WASHINGTON – Keep washing those all whites! They look mighty fine in the win column.
Colgate improved to 2-0 in its most basic ensemble – white helmets, white jerseys and white pants – with a 24-14 victory over Georgetown here Saturday.
The Raiders (2-8, 1-3 Patriot) improved to 16-1 all-time against the Hoyas, but this wasn't the Georgetown of years gone by. The Hoyas entered 5-3 overall and finished second in the Patriot League last season at 4-2.
Colgate used the punt-return prowess of
Abu Daramy-Swaray and a defense that caused two second-half turnovers to pull away on a sun-drenched afternoon in the Nation's Capital.
After a scoreless first quarter, Georgetown (5-4, 1-3) got on the board when quarterback Gunther Johnson scored on a 28-yard run. But the Raiders answered quickly.
Facing fourth-and-1 at the Hoyas 27,
Nick Diaco took the direct snap from center, broke an initial tackle and found nothing but daylight to the end zone for his first career rushing TD.
It was 7-7 at halftime.
Back-to-back Georgetown fumbles finally cost the Hoyas in the third quarter when Colgate advanced deep into enemy ground. The Raiders settled for a 25-yard
Chris Puzzi field goal and a 10-7 lead.
That's when Daramy-Swaray turned on his punt return skills, carrying the first one back 36 yards to set the Raiders up in Georgetown territory.
Grant Breneman on the next play raced 38 yards for his longest career carry.
He missed a touchdown by inches, but
Alex Mathews handled that distance with ease and suddenly the Raiders were in front 17-7.
After an exchange of punts to begin the fourth quarter, Daramy-Swaray got loose again – this time for 41 yards. A penalty set Colgate up with first down at the Hoyas 14.
One play later, Daramy-Swaray was out there on offense and his number was called. The senior skipped 11 yards untouched into the end zone to put the game out of reach.
Bottom Line
• Colgate 24, Georgetown 14
From the Sources
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Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "It's no secret we've been struggling offensively most of the year. And when you get situations that put you in a short field, you get a couple of first downs and you are in scoring range. To be able to do that and get points on the board, that fed into the offense. They got confident, we were able to find different ways to run the ball with different people, the defense coming up with turnovers and then special teams flipping the field – it's a good scrip to win a game."
Listen to the rest of Coach Hunt's comments
HERE.
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Colgate quarterback Grant Breneman: (On his running game) "I'm definitely getting more comfortable carrying the ball. The offensive line did a great job really controlling the line of scrimmage in that game, and that was the key. When the O-line can get going downhill, we can be a really good football team. I'm proud of those guys up front. They had some really good pass-rushers, so changing the game plan in the middle of the game really helped us and got the offense going."
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Colgate defensive back Abu Daramy-Swaray: (On his returns) "Coach Ison made a great call. We had been practicing it all week and the punter punted the ball exactly where I wanted him to, and then my guys set me up for every single block. They made me look good.
(On his TD run) "I sat my helmet down at the defensive side of our sideline and went to watch the offense. Then I hear Coach Hunt yelling, 'Abu! Abu!' So I sprint to get my helmet, put it on and run into the game. Grant gave me the ball and then
Jovaun Woolford,
Jack Badovinac and
Sam Diehl all made really good blocks, and all I had to do was cut back on them. Again, they made me look good.
"This was our brand of football. We did make a few mistakes and we want to get better from here on out, but today was definitely a big step forward."
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Colgate tight end Nick Diaco: (On his TD run) "When I cut it toward the outside and
Malik Twyman had a great leading block, once the safety missed me I knew there was nobody left so I just ran right for the end zone. I love running the ball. I played QB in high school and that's all I used to do, run the ball in the Wing-T. I feel comfortable being back there.
"We started a little slow but we got the running game going and then played our football. Hopefully we can build on that for the next two games."
Stats of the Game
• After Georgetown took a 7-0 lead, Colgate went to a hurry-up offense and marched quickly for the tying score by Diaco.
• Georgetown opened with four sacks in the first quarter, but the Colgate offensive line allowed just one more the rest of the way.
• Colgate's 219 rushing yards were the most in 12 games, dating to a 288-yard outing in Colgate's 48-6 victory last year at Lehigh.
• Daramy-Swaray's longest punt return before Saturday was 14 yards at Dartmouth.
• On this afternoon, the senior started with a return for minus-1 yard before turning in 36- and 41-yarders to set up second-half TDs. Daramy-Swaray had another 17-yard punt return nullified by penalty.
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Coleman Coco was the Colgate tackle leader with 10. .
• The Raiders broke up five passes, led by
Jared Petrichick with a pair.
• Nick Ioanilli forced a fumble that
Aidan Gaertner recovered. Gaertner then forced a fumble that was covered by Coco.
• Colgate's 79 penalty yards were a season-high.
Gate Grab Bag
• Attendance at Cooper Field was 1,914.
Up Next
• Colgate hosts Fordham for Senior Day next Saturday in Hamilton.
• The Rams lost 38-34 in a shootout at Lafayette, falling to 3-6 overall and 1-2 in the Patriot League.
• Kickoff from Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium is 1 p.m., with PLN carrying the livestream. Catch the home play-by-play call from 94 WKXZ-FM.
