HAMILTON, N.Y. (9/8/07) – Several crucial mistakes cost Colgate in its final regular season matchup against number two ranked Massachusetts Saturday at Andy Kerr Stadium.  The Minutemen took advantage of three Raider turnovers to walk away with a hard-fought 35-17 win.

 

Massachusetts (2-0) won its first game ever in Hamilton in five attempts, while Colgate is 1-1 on the season.

 

“It wasn’t so much what the other team did, it’s what we didn’t do,” said Colgate head coach Dick Biddle.  The Raiders lost two fumbles (one inside the UMass one-yard line), had an interception, and allowed a punt return for a touchdown.

 

UMass quarterback Liam Coen connected on 17-of-26 passes for 204 yards and four touchdowns, while Matt Lawrence carried 19 times for 122 yards.

 

Colgate was led by junior tailback Jordan Scott (Hyattsville, MD) with 29 carries for 103 yards, junior quarterback Alex Relph (Victor, NY) with 17-of-31 passing for 218 yards and two touchdowns, and senior wideout Erik Burke (Traverse City. Mich.) with a career-high nine receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

 

UMass took advantage of Colgate’s first turnover late in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.  Colgate’s Cody Williams (Blasdell, NY) fumbled the punt return which was recovered by UMass’ Eric Dickson at the Raider 39-yard line.  Five plays later, Coen connected with Jeremy Horne on a 25-yard touchdown pass, and Chris Koepplin added the extra point.

 

Colgate came right back on the ensuing possession marching from its own 29-yard line to the visitors 30, where Relph connected with Burke on the first of his two touchdowns to tie the contest after Mike Buck’s (Basking Ridge, NJ) PAT.

 

In the second quarter, Courtney Robinson intercepted for the UMass on the Colgate 46, and returned the ball to the Colgate 26.  Coen completed a four-yard pass to Breyone Evans for the touchdown giving the Minutemen a 14-0 lead with 1:21 remaining.

 

Colgate answered back before halftime, when Buck kicked a career-long 47-yarder on the final play to cut the deficit to 14-10 at intermission.

 

The breaking point for the Raiders came in the third quarter, when Coen tossed a 15-yard TD to Ian Jorgensen for a 21-10 lead, and then after stopping Colgate without a first down, J.J. Moore scored on a 58-yard punt return for a 28-10 advantage.

 

Colgate immediately marched down the field to the UMass one-yard line, but on third-and-goal Scott fumbled, and Charles Walker recovered for the Minutemen at the three-yard line stopping the scoring opportunity for the Raiders.

 

Colgate made it 28-17 in the fourth quarter on Relph’s three-yard toss to Burke on fourth-and-goal play with 8:18 remaining.  On Massachusetts’ next possession, the Raiders appeared to have the visitors stopped when Tony Nelson fumbled, but an official wrongly ruled Nelson down allowing UMass to keep possession at the Colgate 11.  On the next play, Coen completed a pass to Moore for the final score with 4:43 left.

 

RAIDER NOTEBOOK – Colgate outgained UMass in the first half, 230-90 … UMass finished with 364 yards, while Colgate managed 312 … Relph had the first two passing TD’s of his career, while Burke had the second 100-yard receiving performance of his career … Burke became the 18^th player in school history to gain over 1,000-yards in a career.  He has 1,139 yards for 16^th place all-time … Scott moved into sixth place in career rushing with 2,881 yards … Scott has 15 career games with 100 yards or more (tied for fourth all-time with Randall Joseph) … On the defensive side of the football, senior linebacker Mike Gallihugh (Midlothian, VA) had 17 tackles including one TFL, while Uzi Idah (Rolling Hills Esate, CA) made a career-high eight stops … safety Andre Dawson (Erie, PA) had an interception for the second straight contest … Ted Marshall (Melbourne, FL) and Owen Brenner (Ringoes, NJ) had one quarterback sack apiece.