Oct. 13, 2012

CENTER VALLEY, Pa.- No. 10 Lehigh and Colgate joined Lafayette at the top of the Patriot League football standings with wins on Saturday, while the Leopards knocked off Yale to give the Patriot League a split of the season series with the Ivy League.

The Mountain Hawks won 17-14 at Georgetown, overcoming seven turnovers and rallying for the win with 10 second-half points. It went down to the wire, with the Hoyas missing a field goal that would have tied the score in the final seconds. Lehigh extends its FCS-best regular-season winning streak to 16 games, and also boosts its streak against Patriot League opponents to 16. The Mountain Hawks open 1-0 in the Patriot League for the fifth straight year.

Colgate had a dominant ground game in a 51-35 win over Holy Cross, with quarterback Gavin McCarney and running back Jordan McCord combining for 367 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. The Raiders pulled away in the second half to win their Patriot League opener for the fourth time in five seasons.

Lafayette is also 1-0 in the Patriot League, but on Saturday the Leopards were wrapping up their non-League schedule with a 20-10 victory at Yale. The Patriot League finishes its season series with the Ivy League tied at 8-8, as Bucknell fell 35-7 at No. 21/22 Harvard on Saturday.

Fordham had a very difficult assignment, dropping a 49-17 final at FBS No. 20/21 Cincinnati on Saturday evening. Patrick Murray broke his own Patriot League and school record with a 55-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

Recaps and box scores from each game are included below, with a synopsis of each contest added soon.

No. 10 Lehigh 17 at Georgetown 14
Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Despite committing seven turnovers, No. 10 Lehigh again found a way to win and escaped with a 17-14 victory over Georgetown on Saturday at Multi-Sport Field.

The Mountain Hawks improve to 7-0 overall, and are one of only four remaining undefeated teams in the country. Their 16-game regular-season win streak is the longest run in the FCS. Lehigh is 1-0 in the Patriot League for the fifth year in a row, and extends its Patriot League winning streak to 16 games. That run dates back to 2009, and is tied for the second-longest in League history. Georgetown falls to 0-1 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2009.

Lehigh was down 14-7 at the half, somehow staying that close despite five turnovers. Jeremy Moore was in the middle of the action for the Hoyas with three interceptions and a fumble recovery in the first half alone. The fumble recovery set up a two-yard touchdown run by Nick Campanella to give Georgetown an early 7-0 lead, but the Mountain Hawks returned the favor in the second quarter when a fumble set up a short field that led to a one-yard touchdown run for Zach Barket to even the score. Lehigh was driving for the lead when Moore's first interception changed things, as the senior took it back 80 yards for a touchdown to give Georgetown a 14-7 advantage with 3:52 left until the half. Moore had two more picks later in the period, but a pair of missed field goals kept the Hoyas from putting additional points on the board.

Lehigh evened the score on the first possession of the second half, with a nine-play, 76-yard drive that tied the game at 14-14 when Keith Sherman ran in from a yard out. Two more Lehigh turnovers helped keep the game tied, but the Mountain Hawks took their first lead of the day with 10:58 left in the game on a 29-yard field goal by Jake Peery. A 42-yard completion from Mike Colvin to Sherman set up the go-ahead kick. Georgetown had one last chance when it got possession at its own 20 with 1:22 to go, and quickly drove into Lehigh territory to set up a game-tying field goal. But Matt MacZura was wide left from 37 yards out, and Lehigh held on for the win.

Barket had his first 100-yard game of the year with 28 carries for 123 yards and the touchdown. Colvin completed 19-of-34 passes for 266 yards, though his day was marred by four interceptions. Lee Kurfis had a big day with 11 receptions for 132 yards as Lehigh played without All-American wide receiver Ryan Spadola. Billy Boyko and Sam Loughery led the defense with 12 tackles apiece, while Nigel Muhammad added two sacks. Lehigh remained perfect in its 12 Patriot League matchups with the Hoyas.

Moore had 92 return yards on his three interceptions, and set a Patriot League and Georgetown record with 318 career interception return yards. Robert McCabe, the nation's leading tackler, continued his run of double-digit outings with 16 tackles in the game. Campanella and Dalen Claytor combined for 92 rushing yards, while Stephen Skon completed 16-of-27 passes for 176 yards. The Hoyas only scored on one of Lehigh's seven turnovers, with three missed field goals proving costly.

at Colgate 51, Holy Cross 35
Box Score

HAMILTON, N.Y.- Colgate ran for 407 yards and six touchdowns and pulled away in the second half for a 51-35 win over Holy Cross on Saturday at Andy Kerr Stadium.

Most of the damage was done by Gavin McCarney and Jordan McCord. McCarney had 12 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns while also completing 10-of-13 passes for 166 yards and a score while McCord ran 34 times for 181 yards and four touchdowns in the game.

