RICHMOND, Va. – No. 7 Richmond made just enough plays here Saturday to claim a top-25 worthy decision over No. 22 Colgate, 38-31.
 
The Raiders trailed 10-0 at the outset and 38-17 early in the fourth quarter. They rallied the first time and nearly rallied again before running out of clock.
 
Junior Pat Afriyie was Colgate's defensive star. The Connecticut native tied for game honors with nine tackles, including seven solo. Three of those stops were behind the line of scrimmage and two were sacks, giving him four for the year and 18 for his career.
 
That's already good for fifth on the Colgate career list.
 
Three different Raiders scored rushing touchdowns, with James Holland, Jake Melville and Keyon Washington finding the end zone. Ben Hunt scored Colgate's other TD on an 11-yard blocked punt return. Brett Field made the block that flipped the Raiders in front 14-10 late in the first quarter.
 
Then after Richmond reeled off 28 straight points to take a 38-17 lead, Colgate put together one last flurry. The Raiders scored twice to narrow the margin to seven, but they couldn't regain possession for a possible third scoring drive until less than a minute remained.
 
Richmond's third interception of the contest sealed the win for the Spiders.
 
Bottom Line
• No. 7 Richmond 38, No. 22 Colgate 31

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 1-2.
• Richmond improved to 3-1.

Quick Rundown
• This was a game of extreme momentum swings.
• Colgate started slowly for the second week in a row, highlighted by an early interception. Richmond took advantage and sprinted to a 10-0 lead.
• Colgate then scored 17 straight points, highlighted by Hunt's 11-yard blocked punt return.
• Richmond rallied to tie it 17-17 at halftime and then scored 21 more to open the second half.
• Colgate tallied the final two touchdowns but ran out of time.
 
Facts & Figures
• Afriyie is just 10½ sacks away from tying a Colgate record that has stood since 1981.
• The junior has four this season (two in each of the last two games) and now 16 for his career. Kelly Robinson (1979-81) holds the all-time Raider mark with 28½.
• In addition to his nine tackles, Afriyie added two pass breakups and three quarterback hurries.
• Victor Steffen's second-quarter interception was the first of his career.
• First-year Abu Daramy returned seven kickoffs for a 25.4-yard average, highlighted by his 84-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that sparked Colgate's final comeback attempt.
• Daramy was pushed out of bounds at the Richmond 6, and Melville scored two plays later.
• Daramy's return was Colgate's longest since Chris Morgan took one 93 yards to the house two years ago at Yale.
• Christian Hardegree forced a fourth-quarter fumble that was recovered by Cortney Mimms and returned 21 yards to the Richmond 31.
• Six plays later, Washington scored from the 4 for his first career TD.
• Hunt's blocked punt return TD was the first score of his career as well. It also was Colgate's first such play since Steffen blocked a punt and Afriyie ran it in two years ago against Georgetown.
 
More Key Info
• Colgate outgained the Spiders on the ground, 194-158, but the Raiders were swamped through the air. Richmond posted a 307-57 passing advantage.
• Josh Cerra continues to shine in his first season as the Colgate punter.
• Talk about consistency – his punts Saturday covered 48, 48, 49 and 48 yards. That's a 48.2-yard average.
• Cerra for the season is at 41.6, with seven punts downed inside the 20-yard line against zero touchbacks.
• Jonah Bowman is the early team scoring leader at 21 points. He's 12-of-12 on PATs and 3-of-3 on field goals.
• Kyle Diener tied for tackle honors with nine. Joe Figueroa and Alex Campbell added seven apiece.
• Richmond was led by quarterback Kyle Lauletta's 307 yards passing and four touchdowns.
• Xavier Goodall rushed for 127 yards and a TD, and Brian Brown caught seven passes for 148 yards and two scores.

Turning Point
• Colgate led 14-10 early in the second quarter on the strength of back-to-back touchdowns.
• The Raiders then marched downfield again, covering 75 yards in 13 plays, but had to settle for a 28-yard Bowman field goal.
• Colgate's defense turned Richmond over at midfield, with Afriyie's pass deflection ending up in the arms of Steffen.
• Colgate couldn't move the ball but pinned the Spiders deep at their own 4 on a punt.
• That's when Richmond turned the game around with a 96-yard TD drive that tied the game 17-17 at halftime.
 • The Raiders never led again.

From the Source
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "It really was back and forth, from the start of the game when we got down 10 (to come back) to take the lead. Obviously, the third quarter was our downfall. We just dug ourselves a big hole.
 
"I was proud of the fact that we didn't give up and kept fighting into the fourth quarter. Really, we give ourselves a chance at the end to have the ball with a chance to tie it. The momentum certainly swung quite a few times tonight."

Listen to the rest of Coach Hunt's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Robins Stadium was 8,700.
• Temperature at game time was 84.
• These two teams open the 2017 Colgate season Sept. 9, 2017, in Hamilton.
 
Up Next
• It's Homecoming and Colgate hosts undefeated Cornell (2-0) in the annual Central New York rivalry game. 
• The Big Red knocked off Yale 27-13 Saturday in Ithaca.
• Kickoff from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium is 1 p.m.
• Time Warner Cable Sports is providing the telecast, with livestream through the Patriot League Network.