HAMILTON, N.Y. (10/20/07) – Junior quarterback Alex Relph (Victor, NY)connected on 21-of-32 passes for a career-high 264 yards and one touchdown to lead Colgate to a 27-17 non-conference win over Towson before a Family Weekend crowd at Andy Kerr Stadium.

 

Colgate (4-3) snapped Towson’s 14-game non-conference winning streak, which was the second longest in the nation.  The Tigers are 3-5.

 

Colgate tailback Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) carried 37 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns.  On the first carry of the second half, Scott became the third leading rusher in school history.  He has gained 3,779 yards moving past Rich Erenberg (1980-83), who had 3,689 yards.

 

Colgate, which had two starting offensive linemen out with injuries, suffered in the Cornell game, surprised the Tigers with its first half air attack.  Relph completed 12-of-20 passes for 172 yards at halftime, while the Raiders managed only 20 yards rushing.  In the second half, Colgate gained 109 rushing yards and passed for 92.

 

“The injuries to the offensive line was part of the reason we went to the air,” said Colgate head coach Dick Biddle, “and part of it was the coverage they were playing.  They played a lot of man and bring eight people so we thought if can get somebody open and protect, we can make some big plays.”

 

On the first possession of the game, Towson moved to the Colgate 29-yard line, but on third-and-eight, Colgate cornerback Coree Moses (Newington, CT)intercepted for the Raiders at the 17-yard line.  It was his first career interception.

 

Colgate took advantage of the turnover to drive 83 yards in 12 plays for a 7-0 lead.  Relph connected on a one-yard touchdown pass with senior wide receiver Erik Burke (Traverse City, Mich.) for the score, and Mike Buck (Basking Ridge, NJ) added first of his three extra points.  Burke finished with six catches for 105 yards and one TD and moved into 10^th place in career receptions with 102.

 

The Tigers answered right back on the ensuing possession marching 71 yards in 12 plays to tie the contest.  Nick Williams capped the scoring drive with a 15-yard run to pay dirt.  Mark Bencivengo added the extra point with 2:34 left in the quarter.

 

In the second quarter, Colgate had two excellent chances to put more points on the board, but Relph fumbled at the Towson 13-yard line, and later was intercepted in the end zone, stopping both drives.  The Raiders also couldn’t take advantage of a Wayne Moten (Forestville, MD) interception at the Towson 25-yard line, as an offensive pass interference call, pushed Colgate back to the 36 where they were forced to punt.

 

With 1:15 remaining in the first half, Towson took over at its own 25-yard line, and proceeded to drive to the Colgate 14, where on the final play before halftime, Bencivengo booted a 31-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.

 

In the third quarter, Colgate All-America linebacker Mike Gallihugh (Midlothian, VA)recovered a Towson fumble at the Towson 15-yard line.  The Tigers held tough, before Buck nailed a 32-yard field goal to tie the score 10-10.

 

After Towson missed on a 43-yard field attempt, Colgate marched 49 yards to the Towson 25-yard line, where Buck connected on a 42-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead.  It was Buck’s third field goal of over 40 yards this season, tying the school record for most field goals over 40 yards in a season.

 

The Tigers immediately took advantage of a short kickoff that gave the visitors excellent field position at their own 43-yard line.  Nine plays later, Williams scored his second TD when he scampered eight yards for a score to give the Tigers a 17-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.

 

Colgate returned the favor taking over on its own 40-yard line after Adrien Schriefer’s (Plainsboro, NJ) 11-yard return.  The Raiders quickly moved into Towson territory, and on third-and-one at the 37-yard line, Relph tossed a 16-yard swing pass to Scott for a key first down.  Then on third-and-10 at the Towson 20-yard line, Relph found Pat Simonds (Sidney, NY) with a first down pass to the visitor’s three-yard line.  On the next play, Scott scored for a 20-17 Colgate lead with 9:27 remaining.

 

After forcing Towson to punt on its next possession, Colgate put together a drive that would seal the victory.  The Raiders marched 86 yards in 12 plays for the TD, but more importantly they took 7:34 off the clock.

 

In the drive, Scott carried 12 times for 59 yards, before scoring on a one-yard run with 45 seconds left.  The key play in the drive was fourth-and-one at the Towson 41, when the Raiders were successful getting the first down on a two-yard run by Scott.

 

“The key to the game was probably the last drive,” said Biddle.  “Not only were we able to score, we were able to take time off the clock.  We weren’t running the ball very efficiently until that last drive and that’s where your running game pays off.”

 

Towson’s final possession of the game ended in an interception by Gallihugh at the Colgate 46-yard line, where the Raiders ran out the clock.

 

GAME NOTES:  Colgate had 393 yards of total offense to Towson’s 317 … Scott had a career-high six catches for 49 yards, while Simonds finished with four receptions for 61 yards … Freshman free safety Mike Barry (Naples, FL) had a career-high nine tackles, while Gallihugh had nine stops, one interception, caused one fumble, recovered a fumble and had a quarterback hurry … Defensive tackle Paul Mancuso (Somers, NY) had a strong game with seven tackles including one TFL … Scott moved into seventh place in career scoring with 214 points … Towson is 0-9 all-time against Colgate and 0-5 at Andy Kerr Stadium.