BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh rode a huge day from receiver and return specialist Gatlin Casey in a 45-31 win over Colgate here Saturday afternoon.

Colgate held the early upper hand but give Lehigh credit. Once the Mountain Hawks turned momentum around from a 17-7 Raider advantage, they never looked back.

Lehigh outscored the visitors 38-14 over the last 31 minutes to place themselves firmly in the driver's seat for this year's Patriot League championship picture. The Mountain Hawks host Fordham on Oct. 29 in another big test.

Colgate allowed an early Lehigh TD but answered in one play when Jake Melville raced 75 yards on a keeper for a 7-7 tie. Melville then hit Thomas Ives on a 59-yard TD pass for a 14-7 Colgate lead.

The Raiders then drove for a two-score lead but had to settle for a short field goal and a 17-7 cushion with 3:03 left in the first half. Lehigh took advantage and scored a touchdown right before halftime to pull within three points and begin their momentum swing.

Lehigh outscored Colgate 24-7 in the third quarter, highlighted by Casey's 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that put the brakes on Colgate's final real threat.

Both Melville (151) and Keyon Washington (101) rushed for more than 100 yards, with Washington scoring on a 14-yard TD run that pulled the Raiders within 31-24 late in the third quarter. Melville finished the game 9-of-23 passing for 248 yards and two scores.
 
Bottom Line
• Lehigh 45, Colgate 31

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the Patriot League.
• Lehigh improved to 4-2 and 1-0.

Quick Rundown
• The game was already 7-7 before two minutes had elapsed on the scoreboard clock.
• Colgate answered Lehigh's opening drive in one play as Melville raced 75 yards for the score.
• The Raiders went up 14-7 when Melville found Thomas Ives for 59 yards late in the opening quarter.
• A 29-yard Abu Daramy punt return set Colgate up in Lehigh territory midway in the second period. The Raiders then drove 37 yards in 12 plays, chewing up 6:54, but had to settle for a 22-yard Jonah Bowman field goal.
• Lehigh responded with a TD drive right before halftime that narrowed the Raider margin to 17-14 at intermission.
• The Mountain Hawks forced a Colgate fumble on the opening play of the second half and promptly drove in for a quick TD that put the hosts on top 21-17.
• The lead ballooned to 31-17 before Colgate put together a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by Washington's 14-yard run. There were still 37 seconds left in the third quarter and Colgate trailed by just seven points.
• But Casey returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards and Lehigh never was threatened in the final 15 minutes.

Facts & Figures
• Melville's 75-yard TD run was Colgate's longest rushing play since Jimmy DeCicco raced 77 yards for a 2013 score in a 41-20 win at Cornell.
• The Ives TD was his first career scoring play. The sophomore finished with two catches for 72 yards.
• This was the first game all season Colgate pushed two ball-carriers over the 100-yard rushing mark.
• For the second game in a row, Colgate outgained its opponent in a loss. This week, the Raiders finished with exactly 500 total yards to 493 for Lehigh.
• Colgate's 252 rushing yards were a season high.
• Chris Morgan tied for overall game honors and led the Raiders with nine tackles, including eight solo.
• Brett Field and Victor Steffen had sacks in the game, with Steffen pitching in two additional quarterback hurries. Pat Afriyie contributed a blocked field goal.
• Tyler Castillo picked off his second pass of the season.
• Lehigh's Casey finished with 11 catches for 196 yards and three touchdowns, along with five kickoff returns for a 39-yard average. He had 391 all-purpose yards.
• Casey's kickoff return TD was the first for Lehigh and the first against Colgate since Rich Sodeke turned the trick here two years ago from 85 yards out.
 
More Key Info
• Third place is the sweet spot for the Patriot League preseason poll.
• The Raiders were picked third a year ago and won their eighth conference title with a 6-0 record. Lehigh tied for the No. 3 pick this season alongside Holy Cross.
• Josh Cerra continued his good form. The sophomore punted six times for a 46.5-yard average that included a season long of 57 yards.
• For the season, Cerra is punting at a 42.8-yard clip.
• Colgate has received the kickoff to start the second half the last two weeks but been outscored a combined 45-14 against Cornell and Lehigh.
• Lehigh today rallied from 17-7 down to take a 45-24 lead, a 38-7 turnaround over basically 1½ quarters.
 
Turning Point
• Field goal or kickoff return – take your pick.
• Colgate led 14-7 and drove inside Lehigh's 10-yard line late in the first half. But instead of a touchdown, the Raiders had to settle for 22-yard field goal and 17-7 lead.
• Lehigh responded with a TD before halftime and trailed just 17-14 at the break.
• But after Colgate fought to within 31-24 late in the third quarter, perhaps with one more swing of momentum brewing, Lehigh's Casey put that fire out on one play.
• His 93-yard kickoff return kept the Mountain Hawks moving forward and capped a 24-7 third quarter.
• Colgate scored late on a Melville-to-Owen Rockett TD pass, but it wasn't enough.

From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "Hats off to Lehigh; they did a good job of capitalizing today. The kids fought hard. The kick return, obviously, was the turning point. We had gotten it to a one-score game and it should have been one score going to the fourth quarter. To give the kick return up at that point was really a blow to the kids."

Listen to the rest of Coach Hunt's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Goodman Stadium was 9,255.
• Entering today's game, the Colgate-Lehigh series stood 5-5 over the last 10 years and 10-10 over the last 20.
 
Up Next
• Colgate stays on the road and takes on Bucknell next Saturday.. 
• The Bison rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit Saturday at Holy Cross in a 21-20 victory.
• Bucknell improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the Patriot League.
• Kickoff from Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium is 1 p.m.