Sept. 20, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Holy Cross and Colgate battled for the Patriot League football title on the final day of the 2008 season and were picked in the top two spots in this year's preseason poll, and both programs continue to show why they are so highly regarded after posting victories on Saturday to move to 3-0 for the season.

No. 23 Holy Cross scored 20 straight points to build a two-touchdown lead and went on to a 27-13 victory over No. 25 Harvard, while Colgate got a 212-yard rushing performance from Jordan McCord in a 34-15 victory at Dartmouth. The Crusaders are 3-0 for the first time since 2000, while the Raiders are at the mark for the first time since winning their first 15 games in 2003.

The other four Patriot League teams all lost a non-League contest, including three to opponents from the Ivy League. Bucknell fell at Cornell, 33-9, Georgetown lost at home to Yale, 31-10, and Fordham dropped a 40-28 decision at home to Columbia as the Patriot League went 2-3 in the first Saturday of action against the Ancient Eight. Lafayette played No. 24 Liberty down to the wire, but the Leopards could not overcome an early deficit in a 19-13 loss at home. Lehigh was off on Saturday.

Read the capsules below for a synopsis of all of Saturday's games, including recaps and box scores from each of the Patriot League schools. For more coverage, go to the Patriot League Gameday Blog

at No. 23 Holy Cross 27, No. 25 Harvard 20
Box Score

Worcester, Mass. - No. 23 Holy Cross (3-0) overcame an early deficit by scoring three consecutive touchdowns, and got a huge defensive play late in the game to hold on for a 27-20 victory over No. 25 Harvard (0-1) at Fitton Field on Saturday.

After falling behind 6-0 in the early minutes, the Crusaders came back to take a 20-6 advantage early in the third quarter. Dominic Randolph threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cole and scored on a one-yard touchdown run for a 14-6 lead at halftime, and Matt Bellomo notched a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 20-6 early in the third quarter. Randolph hit Gerald Mistretta with a 45-yard touchdown pass to answer a Harvard score and make it 27-13 Crusaders with 11:03 to go. Harvard cut the gap to 27-20 with 5:30 left, and had the ball with a chance to tie in the final minutes. But Holy Cross came up with a big play on defense, with Nicholas MacDonald forcing a fumble and Alex Carson recovering with 2:21 to go to help seal the victory.

Randolph had a strong day through the air and on the ground for the second week in a row, completing 25-of-39 passes for 293 yards with two touchdowns and rushing for a team-high 41 yards with a touchdown. He also went without an interception for the second straight week. Anthony DiMichele led the defense with 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops. The Crusaders held a 372-327 edge in total offense, and won despite committing 10 penalties for 120 yards.

Holy Cross beat a ranked opponent for the first time since knocking off No. 10 Lehigh, 13-10, in 2005. The Crusaders have won seven straight games at Fitton Field.

Colgate 34 at Dartmouth 15
Box Score

Hanover, N.H. - Colgate (3-0) used another outstanding performance from a running back to pull away from Dartmouth (0-1) in the second half, as Jordan McCord carried 44 times for 212 yards and the final two touchdowns of the game to lead the Raiders past Dartmouth, 34-15, on Saturday at Memorial Field.

Colgate quarterback Greg Sullivan accounted for two touchdowns in the first half, throwing a 12-yard strike to Pat Simonds in the first quarter and putting the Raiders up 13-7 on a 15-yard run in the second quarter. However, Dartmouth blocked the ensuing extra point and took it back for a two-point conversion on Sullivan's second touchdown, and cut the Colgate lead to 13-12 at halftime. The Big Green took a 15-13 lead early in the third quarter, but Sullivan gave the Raiders the advantage right back on a one-yard touchdown run with 9:17 left in the third. McCord had a seven-yard touchdown run with 3:50 left in the third quarter, and capped the scoring with a 12-yard touchdown run with less than five minutes to go in the game.

McCord had career highs in carries, yards and touchdowns in his second career start, and finished just two carries off the Patriot League single-game record. Sullivan was 12-for-19 passing for 172 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for 51 yards and a score. Simonds scored a touchdown for the sixth consecutive game dating back to last year. Colgate had a sizable 464-173 advantage in total offense, and a dominating 292-26 edge on the ground. Greg Hadley had nine tackles and two tackles for loss to lead the defense.

