Oct. 24, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - No. 22 Holy Cross, Lafayette and Lehigh all scored key wins in Patriot League Football contests on Saturday, and the trio is now tied at the top of the League standings with 2-0 records.

The Crusaders won the first matchup between ranked Patriot League teams since 2004, as senior quarterback Dominic Randolph threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more and Holy Cross dealt No. 17 Colgate its first overall and League loss with a 42-28 triumph in Worcester. Lafayette scored 20 consecutive points to build a 13-point lead and held on late to defeat Fordham, 26-21, in Easton. Lehigh went on the road to Bucknell and put up its best offensive performance of the season with a 35-16 victory over the Bison.

Holy Cross, Lafayette and Lehigh are at 2-0 in the first-place tie in the Patriot League, followed by Colgate at 2-1 and Bucknell at 1-1. Fordham fell to 0-2 in the League with Georgetown at 0-5.

Read the synopsis of each of the three games below, including box scores and school recaps from each contest. Also, review the Patriot League Gameday Blog which featured live in-person coverage from the games at Lafayette and Holy Cross along with score updates from Bucknell.

at No. 22 Holy Cross 42, No. 17 Colgate 28
Box Score

Worcester, Mass. - Senior quarterback Dominic Randolph threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more to lead No. 22 Holy Cross (6-1, 2-0 Patriot League) past No. 17 Colgate (7-1, 2-1), 42-28, on Saturday at Fitton Field.

Randolph set a Football Championship Subdivision record with his first touchdown pass, as a 15-yard strike to Bill Edger just over three minutes into the game gave him a touchdown pass in 37 consecutive games, breaking the mark he shared with the late Steve McNair. Randolph played a hand in the next touchdown as well, but it was not what the Crusaders would have liked as Coree Moses returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown for Colgate to even the score at 7-7. Holy Cross tallied the next two touchdowns to build a 14-point lead, with Randolph hitting Nick Cole on a nine-yard strike with 4:31 to play in the first quarter and scoring on a one-yard touchdown run with 12:31 left in the second to put Holy Cross up, 21-7.

Colgate climbed back to within a touchdown three times after that point, but the Crusaders answered each score. Greg Sullivan tossed a 30-yard touchdown pass to Pat Simonds to bring the Raiders within 21-14 with 7:09 left in the second quarter, but Randolph threw his third touchdown pass of the day with a 15-yard connection to Freddie Santana that made it 28-14 less than a minute later. It stayed that way until 6:01 remained in the third quarter, when Sullivan threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cvetic to bring Colgate within 28-21. Holy Cross marched right down the field on its next possession, with Randolph completing the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to make it 35-21 with 2:15 left in the period. Colgate's next possession resulted in a 10-yard touchdown run by Nate Eachus to make it 35-28 Crusaders with 13:18 left in the game, but Holy Cross had one final answer with Randolph hooking up on a five-yard touchdown pass to Alex Schneider to produce the final score with 9:26 to play in the game. After falling behind 21-7, Colgate never had possession of the ball when it was within a touchdown.

Randolph had the first 100-yard rushing day of his career, carrying 14 times for 116 yards and the two touchdowns. He completed 20-of-31 passes for 288 yards and the four touchdowns through the air. It was Randolph's 36th straight 200-yard passing game, extending his FCS record in that category. Edger hauled in nine receptions for 127 yards and the touchdown. John Myrick had 13 tackles and Marcus Rodriguez totaled 12 to lead the Holy Cross defense, which limited Colgate to 120 rushing yards, more than 150 below the average for the top rushing team in the FCS. Holy Cross held a 440-296 edge in total offense. Holy Cross won the first matchup of top 25 Patriot League teams since No. 12 Lehigh beat No. 18 Colgate, 21-14, on Oct. 30, 2004.

Sullivan completed 18-of-32 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns without an interception for the Raiders, and also ran for 53 yards. Eachus had 69 yards and a score on the ground, while Simonds had five receptions for 70 yards and the touchdown. Moses led the defense with eight tackles to go with his interception return for a touchdown. Colgate came into the game as one of only four undefeated teams in the FCS, and had a 15-game regular-season winning streak that was the longest in the nation snapped. Their last regular-season loss had been a 42-21 defeat to Furman on Sept. 13, 2008. The Raiders also saw their seven-game winning streak in Patriot League games come to an end.

at Lafayette 26, Fordham 21
Box Score

Easton, Pa. - Lafayette (6-1, 2-0 Patriot League) scored 20 consecutive points to build a lead and held off Fordham's (3-4, 0-2) last chance in the final seconds for a 26-21 win over the Rams on Saturday at Fisher Stadium.

