(Game Statistics)
BRONX, N.Y. - Facing an 18-point deficit in the first half, Colgate (7-4 overall, 4-2 Patriot League) rallied for 30 unanswered points en route to a 40-28 win over Fordham in the season finale Saturday at Jack Coffey Field.
Colgate wins seven or more games in a season for the eighth straight season under head coach Dick Biddle.
Senior quarterback Chris Brown, who was listed as questionable for the game after suffering a leg injury in last week’s game against Bucknell, put together a strong performance in his final collegiate game. He completed 21-of-42 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
Brown had plenty of help from fellow seniors Jamaal Branch, Luke Graham and DeWayne Long. Branch carried 27 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while Long had a seven receptions for a game-high 136 yards and one touchdown and Graham grabbed seven passes for 79 yards and one touchdown.
The 24 senior members of the Colgate team that played their final contest for the Raiders finished with an overall mark of 38-11.
Other key performances for Colgate came on the defensive side of the football. Sophomore strong safety Geoff Bean made nine tackles, had two interceptions and one fumble recovery, while junior linebacker Jared Nepa had eight tackles along with an interception return of 33 yards for a touchdown. Senior Mike Latek was Colgate’s leading tackler with 10 including one TFL.
Fordham opened the scoring on its second possession when Darrell Taylor caught a 22-yard pass from Derric Daniels to cap a 50-yard drive. Micah Clukey’s extra point put the Rams ahead 7-0.
On ensuing Colgate possession, Brown hooked up with Long on a 51-yard touchdown pass to tie the score. Long caught the ball 10 yards short of the goal line, and fought his way into the end zone Senior Mike Rava, who has replaced injured placekicker Lane Schwarzberg in the last two games, made the extra point.
The Rams scored the next 14 points for a 21-7 lead early in the second quarter. Following a Colgate fumble on a punt return, Fordham took over at the Colgate 29-yard line. Five plays later, Daniels hit Steve Porco with a 14-yard TD pass to put the Rams in front 14-7.
On Colgate next possession, Brown was intercepted by Fordham’s Tad Kornegay giving the home team the ball at Colgate’s 31-yard line. Three plays later, James Prydatko bolted 22 yards for a touchdown putting the Rams into 21-7 lead.
Later in the second quarter, Rava kicked a 28-yard field goal for the Raiders to make it 21-10 with 10:39 remaining. Following Colgate next possession, Prydatko returned a punt 53 yards to the Colgate one-yard line, and then scored his second TD on the next play to provide Fordham with a 28-10 lead.
Colgate came right back with a 10-play, 64-yard drive with Branch scoring on a three-yard run with 5:34 left in the first half as the Raiders trailed 28-17. A big play in the drive was a fourth-and-four play on the Fordham 20, when Brown hit Ray LaMonica with a seven-yard pass to keep the drive alive.
Fordham appeared ready to go ahead by as many as 18 points at halftime when the Rams drove to the Colgate 12-yard line. But on second-and-one, Daniels was sacked by Zach Dollar forcing a fumble, and Dollar recovered the ball at the Colgate 24 with 46 seconds remaining in the half.
The second half was all Colgate. On Fordham’s first possession, Nepa intercepted a Ram pass on the 33-yard line, and raced into the end zone untouched to bring the Raiders to within four points, 28-24.
In the fourth quarter, Bean recovered a fumbled when Fordham punter Anthony DiFino dropped the snap, giving Colgate the ball at the Rams’ 17-yard line. Five plays later, Brown passed four yards to Graham for the go-ahead TD.
Colgate went in front 33-28 with a safety after a bad snap on a Fordham punt forced punter DiFino to run out of the back of the end zone. Later, Branch scored his second TD of the game on an 18-yard run for the final points.
