Nov. 21, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - The phrase "any given Saturday" was never more true than the Patriot League on Saturday, as the two teams at the top of the League, No. 13 Holy Cross and No. 21/22 Lafayette, both fell in games against teams that came into the day with 3-7 overall records. The Leopards saw their chance at a share of the Patriot League title and maybe their at-large playoff hopes dashed in a 27-21 overtime loss at rival Lehigh, while the Crusaders could not complete a perfect Patriot League season as they fell, 23-17, at Bucknell.

No. 21/22 Lafayette (8-2, 4-1 Patriot League) held a 14-7 lead at Lehigh (4-7, 4-2), but the Mountain Hawks came back for a 21-14 advantage in the fourth quarter. Lafayette sent the game to overtime on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Rob Curley to Kyle Hayes, but the Mountain Hawks won an overtime that last justed three plays. Lehigh took a 27-21 lead on an eight-yard touchdown pass from JB Clark to Alex Wojdowski on the first possession, and Al Pierce picked off Curley on Lafayette's first play to seal the upset win in the rivalry for the Mountain Hawks.

Going into the overtime, Lafayette had a chance to share the Patriot League title, because League champion No. 13 Holy Cross (9-2, 5-1) could not take care of business at Bucknell (4-7, 2-4). The Crusaders rallied back from an early 14-0 deficit to tie the score in the fourth quarter, but the Bison got the gamewinning touchdown with less than two minutes to play to deny Holy Cross a perfect Patriot League season. Holy Cross did still lock up its sixth outright Patriot League title.

In the only other game of the day, Fordham (5-6, 2-4) opened up a big early lead and went on to beat Georgetown (0-11, 0-6), 41-14.

Holy Cross holds sole possession of first place in the final League standings at 5-1, with Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh all tied for second at 4-2, Fordham and Bucknell sharing fifth at 2-4 and Georgetown coming in at 0-6.

Selection Sunday now awaits for the top Patriot League teams. Holy Cross knows it is in the field as the Patriot League's automatic bid, while Colgate (9-2, 4-2), which was off on Saturday, was aided by losses from Lafayette and other FCS contenders as it hopes for an at-large bid. The Leopards still have enough victories to be in the at-large discussion as well. The selections for the NCAA Division I Football Championship will be announced at 3 p.m. on ESPNews.

For a complete recap with school box scores and recaps, read the synopsis below. To review the live Patriot League Gameday Blog from the Lafayette/Lehigh contest, which included score updates from other games, click here

at Lehigh 27, No. 21/22 Lafayette 21 (OT)
Box Score

Bethlehem, Pa. - The 145th meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh needed overtime to decide a winner, and in the end the Mountain Hawks (4-7, 4-2) denied rival No. 21/22 Lafayette (8-3, 4-2) a share of the Patriot League title and possibly an at-large playoff berth with a 27-21 victory.

Lafayette dominated statistically in a game that featured sloppy play on both sides, outgaining Lehigh 482-305 overall and 182-13 in rushing yardage. Despite that, the Mountain Hawks never trailed by more than seven points and tied the game at 7-7 going to the half on a two-yard touchdown pass from JB Clark to De'Vaughn Gordon with 24 seconds left until the break.

Lafayette came out strong in the third quarter, going 82 yards on the opening drive and taking a 14-7 lead on a three-yard touchdown pass from Rob Curley to Michael Bolton. The Leopards appeared to have all the momentum when Lehigh tied the game in unlikely fashion, as Lafayette's Nathan Padia started backtracking and then fumbled in the end zone on a punt return and Lehigh's John Veniero recovered to tie the score with 8:31 left.

The Leopards put togeher another nice drive at the end of the third quarter, setting up a first-and-goal at the six. But the Lehigh defense stood strong, stopping Tyrell Coon on four running plays to keep the score knotted at 14. The Mountain Hawk offense picked up from there, moving to the five-yard line on a 63-yard pass from Clark to Gordon and taking a 21-14 lead on a one-yard rush by Anthony Fossati with 8:30 left in the game. Lafayette was stopped on its next possession, but the Leopards answered with a 34-yard pass from Curley to Kyle Hayes to tie the score at 21 with 1:43 remaining and send the game to overtime.

The extra session lasted just three plays. Lehigh got the ball first, and Clark threw a 17-yard pass to Jake Drwal followed by an eight-yard touchdown to Alex Wojdowski to put Lehigh up, 27-21, after a missed extra point. With a chance to win with a touchdown and conversion, Lafayette only had one play as Curley's pass was intercepted by Al Pierce to give the Mountain Hawks their second straight win in the rivalry and send the Lehigh fans storming the field.