While Colgate was outstanding on offense throughout the game, the Crusaders matched the Raiders in the first half. There were three touchdowns in the first six minutes of the game, with McCarney's 51-yard run and McCord's three-yard score sandwiched around Steven Elder's 63-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Mistretta for Holy Cross as Colgate held a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Elder scored on a three-yard run to put Holy Cross up 14-13, then answered a Colgate field goal with a 10-yard touchdown run as the Crusaders grabbed a 20-16 lead. McCarney put Colgate back in front for good with 1:35 left in the second quarter with a four-yard touchdown run that gave the Raiders a 23-20 lead into the half.

The second half started off with an exchange of touchdowns as well, with McCord's three-yard run followed by a one-yard touchdown run by Eddie Houghton as Colgate held a 30-27 lead late in the third quarter. The Raiders broke the game open with the next three touchdowns, with a seven-yard McCord run late in the third quarter followed by McCarney's 14-yard pass to Chris Looney and McCord's fourth touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter as Colgate built a 51-27 lead. Holy Cross added the final score on Elder's 16-yard strike to Mistretta with 3:22 to go, but Colgate went on to the 51-35 win.

The Raiders ran 56 times for 407 yards in the game, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. Colgate had 31 first downs, with 23 of those coming on the ground. The Raiders racked up 604 yards of total offense in the game behind the strong efforts from McCarney and McCord. Patrick Friel led the defense with 13 tackles, while Vince Myers had 1.5 sacks.

Colgate won its Patriot League opener for the fourth time in five years, and beat Holy Cross for the first time since 2008.

Elder was outstanding in defeat for the Crusaders, completing 24-of-39 passes for 319 yards and two touchdowns and also rushing for 42 yards and a pair of scores. Mistretta caught eight passes for 166 yards and the two touchdowns, while Mike Fess hauled in 10 balls for 100 yards. Houghton ran for 60 yards and the score. Roman SanDoval led the Holy Cross defense with 13 tackles.

Lafayette 20 at Yale 10
Box Score

NEW HAVEN, Conn.- Lafayette scored a pair of second-half touchdowns and shut out Yale after intermission to rally for a 20-10 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday at the Yale Bowl.

The Leopards improve to 4-2 overall, and finish their non-League schedule with a 3-2 mark that included wins over William & Mary and Penn in addition to Yale.

Lafayette trailed 10-7 at the break, with Andrew Shoop throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to Greg Kessel in the second quarter for the Leopards' first-half points. The Leopards took their first lead of the day in the third quarter when a 12-play, 78-yard drive ended in Shoop's 10-yard touchdown pass to Mark Ross for a 14-10 advantage with 3:58 to play in the period. An interception by Shane Black and a fourth-down stop halted a pair of Yale possessions in Lafayette territory, and the Leopards put the game away when Ross Scheuerman ran in from two yards out with 2:19 left to provide the final margin.

Shoop completed 20-of-33 passes for 243 yards and the two touchdowns without an interception, while Ross caught eight passes for 105 yards and the score. Scheuerman ran for 69 yards and a score on the ground. Dion King had a team-high 13 tackles, while Black notched 11 tackles and two interceptions in the game. Lafayette beat Yale for the third straight time after the Bulldogs had won the first seven meetings in the series.

at No. 21/22 Harvard 35, Bucknell 7
Box Score

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- No. 21/22 Harvard remained undefeated on the season and extended its overall win streak to 14 games with a 35-7 win over Bucknell (1-5) on Saturday at Harvard Stadium.

The Crimson scored a touchdown in the first quarter, three more in the second and another in the third. Bucknell got on the board in the final minute of the game with a one-yard run by Jeremiah Young.

Brandon Wesley completed 20-of-28 passes for 189 yards in the game, though the Bison were outgained 459-212 overall. Evan Byers had a huge game on defense with nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two interceptions.

at FBS No. 20/21 Cincinnati 49, Fordham 17
Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio- Fordham played tight with a top 25 Football Bowl Subdivision team for a half, but No. 20/21 Cincinnati pulled away after intermission for a 49-17 win over the Rams on Saturday at Nippert Stadium.

The Rams gave up a pair of big plays in the first half, with Cincinnati scoring on a 76-yard fumble recovery and 78-yard pass. But Fordham was down just 14-6 at the break as Patrick Murray hit field goals of 46 and 55 yards to keep his team close. The 55-yarder set the Patriot League and school record by three yards, breaking a mark Murray had established himself on Aug. 30 against Lock Haven.

Cincinnati put up five touchdowns in the second half, including the first three in the third quarter to pull away. Fordham had a 12-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Higgins to Brian Wetzel in the third period, and Murray added his third field goal of the game in the fourth.

Higgins completed 31-of-42 passes for 262 yards and the score, and Wetzel caught nine passes for 121 yards and the touchdown. Carlton Koonce was held to 72 yards on the ground, though he did catch eight passes for 16 yards. Dan Light had eight receptions for 53 yards in the game. Murray went 3-for-4 on field goals, missing from 48 yards out, and also punted four times for a 47.2 average with two inside the 20. Ian Williams led the Fordham defense with 11 tackles.

To view Murray's 55-yard field goal, go here