Nov. 14, 2009
Worcester, Mass. - No. 13/14 Holy Cross can call itself the Patriot League Football champion for the first time since 1991, and the Crusaders are headed to the NCAA Division I Football Championship for the first time since 1983 after defeating No. 20 Lafayette, 28-26, on Saturday at Fitton Field.
The Crusaders trailed 12-0 after one quarter and 19-7 in the second quarter, but senior quarterback Dominic Randolph notched two passing touchdowns and a rushing score for a 28-19 lead in the third quarter. Lafayette closed within 28-26 early in the fourth quarter, but Holy Cross' Jimmy Thomas came up with a sack for a loss of 17 yards on Lafayette quarterback Rob Curley to stop the Leopards' drive with 3:58 to play. Lafayette had one more chance with 38 seconds to go, but the Crusaders forced a fumble on the first play and took a knee to seal their sixth overall Patriot League crown.
Holy Cross (9-1, 5-0 Patriot League) earns the Patriot League's automatic bid to the FCS postseason, and can finish a perfect Patriot League season when it plays at Bucknell on Saturday. Lafayette (8-2, 4-1) is still very much alive for an at-large berth into the postseason, as the Leopards travel to rival Lehigh next week.
In other Patriot League action, No. 24 Colgate (9-2, 4-2) completed its regular season and kept hope alive for an at-large postseason berth by scoring the last 20 points of the game in a 29-14 win at home over Bucknell. Lehigh earned a 35-28 win at Fordham, while Georgetown fell at home against No. 4 Richmond, 49-10.
Recaps of all of the action are included below, including school recaps and box scores from each contest. For a recap of all of the live action from the Lafayette/Holy Cross game, review the Patriot League Gameday Blog from the game in Worcester.
at No. 13/14 Holy Cross 28, No. 20 Lafayette 26
Box Score
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Worcester, Mass. - No. 13/14 Holy Cross (9-1, 5-0 Patriot League) ended its wait for a Patriot League title and postseason berth, as the Crusaders claimed their first League crown since 1991 and first FCS playoff spot since 1983 in a 28-26 win at Fitton Field against Lafayette (8-2, 4-1) in a de facto title game where the championship and postseason berth were on the line for both teams.
The Crusaders had to rally from an early deficit, as Lafayette scored a pair of first-quarter touchdowns on a one-yard run by Maurice White and two-yard pass from Rob Curley to Kevin Doty. The Leopards did miss both extra points, however, so the lead was at just 12-0. Holy Cross cut into the gap with 7:21 left in the second quarter, as Luke Chmielinski scored on a four-yard rush that set off a flurry of scoring. Lafayette answered with another one-yard run by White for a 19-7 lead with 4:48 to play until half, but Holy Cross came back 27 seconds later with a 22-yard pass from senior quarterback Dominic Randolph to Chmielinski to make the score 19-14. Holy Cross took its first lead just before the half, with Randolph scoring on a one-yard keeper with 11 seconds to go to give the Crusaders a 21-19 lead at the break.
Holy Cross added to its advantage in the third quarter, with Randolph throwing a 40-yard touchdown to Freddie Santana for a 28-19 lead with 7:22 to play. It stayed that way until the fourth quarter, when Lafayette made a comeback effort. The Leopards cut the score to 28-26 with 11:32 to play in the game on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Rob Curley to Mark Layton. The Leopards moved the ball to the Holy Cross 35 on their next possession, but their drive was ended on a 4th-and-10 play where Jimmy Thomas sacked Curley for a 20-yard loss. Lafayette got the ball back with 38 seconds to play, but Layton fumbled after making a reception and the Crusaders recovered. Holy Cross took a knee to win the game and bring on the celebration of the school's sixth overall League title, and first since 1991.
Randolph completed 23-of-37 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions in the win, and also ran for 10 yards and the score. Chmielinski caught six passes for 75 yards and had both the rushing and receiving touchdown. Anthony DiMichele had nine tackles and a key third-quarter interception, while Thomas had seven tackles, two tackles for loss and the sack. The Crusaders held a slim 427-412 edge in total offense.
Holy Cross adds to previous League titles from 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991, and makes the playoffs for the first time as a Patriot League member. The Crusaders played for the Patriot League title on the final day of the 2008 season, and suffered a 28-27 loss at Colgate. Holy Cross will try to complete its first perfect League season since the 1991 campaign and clinch the outright title when it plays at Bucknell on Saturday.