Clark earned game MVP honors for the second straight season, completing 22-of-38 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns without an interception and overcoming six sacks. Clark is Lehigh's first two-time MVP winner since Ronald Jean earned two straight awards in 1998 and 1999. Drwal and Gordon each had exactly 100 yards receiving, with Drwal grabbing seven receptions and Gordon four with the touchdown. The Mountain Hawks converted 9-of-16 third downs, many from seven yards or more as the running game struggled. Punter Alex Smith chipped in with a strong day, kicking seven times for a 42.3 average and dropping two inside the 20. Pierce led the defense with 12 tackles and the interception, while Troy Taylor recorded 11 tackles. Lehigh has defeated Lafayette in two straight seasons after dropping four in a row. The Mountain Hawks forge a three-way for second place in the Patriot League with Colgate and Lafayette.

Curley was 21-of-28 for 300 yards and three touchdowns, though he did throw two interceptions, one coming in the end zone. Lafayette also had an interception at the one yard line on a pass by Hayes, and was stuffed on the goal-line situation. Mark Layton had six catches for 98 yards, while Jerome Rudolph and Maurice White each topped 50 yards and averaged more than 5.0 yards per carry to lead the 182-yard rushing effort. Ian Dell recorded two of the defense's six sacks, while Mark Leggiero had 12 tackles and a sack. The Leopards dropped their final two games of the season for the second year in a row, and lost at Lehigh for the first time since 2003.

It was just the second overtime meeting between the rivals, and first since 1995. It was the only Patriot League game to go to overtime this year.

at Bucknell 23, No. 13 Holy Cross 17
Box Score

Lewisburg, Pa. - For the second time in three years, Bucknell denied the Patriot League champion a perfect League record as the Bison (4-7, 2-4) opened a 14-0 lead and scored the gamewinning touchdown with 1:40 to play to end their season on a high note and prevent No. 13 Holy Cross (9-2, 5-1) from sweeping through the League schedule.

Bucknell pounded out yardage on the ground all day, going for 321 yards behind a career-high 189 from quarterback C.J. Hopson. After a scoreless first quarter, the Bison scored the first two touchdowns of the second quarter as Tyler Smith rushed in from nine yards out and Hopson scored on a four-yard rush with 4:27 left for the 14-0 lead. Holy Cross cut it to 14-7 right before the half, with Dominic Randolph throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Alex Schneider with 1:19 to play.

The teams exchanged field goals in the third quarter, and Holy Cross tied the score at 17-17 on a two-yard touchdown run by Eddie Houghton with 11:34 to play. After each team was held scoreless on a possession, Bucknell put together a nine-play, 80-yard drive to take a 23-17 lead on Smith's nine-yard TD with 1:40 to play. Holy Cross advanced to the Bucknell 24, but fumbled on the final play of the game to give the Bison the upset win.

Bucknell held a 321-102 advantage in rushing yardage, which also helped them earn a 33:51 to 26:09 advantage in time of possession. Ryan Smith had 63 rushing yards, while Tyler Smith totaled 58 and the two touchdowns. Tyler Anderson led the defensive effort with eight tackles, 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery, as the Bison had three sacks and three fumble recoveries in the game. It was a copy of Bucknell's 2007 win over Fordham, as the Bison beat a team that had already clinched the Patriot League automatic bid and was going for a perfect League season and outright title. The Bison snapped a five-game losing streak, and won their final game for the sixth time in seven seasons.

Holy Cross still wins the outright title due to Lafayette's loss to Lehigh, so all six of the Crusaders' Patriot League crowns have been of the solo variety. The Crusaders held a 271-20 edge in passing yardage and 373-341 advantage in total offense. Randolph was 29-of-48 for 271 yards and a touchdown, though his streak of 19 consecutive games with multiple touchdown passes came to an end. He did extend his FCS records to 41 straight games with a touchdown pass and 40 with 200 yards passing, as well as adding to his FCS career attempts mark. He also ran for 38 yards. Schneider caught seven passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Freddie Santana caught five for 37 yards. Houghton led the ground game with 48 yards and the touchdown, while Anthony DiMichele paced the defense with 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. It was the first time the Crusaders did not finish undefeated on a Patriot League championship season. Holy Cross will now find out its opponent and destination in the NCAA Division I Football Championship on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPNews.

Fordham 41 at Georgetown 14
Box Score

Washington, D.C. - Fordham (5-6, 2-4) took a 34-0 lead by halftime and ended its season on a high note with a 41-14 win at Georgetown (0-11, 0-6) in a Patriot League contest on Saturday.

John Skelton threw four touchdown passes in the first half, two to David Moore. The last was a 22-yard strike to Moore that gave Fordham a 34-0 lead at the break. Skelton finished 23-of-32 for 405 yards and five touchdowns with only one interception in his last collegiate game. Jason Caldwell made eight receptions for 186 yards and a touchdown for the Rams, while Moore caught five passes for 114 yards and two scores. Darryl Whiting led a potent ground game with 172 yards and a touchdown, as Fordham held a 686-299 advantage in total offense. The total offense mark was one shy of the program's single-game record set earlier this year at Fordham.

Phillip Oladeji had 81 yards on the ground for Georgetown, and also scored a touchdown on his lone reception. Isaiah Kempf completed 14-of-26 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown. Nick Parrish had 12 tackles and a sack to lead the defense.