Lafayette scored its 20 straight points after Fordham notched the opening touchdown, a four-yard pass from John Skelton to Darryl Robinson with 3:15 to play in the first quarter. The Leopards evened the score less than four minutes later, as Rob Curley hit Mark Layton with a 17-yard pass with 14:24 left in the second quarter. Lafayette took a 13-7 lead into the half behind a pair of Davis Rodriguez field goals in the final three minutes, including a 42-yard kick right before the break. Lafayette expanded its lead to 20-7 on a six-yard pass from Curley to Maurice White with 8:29 left in the third quarter.

Fordham got back within six points late in the third quarter, as Asa Lucas ran in from 13 yards out with 1:13 left to make it 20-14. The Leopards got back to a two-score advantage in the fourth quarter, with White running in from four yards out for a 26-14 advantage. Fordham's late push to come back started when Skelton threw a five-yard touchdown to Jason Caldwell to cut the deficit to 26-21 with 2:39 to play. The Rams re-gained possession with 26 seconds left at their own 34, and moved to the Lafayette 39 for one last play. Skelton completed a pass to Darryl Whiting, but Lafayette's Carlos Lowe made the tackle at the 10 yard line to preserve the Leopards' victory.

Lafayette earned its fifth consecutive win overall, and is at 6-1 for the second straight season. Curley completed 23-of-31 passes for a career-high 305 yards and the two touchdowns, while White ran for 107 yards and the score. Layton caught five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown, while Mitchell Bennett hauled in six passes for 93 yards. Michael Schmidlein and Mark Leggiero each had 11 tackles for the defense, while Eric McGovern had eight tackles and an interception. Lafayette had four scoring drives of 80 yards or more, and held a 439-333 edge in total offense and 37:08 to 22:52 advantage in time of possession. Lafayette held Fordham more than 150 yards below its FCS-leading total offense average.

Skelton completed 29-of-45 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns for the Rams. David Moore had seven receptions, while Lucas and Caldwell each caught six passes. Nick Magiera led the defensive effort with 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble, while Jordan Bledsoe had nine tackles and two sacks. Fordham saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.

Lehigh 35 at Bucknell 16
Box Score

Lewisburg, Pa. - One week after getting shutout for the first time since 1986, Lehigh (2-5, 2-0 Patriot League) responded in a big way with five touchdowns in a 35-16 win at Bucknell (3-4, 1-1) on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

Lehigh quarterback J.B. Clark returned to the starting lineup and came back with a strong effort, completing 24-of-37 passes for a touchdown and also rushing for a score. He threw a 27-yard pass on a 4th and 12 play to set up Lehigh's first score, a four-yard touchdown run by Michael Colvin to give Lehigh a 6-0 lead just over three minutes into the game. It stayed that way until late in the second quarter, when Clark scored on a one-yard TD rush and the two-point conversion was good to give Lehigh a 14-0 lead with 3:46 to go until the half. That started a flurry of scoring before the half, with Bucknell's Marcello Trigg notching a 17-yard touchdown rush to bring the Bison within 14-7 with 1:38 to go and Clark responding five seconds before halftime with a five-yard touchdown pass to Alex Wojdowski to gie Lehigh a 21-7 lead at the half.

After Bucknell cut the Lehigh lead to 21-10, the Mountain Hawks put the game away with a pair of touchdown runs. Zach Barket scored from one yard out with 2:18 left in the third quarter, and Jaren Walker had a two-yard touchdown run with 12:50 left in the game for a 35-10 advantage. Bucknell scored its last touchdown just over two minutes later, but would get no closer.

Lehigh earned its 12th consecutive victory against Bucknell, the longest streak in any series in the history of the Patriot League. Barket led the rushing effort with 77 yards and the touchdown. Jake Drwal was the top receiver with nine catches for 124 yards, and Lehigh held a 461-295 advantage in total offense. Troy Taylor had seven tackles, while Matt Cohen notched one of Lehigh's three sacks. Lehigh improves to 2-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2006.

Bucknell got a strong effort from Shaun Pasternak, who caught six passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. Marcello Trigg completed 14-of-26 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown. Greg Jones led the Bucknell defense with 10 tackles, while Ahkiel White had an interception. The Bison saw their four-game home winning streak come to an end.