Curley went 23-of-32 for 312 yards and two touchdowns with an interception for the Leopards, his fourth consecutive 300-yard game. Three receivers had strong games, with Layton catching six passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, Greg Stripe notching seven catches for 75 yards and Mitchell Bennett pulling in five for 74. White had 72 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Lafayette defense recorded three interceptions and two sacks. Lafayette ends its season at rival Lehigh next week. The Leopards need a win and a Holy Cross loss to earn a share of the Patriot League title, and also need a victory to stay in the hunt for an at-large berth to the Football Championship Subdivision postseason.
at No. 24 Colgate 29, Bucknell 14
Box Score
Hamilton, N.Y. - No. 24 Colgate (9-2, 4-2) scored the last 20 points of the game to come back and beat Bucknell (3-7, 1-4), 29-14, on Saturday at Andy Kerr Stadium. The Raiders complete their regular season with a 9-2 overall record and 4-2 Patriot League mark, and stay in the mix for an at-large berth into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Bucknell played a strong first half on the road for the third consecutive game, as the Bison scored the opening touchdown on a five-yard run by C.J. Hopson and trailed only 9-7 at the break. Bucknell took a lead midway through the third quarter, with Hopson scoring on a one-yard run to make it 14-9 with 9:52 to play in the period. But Colgate took over from there, with the prolific combination of Greg Sullivan and Pat Simonds combining for the next two scores. Sullivan threw a 34-yard touchdown to Simonds for a 15-14 Raider lead with 4:55 to play in the third quarter, then tossed a nine-yard TD with 7:16 left in the game for a 22-14 Colgate lead. Sullivan iced the Colgate victory with a 31-yard touchdown run less than a minute and a half later.
Sullivan and Simonds each had big days in the regular-season finale. Sullivan completed 12-of-20 passes for 212 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and ran for 102 yards and a score. Simonds caught nine passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. His 14 receiving touchdowns are tied for the second-best single-season mark in Patriot League history. Nate Eachus carried 24 times for 99 yards and a touchdown, as the Raiders held a 251-214 edge in rushing yardage and a 463-273 advantage in total offense. Uzi Idah had 10 tackles to lead the Colgate defense. Colgate reaches nine wins in a season for the fifth time in Head Coach Dick Biddle's 14 years, and the second year in a row. They finish 4-2 or better in the Patriot League for the third year in a row and 12th time in the past 13 seasons.
Bucknell's solid ground effort was led by Hopson, who had 134 yards and the two touchdowns. Travis Nissley had 12 tackles for the Bison, while Ahkiel White had his Patriot League-leading fourth interception of the year.
Lehigh 35 at Fordham 28
Box Score
Bronx, N.Y. - After a wild first half that saw the teams tied 28-28 at the break, Lehigh (3-7, 3-2) scored the only points of the second half in the third quarter and held on for a 35-28 win against host Fordham (4-6, 1-4) at Jack Coffey Field on Saturday.
The back-and-forth first half featured four touchdowns in each quarter, with four ties and two lead changes. Lehigh opened the scoring, but Fordham came back with the next two touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead. The Mountain Hawks evened it at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter. After Fordham took a 21-14 lead, Lehigh re-gained the advantage at 28-21 on JB Clark's 15-yard touchdown run with 3:09 left in the second quarter. The Rams tied it at 28-28 with 50 seconds left in the second quarter on John Skelton's 15-yard touchdown pass to David Moore, the third TD connection between the duo in the half.
Lehigh notched the only score of the second half when Clark threw a 22-yard touchdown to De'Vaughn Gordon with 3:34 to play in the third quarter. The Lehigh defense took over from there with five of its nine sacks in the game, including Casey Eldemire's first-down sack of Skelton at the Lehigh 17 with under a minute to play. Skelton followed with three incompletions as Lehigh hung on for the win.
Clark went 15-of-36 for 201 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions through the air for the Mountain Hawks, and also ran for 49 yards and a touchdown. Gordon notched four receptions for 75 yards, with three going for touchdowns. Jay Campbell had 155 yards on the ground for Lehigh. Craig Zurn had seven catches for 76 yards. Eldemire had eight tackles, the sack and an interception, while Devin Greene had 2.5 sacks and Matt Cohen recorded two. Cohen now has nine sacks this year, the most for a Patriot Leaguer since 2004. Troy Taylor had a team-high 11 tackles with two tackles for loss and a sack. Lehigh held a 235-23 edge in rushing yardage, and a 436-409 advantage in total offense.
Skelton was 28-of-45 for 386 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in the game. He threw nine passes for 141 yards and the three touchdowns to Moore, while Jason Caldwell recorded 10 receptions for 128 yards and Asa Lucas had seven for 105 yards. Isiejah Allen had 10 tackles, while James Crockett had nine tackles and a sack.
No. 4 Richmond 49 at Georgetown 10
Box Score
Washington, D.C. - Georgetown (0-10) fell behind, 21-0, in the first quarter and could not recover in a 49-10 loss against No. 4 Richmond on Saturday at Multi-Sport Field.
Phillip Oladeji scored the Hoyas' lone touchdown on a one-yard run in the second quarter, and Georgetown closed within 21-10 late in the period. But Richmond made it 28-10 by halftime and tacked on three touchdowns in the second half, including a return for a score on the opening kickoff.
Oladeji had 27 rushing yards and a touchdown. Nick Parrish led the Georgetown defense with 14 tackles.
