HAMILTON – Colgate claimed its first victory of the season with a 41-24 Homecoming win against Cornell on Saturday afternoon in Andy Kerr Stadium. The 17-point triumph serves as the largest margin of victory over the Big Red since 2018 and evens the historic Upstate N.Y. rivalry at 51-51-3. The Raiders rushing attack devoured Cornell's defense for a season-high 270 rushing yards and four scores on the ground, which are both the highest totals from a Colgate squad in over two years.
"That was a great overall team win," Fred '50 and Marilyn Dunlap Head Football Coach Stan Dakosty said. "I think all three phases had really solid impacts on the game, but it starts up front. I know we did a good job against Cornell from a run defense standpoint but our offensive line did an awesome job today. It was some physical Colgate Football."
Three Colgate ball carriers turned in 70+ yards on the ground including a pair of career days from junior Marco Maldonado and sophomore Chris Gee. Senior quarterback Michael Brescia also chipped in a 44-yard touchdown run as part of two rushing scores on the day for the veteran signal caller.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half featured two red hot offenses as both teams marched up and down the field scoring on the first six series of the game.
Receiving the ball first, Cornell took an early lead when a 45-yard completion quickly moved the Big Red offense into the red zone, allowing for a chip-shot field goal that broke open the scoring.
Colgate quickly answered with a 40-yard field goal from sophomore placekicker Luke Vogeler, but Cornell stormed back with a 10-yard touchdown pass to put the Big Red up seven late in the first frame.
Sophomore wide receiver Winston Moore and Maldonado kicked off Colgate's next drive with back-to-back chunk plays on the ground. The Raiders then turned to the air where sophomore quarterback Jake Stearney dropped a perfect pass into the hands of junior wide receiver Brady Hutchison, who fell in the back left corner of the endzone for Colgate's first touchdown.
The start of the second quarter saw another lengthy series from the Big Red, driving 73 yards in eight plays capped by another touchdown pass, this time from two yards out.
A combination of Stearney passes and designed runs from Brescia led to another Raider touchdown on the ensuing series when Brescia ripped off a 44-yard run down the right sideline, Colgate's longest touchdown of the young 2024 season.
The first punt of the game for either team came on Cornell's next possession as the Raiders defense forced a crucial three and out.
Back on the attack, Colgate pieced together another methodical drive and fought down to the one-yard line, where Brescia punched into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the game.
With their first lead of the afternoon, the Raider defense forced another three-and-out allowing the offense an opportunity to tack on more points with 1:46 remaining in the half.
Stearney marched his team down the field going six-for-eight for 78 yards, but the series sputtered in the red zone. After another field goal from Vogeler, his second-straight game with two made kicks, the Raiders headed into the locker-room with a 27-17 lead.
A slow third quarter was highlighted by a 10-yard touchdown run from Moore on a reverse and the Raider defense stifling the Big Red offense for only 39 total yards and two first downs.
With a three-possession lead in the fourth, Colgate continued to rely on the ground game adding 48 more rushing yards on 12 attempts. Gee accounted for nearly half of those yards with a 21-yard scamper that propelled the Raiders into the endzone, and Maldonado put the game on ice with his first career touchdown at the one-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
GAME NOTES
- Junior running back Marco Maldonado turned in new career highs with 10 carries, 73 yards and his first touchdown in maroon & white.
- Sophomore quarterback Jake Stearney made his first start of the season, ending the day 17-27 with a touchdown and a 132.4 quarterback rating.
- Junior wide receiver Brady Hutchison matched his career high with 83 receiving yards.
- Sophomore running back Chris Gee added a new personal-best and game-high 15 attempts on the ground.
- Fifth-year linebacker Christian Sweeney contributed his first double-digit tackle game of the season with 10 stops (seven solo).
- Sophomore defensive back Tymir Wynn logged a personal-best five tackles and two pass-break ups.
- Senior linebacker Brody Hock matched his career-high with eight stops.
- Senior quarterback Michael Brescia scored his 32nd career rushing touchdown and is now slotted third in most career touchdowns on the ground by a Colgate quarterback. He sits one score behind Ryan Vena '99 with 33 and three behind Gavin McCarney '13 with 35.
- Senior punter Shelby Pruett averaged above 40 yards per punt for the fourth game this season, increasing his average to 40.3, under a yard away from the program record of 40.9 set in 1983 by Mike Kovach.
UP NEXT
Colgate will look to keep the momentum rolling with a trip to Philadelphia next Saturday to take on Penn at 1 p.m. on Franklin Field.
