EASTON, Pa. – First-year quarterback
Jake Stearney threw three touchdowns after halftime including a 13-yard strike to
Brady Hutchison in overtime and Colgate overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to stun No. 16 Lafayette 37-34 on a wild Saturday at Fisher Stadium.
Colgate's goal line stand kept the Leopards out of the endzone on the first overtime possession. Leopards' kicker Jack Simonetta's 22-yard field goal gave the home team a 34-31 lead, but it only took three plays for the Raiders to walk it off.
Chris Gee carries of nine and three yards set the stage for Stearney, who hit Hutchison on a 13-yard crosser in the endzone for Colgate's first win over a top 25 opponent since the memorable 23-20 win over No. 6 James Madison in the 2018 FCS Quarterfinals.
"This was a special win," said head coach Stan Dakosty. "I'm just so happy for our guys. Last week we said let's not let one half of football define our season. That was a lot to overcome but our guys are tough. The environment was great here today. So many Colgate people were here today and it was felt. The energy was felt. The pride in the program was felt today."
Stearney played the whole second half after starting QB Michael Brescia was injured late in the first half. Stearney finished 13-of-21 for 146 yards with three touchdowns to three different receivers. Colgate handed Lafayette its first Patriot League loss, snapped its six-game win streak, and became the only team other than Duke to knock off the Leopards this season.
"Jake came in at quarterback and did a great job," Dakosty said of his first-year QB. "The moment is not too big for him and he showcased that with his performance today."
Lafayette scored on its first three possessions to build a 17-0 lead at halftime. Colgate forced two turnovers deep in enemy territory but came up short on field goal attempts of 39 and 47 yards – the latter of which was blocked in the final minutes of the second stanza.
Christian Sweeney forced and recovered a fumble on Lafayette's second play of the second half. The Raiders cashed in this time, and then never stopped cashing in. Stearney connected with Winston Moore for a 28-yard TD strike on 4th-and-6 to open the floodgates.
Brendan Cassamajor waltzed in from one yard out on Colgate's next possession to cap a seven-play, 58-yard drive that included a 43-yard flea flicker from Stearney to Treyvhon Saunders.
Colgate was suddenly firing on all cylinders and 21 unanswered points later held a 21-17 lead after Stearney found Saunders for a 20-yard touchdown with 6:05 left in the third. That connection capped a two-play drive after just a 16-yard Lafayette punt.
"We came out after halftime and there was no screaming or shouting," Dakosty said. "No panicking. The guys knew we had to inch our way back into the game. Our defense came out and played well in the second half, which was huge. We got our guys rolling. Once we got going our offense never let up. Confidence started growing and guys started making plays."
Lafayette's offense regained its rhythm on the final drive of the third quarter. A four-yard run from Troy Bruce gave the home team a 24-21 lead after three quarters.
The relentless Raiders kept coming. Stearney guided four consecutive touchdown drives after halftime and Gee's three-yard TD rush put the Raiders back in front 28-24. Jaworski nailed a 31-yard field goal to stretch the margin to 31-24 with 5:50 showing.
Lafayette completed a 13-play, 79-yard drive with a 5-yard TD pass from Dean Denobile to Elijah Stewart with 24 seconds left to send the game to overtime, 31-31.
Colgate won the overtime coin toss and held Lafayette out of the endzone on the first possession, setting up the walk-off heroics. Hutchison was mobbed by his teammates and the Colgate sideline turned into a frenzy after its second overtime win of the season.
"I've been doing this for however many years and that was my third or fourth overtime game," Dakosty continued. "We've been fortunate to come out on the winning end of two of those this year. Our defense held them to a field goal after they had 1st-and-goal from the 5 in overtime. That's huge. Our offense executed and walk-off wins are always fun."
UP NEXT
Colgate (4-5, 2-2 PL) stays home for the final two games of the season, starting next Saturday when the Raiders host Lehigh for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Andy Kerr Stadium.