Colgate has now won 11 straight regular-season contests, with its last regular-season loss coming on Sept. 13, 2008 against Furman.

at Cornell 33, Bucknell 9
Box Score

Ithaca, N.Y. - Bucknell (1-2) gave up two second-quarter touchdowns to fall behind 23-7 at halftime and could not recover in a 33-9 loss to Cornell (1-0) at Schoellkopf Field on Saturday.

The Big Red beat the Bison for the third year in a row, as Bucknell was limited to 238 yards of total offense. Bucknell was within 9-7 at the end of the first quarter after a five-yard touchdown pass from Marcello Trigg to Justin Pulgrano, but Cornell scored on a pair of big plays in the second quarter to make it 23-7 at halftime. The Big Red boosted their lead to 33-7 before the Bison added a safety in the fourth quarter.

A.J. Kizekai had 127 all-purpose yards for the Bison, while Brigham Farrand led the defense with nine tackles and two tackles for loss. Bucknell suffered its worst loss since a 28-point defeat against Lehigh in 2007, and failed to score double-digit points for the first time since facing Lafayette in 2007.

Yale 31 at Georgetown 10
Box Score

Washington, D.C. - Georgetown (0-3) held an advantage in total offense and was within seven points in the fourth quarter, but Yale (1-0) scored two touchdowns in the final period to pull away for a 31-10 win over the Hoyas at Multi-Sport Field on Saturday.

The Hoyas fell behind 10-0 early, but cut it to 10-3 on a Jose-Pablo Buerba field goal in the second quarter. After Yale went up, 17-3, the Hoyas cut it 17-10 with just a minute to go before halftime on a 38-yard fumble return touchdown by Paul Sant'Ambrogio. It stayed that way until the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs scored the final two touchdowns to pull away for the 31-10 win.

Georgetown freshman quarterback Isaiah Kempf completed 32-of-59 passes for 332 yards and two interceptions in his first collegiate start, and led the Hoyas to a season-high 355 yards of total offense. Robert Lane caught 13 passes for 149 yards, tying for the seventh-highest single-game mark for receptions by a Patriot League player and finishing just two off the League record. It matched the highest number of catches for a Patriot Leaguer since 2003. Nick Parrish had 17 tackles and a sack, while Sant'Ambrogio had 11 tackles.

No. 24 Liberty 19 at Lafayette 13
Box Score

Easton, Pa. - Lafayette (1-1) fell behind No. 24 Liberty (2-1), 16-0, at halftime and could not fight all the way back in a 19-13 loss to the Flames on Saturday at Fisher Stadium.

Liberty scored a touchdown on its opening possession, then tallied a touchdown and field goal in the final 2:01 of the first half to claim a 16-0 lead at the break. Lafayette cut the gap to 16-7 on its opening drive of the second half on a four-yard touchdown run by Maurice White, and made it a one score game when Rob Curley found Mark Layton for a 31-yard touchdown to make it 19-13 with 3:07 left. The Leopards were not able to recover the ensuing onside kick, and could not stop Liberty from converting a pair of first downs to run out the clock and hold on for the win.

Curley completed 14-of-20 passes for 216 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Layton hauled in five receptions for 83 yards and the score. Mark Leggiero and Michael Schmidlein each had big games for the defense, notching 15 and 14 tackles, respectively. Lafayette has dropped four consecutive home games.

Columbia 40 at Fordham 28
Box Score

Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham (0-2) senior quarterback John Skelton threw for 383 yards and four touchdowns, but the Rams could not outscore Columbia (1-0) in a 40-28 loss to the Lions on Saturday at Jack Coffey Field.

The game was a shootout from the start, with the Lions scoring four first-half touchdowns to counter three Skelton touchdown passes and make it a 27-21 Columbia lead at the break. Columbia extended its lead to 34-21 early in the third quarter, but the Rams stayed close on Skelton's 20-yard touchdown pass to Jason Caldwell late in the period. However, Columbia put the game away when Jared Morine intercepted Skelton and took it back 36 yards for a touchdown with just 4:33 left to provide the 40-28 final. Columbia won the Liberty Cup trophy that is presented to the winner of the matchup.

Skelton was 25-of-47 for 383 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions, and set the Fordham school record with 48 career touchdown passes in the process. Asa Lucas, Stephen Skelton, David Moore and Caldwell all caught touchdown passes, with Lucas leading the way with 127 receiving yards. Isiejah Allen paced the defense with 11 tackles and two tackles for loss. Fordham is off to an 0-2 start for the first time since 2005.