ITHACA, N.Y. – This one was for Frank.
                   
Colgate ended a challenging stretch of games and picked up some needed momentum ahead of next week's Patriot League opener with a 21-7 win over Cornell here Saturday.
 
The victory also closed a rough week on a better note for Raiders head coach Dan Hunt. Hunt's father, Frank, died last Saturday night in St. Johnsville, New York, not far from the family home in Canajoharie. He was 80.
 
In the locker room after the game, the players presented an emotional Hunt with the game ball.
 
Colgate's defense welcomed Pat Afriyie back to the fold and threw a sack party in his honor. A record-breaking sack party, no less.
 
Nine times the Raiders took down Cornell quarterback Dalton Banks in the Big Red backfield, including career game highs from Nick Wheeler (three) and Connor Buck (two).
 
They even let Afriyie in on the fun with his 25th career sack early in the second quarter. It was the preseason All-American's first game action since being injured in the opener at Cal Poly.
 
Thomas Ives also was back on the field after a two-game injury absence. He led a balanced receiving corps with four catches for 35 yards and his first touchdown of the season.
 
Bottom Line
• Colgate 21, Cornell 7

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate improved to 2-3.
• Cornell is now 0-3.

Quick Rundown
• After a scoreless first quarter, Colgate scored on consecutive drives in the second.
• Quarterback Grant Breneman hit Ives for a 7-yard toss with 10:42 showing, and then Breneman scrambled 8 yards for the second score with 4:43 before half.
• The Raiders led 14-0 at intermission.
• Cornell got on the board late in the third quarter when Banks capped a 55-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge.
• But on the ensuing kickoff, not only did Cornell boot the ball out of bounds but the Big Red also were penalized 15 yards for sideline interference.
• Colgate took over at the 50 and put together its highest number of plays in a scoring drive this season, 15.
• After Ives made a twisting catch on third-and-8 from the 11 to extend the drive, Breneman on third-and-goal found Malik Twyman for the TD.
• Colgate's defense followed up with three more interceptions and two more sacks to ice the game.

Notable
• Colgate's three scoring drives covered 10, 12 and 15 plays.
• The clincher was a thing of beauty: 50 yards in 15 plays, eating up 6:46.
• Dillon DeIuliis made his first game appearance since suffering a preseason injury. The junior linebacker had five tackles and two pass breakups.
• Saturday was the 99th meeting between Colgate and Cornell. The Raiders trail 49-47-3 in the series but have won 16 of the last 19 and eight of nine.
• Next year's 100th meeting takes place Oct. 13.

Stats of the Game
• Think Afriyie is important to this defense? Try a program record nine sacks in his first game back.
• A search through the Colgate records book couldn't find any such performance matching that total.
• The Raiders had seven last year against Lafayette on their way to 34 in just 10 games.
• They chased down Fordham for eight sacks in a 31-29 win during the championship season of 2015. That year's team finished with 36 in 14 games.
• This year's squad had just three sacks through the first four games, but that number got a whole lot healthier Saturday.
• Alec Wisniewski picked off his third pass of the season, sandwiching it between Colgate's two second-quarter touchdowns.
• Abu Daramy-Swaray, Ben Hunt IV and Jordan Jefferson then contributed their first career interceptions to halt three consecutive Cornell drives in the fourth quarter.
• Jefferson's 31-yard interception return was the longest by a Raider since Tyler Castillo had a 31-yarder last year at Bucknell.
• Jefferson also had two pass breakups for the first time in his career.
• Twyman posted season highs with 13 carries for 48 yards. Alex Mathews added 20 for 78.
• Twyman accounted for 35 of the 50 yards on Colgate's clinching scoring drive, including the 7-yard TD reception.

From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "We did overcome a lot of our own mistakes. We overcame, got out of some bad positions and made some key first downs. That last drive was really a nice one. We got good field position after the kickoff and were able to take advantage of it.
 
"Thomas Ives made one of the best catches I've seen in a long time. And then on the touchdown, for the freshman quarterback to scramble and find the freshman running back, that's impressive. Work to be done, yes. But any time you can come out with a win, you have to be happy."
 
Listen to the rest of Coach Hunt's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate defensive back Abu Daramy-Swaray: (On his interception) "I did everything that we practiced all week. Coach put me in position to make a play. And when that ball came to me, I just had to be an athlete and get down low. The offense had just scored a touchdown and we got the ball right back, first play. It was a great feeling."
 
Listen to the rest of Daramy-Swaray's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate quarterback Grant Breneman: (On the offense gaining confidence) "Obviously, it wasn't a perfect game. But we got some stuff clicking and got some continuity. It was a good win. We struck a good balance.
 
"When your defense is playing like that, you can just relax and play the game. It makes it a lot easier."
 
Listen to the rest of Breneman's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate defensive end Nick Wheeler: (On the big sack day) "We just came in with the mentality that we needed to get after the quarterback. That's been a big theme for the D-line each and every week. Today, that's what we did.
 
"Coming into the week, whether Pat was going to play or not, I just had the mindset that I needed to do my job."
 
Listen to the rest of Wheeler's comments HERE.
 
• Colgate offensive lineman Ryan Paulish: (On the clinching drive) "We pride ourselves on execution, both mentally and physically. During my four years here, we always stress that we need a 'Colgate Drive.' What that means is we take up as much time as we want and we're going to keep running the ball. It doesn't matter what the defense is doing. That was a typical Colgate drive for us."
 
Listen to the rest of Paulish's comments HERE.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance on a cool afternoon at Schoellkopf Field was 3,325.
 
Up Next
• Colgate begins Patriot League play next weekend against Lehigh.
• The Mountain Hawks were 0-4 heading into last night's game at Wagner.
• Colgate and Lehigh have split the last 10 meetings, including a 45-31 Mountain Hawks win last year in Bethlehem.
• Kickoff is 1 p.m., with the PLN and WKXZ-FM carrying the action.