red in a 28-21 thriller Friday night.
 
The Raider win was Colgate's seventh straight over their Central New York rivals and 17th in the last 19 meetings dating to 1993.
 
Colgate (2-3) amassed a 419-176 yardage edge through three quarters and led 28-7. But Cornell (0-3) showed why it could have won both of its first two games against Bucknell and Yale by refusing to go quietly.
 
Big Red quarterback Robert Somborn threw for 231 yards in the final 15 minutes and nearly brought his team all the way back. Cornell trailed 28-21 and had first-and-goal at the Colgate 10 inside the final minute before the Raider defense stood tall to preserve the victory.
 
Colgate's Jake Melville had his best game of the season, completing 18-of-28 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns and also rushing for 97 yards and another score. Receiver John Maddaluna III had a career night with 10 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown.
 
The Raiders stay in the Ivy League and play at Princeton next Saturday in a 1 p.m. kickoff.
 

Bottom Line
• Colgate 28, Cornell 21

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improves to 2-3 with its second straight victory.
• Cornell drops to 0-3.

Two Games in One
• If tonight's game had ended in the third quarter, Colgate would have won 28-7 and held dominating statistical edges in total yards (419-176), first downs (23-6) and time of possession (28:25 to 16:35).
• But it didn't, and Cornell in the fourth quarter outgained Colgate 232-65 and registered 11 first downs to three for the Raiders.
• What Cornell couldn't do was punch it in one final time on four tries from the Colgate 10-yard line.
• Cornell quarterback Somborn, who was just 5-of-10 for 41 yards in the first three quarters but completed 13 of his first 17 attempts in the final period for 231 yards, misfired on those last four pass plays.
• Raiders cornerback Ty McCollum got his hand on the second-down throw across the middle, and Colgate's defense played tight when it counted.
 
Nearly Four Over 100
• Colgate's Maddaluna and Alex Greenawalt both topped the 100-yard receiving mark and both were on the receiving end of Melville TD passes.
• Maddaluna's 10 catches for 138 yards were career highs, as were Greenawalt's six catches. Greenawalt missed by one of matching his career-high of 103 yards.
• Maddaluna's 100-yard game was the first of his career.

• Tailback John Wilkins led the Raiders with 106 rushing yards, and Melville just missed joining him at the century mark with 97. Both Wilkins and Melville posted rushing TDs.
• Wilkins' 47-yard scamper midway in the fourth quarter was Colgate's longest rushing play of the season.
• Wilkins is now only 35 rushing yards shy of 1,000 for his career. Melville is 119 away from the 1,000-yard rushing mark.
• Last week's rushing leader at Holy Cross, James Holland, did not play Friday night because of an injury.
• Melville connected on his first eight pass attempts and finished 18-of-28 for a season-high 257 yards and the two touchdowns. He accounted for 354 yards of total offense.
• Nikko Armiento punted four times for a season-high 44.8-yard average, including a season-long of 52. It was Armiento's best game average since his career mark of 45.8 against Lehigh in 2013.
 
Defensive Highlights
• First-year defensive back Tyler Castillo led the Raiders with seven tackles and also picked off his first career interception midway in the fourth quarter.
• Junior lineman Brett Field posted five tackles, including the first two solo sacks of his career. Both sacks came in the first quarter and accounted for 19 lost yards for the Big Red.
• Keyon Washington also had five tackles and Josh Ford four.
 
Turning Point

• For the second week in a row, Colgate put together a late first-half touchdown drive that proved decisive.
• The Raiders went 75 yards in 13 plays and scored on Melville's scramble and 17-yard TD toss to Maddaluna.
• That gave the Raiders a 21-7 that they built to 28-7 and which proved to be just enough.
• Colgate won for the seventh straight time over Cornell and for the 17th in the last 19 meetings.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "Sometimes when a game ends with a defensive play, you feel like you stole a game – and I don't want the kids to feel that way. The defense made a play. That's their job, and had it been at the start or at the end of the drive, they made the play they needed to make."
 
Listen to the rest of Hunt's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate quarterback Jake Melville: (On the last drive) "Very stressful, but we know they've got our backs. We've got to trust them that when they are on the field, they are going to close the game for us, and they did. So hats off to them."
 
Listen to the rest of Melville's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate defensive lineman Brett Field: (On the last drive) "It was a tough last series. We probably should have stopped them in the beginning, but we held and got the W and that's all that matters."
 

Listen to the rest of Field's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate tailback John Wilkins: (On the offense) "The offense really looked good. I want to thank the receivers, first and foremost, and the offensive line – they made some great plays. And Jake as well, he came out and opened up the run game. We missed Holland out there but we'll get him back soon."
 
Listen to the rest of Wilkins' comments HERE.
 
• Colgate defensive back Tyler Castillo: (On his interception) "I pretty much ran the route for him. Coach Dakosty says if you see the man, you'll play the ball and that's exactly what I did. I was just following the coach's rules."
 
Listen to the rest of Castillo's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate wide receiver John Maddaluna III: (On the passing game) "We prepared all week for them to come out in man. Melville was throwing the ball nicely and the line was protecting well. We all executed well."
 
Listen to the rest of Maddaluna's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance on a cool night at Schoellkopf Field was 9,103.
• Colgate tallied in the third quarter for the first time all season when Melville scored on a 2-yard run that made the score 28-7.
 
Up Next
• Colgate plays next Saturday at Princeton.
• The Tigers (3-0) got past Columbia 10-5 Friday night after earlier convincing wins at Lafayette and against Lehigh.
• Colgate defeated Princeton 31-30 a year ago in Hamilton.
• Kickoff from Princeton Stadium is 1 p.m.