HAMILTON – Another fourth quarter comeback. Another rally in crunch time. Another Colgate Football victory.
Luke Vogeler's 34-yard field goal in overtime gave the Raiders a thrilling 23-20 victory over Merrimack on a cold and wet Saturday afternoon at Andy Kerr Stadium.
On Merrimack's second offensive play of overtime, Joe Kelly deflected Ayden Pereira's pass into the waiting arms of Adam DeSantis who grabbed Colgate's second interception and third forced turnover in the red zone after halftime.
Everybody knows what comes next. Colgate ran three plays, and on 4th-and-1 from the 16-yard line, Vogeler drilled his third successful field goal to cap off Colgate's fourth consecutive one-possession game and second straight win.
Vogeler was 3-for-3 on the afternoon, connecting from 43, 36, and 34. Jake Stearney was 14-of-28 for 246 yards with a touchdown. Reed Swanson had five receptions for 134 yards – his third 100-yard receiving game of the season – to highlight Colgate's offensive production.
Defense was the story of this one. Colgate created four turnovers: Christian Magliacano and DeSantis had interceptions, while Philip Tabasso and Tymir Wynn forced fumbles. Magliacano and Reece Allan led the team with 10 tackles apiece, including a combined four TFLs.
Merrimack started the fourth quarter at Colgate's four-yard line leading 17-13. Tabasso bull-rushed through the line on 2nd-and-goal, knocking the ball loose in the backfield. Dawson Rodd pounced on it and the Raiders got their momentum swing once again from their fourth-quarter defense.
Colgate went 94 yards in nine plays to take the lead. Swanson had the big play – a 47-yard bullet from Stearney striped down the middle of the field. Danny Shaban capped off the drive with a two-yard rumble to give the Raiders a 20-17 lead with 9:39 remaining.
The defense's bend-but-don't-break mentality worked again late in the frame. Merrimack strung together a solid drive of six plays covering 3:42 of game time before Magliacano picked off Pereira at Colgate's nine yard line with 5:57 left.
Colgate chewed up 5:16 of game time on a nine-play drive that stalled on 4th-and-1 near midfield. A false start forced the Raiders to punt, and Tyler Fontenot stuck Merrimack back at its own 10-yard line with no timeouts and only 41 seconds left.
Merrimack didn't need more than that, going 60 yards in eight plays before Carlton Thai connected on a 47-yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime, 20-20.
The game was also tied 10-10 at the half. Matt Fogler made a couple men miss on his way to a 16-yard touchdown for his first career score in the maroon and white. Vogeler nailed his first of three field goal attempts from 43 yards en route to a stalemate at halftime.
Merrimack ran 19 plays for 121 yards to Colgate's 9-for-51 in a third quarter that saw the Warriors take a 17-13 lead. The visitors were driving to start the fourth, but that's when Colgate's defense once again turned up the heat and flipped the script for another thrilling finish in Hamilton.
NOTES
- This was Colgate's first overtime game since Nov. 4, 2023, when the Raiders came back to beat then-ranked No. 16 Lafayette 37-34 in the extra session.
- The Raiders played two overtime games in 2023, also beating Dartmouth 27-24 on a blocked field goal in the extra period. Colgate has won each of its last three OT games.
- Colgate's four forced turnovers matched their season-high (4 at Cornell, 10/4/25).
- Christian Magliacano's big day featured a career-high 10 tackles, three TFLs, and his second interception of the season.
- Matt Fogler's 16-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the first time the first-year has found the end zone in his Colgate career.
- Reece Allan's 10 tackles were a career-high, besting his previous high of five.
UP NEXT
Colgate (4-5, 2-2 Patriot) takes on Lafayette (6-3, 4-0 Patriot) for a big Patriot League clash next Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Easton, Pa.
