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NEW HAVEN, Conn. – That scoreless first quarter was quite misleading.
 
Colgate matched its season high for points here Saturday but it wasn't enough, as Yale pulled away for a 45-31 decision at the Yale Bowl.
 
Bulldogs tailback Tyler Varga scored four of his five touchdowns in the second half as the two teams put on an offensive show after intermission. The game was scoreless through one quarter and tied at 10 going into the break before Yale outscored Colgate 35-21 in the final 30 minutes.
 
Freshman Bret Mooney drew the start at quarterback for Colgate in place of Jake Melville, who's recovering from an upper body injury suffered at the end of last week's 31-30 victory over Princeton.
 
Mooney finished 15-of-31 passing for 225 yards. He also rushed 17 times for 27 additional yards.
 

Sophomore Chris Morgan kept the Raiders in it with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that tied the game 24-24 late in the third quarter. It was Colgate's first return of a non-onside kick in nearly 15 years.
 
John Wilkins scored two rushing touchdowns and James Travellin one for the Raiders. Kris Kent was the tackle leader with 12.

The loss snapped Colgate's four-game winning streak.
 
Bottom Line
• Yale 45, Colgate 31

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate drops to 4-3.
• Yale improves to 4-1.

Facts & Figures
• The Raiders held a 222-199 halftime advantage in total offense, but Yale finished with 633 yards to Colgate's 398. The Bulldogs posted 254 rushing yards and another 379 through the air, while Colgate finished with 173 and 225.
• Yale's Tyler Varga carried 25 times for 184 yards and rushing touchdowns of 1, 7, 5 and 69. The Raiders had limited Varga to just 16 yards on seven carries in the first half before he found his rhythm. Varga added a fifth touchdown on a 9-yard reception from quarterback Morgan Roberts.
• Colgate's leading rusher was Demetrius Russell with 10 carries for 70 yards. John Wilkins added 11 for 58 and two touchdowns, while James Travellin carried four times for 21 yards and a score.

• The Patriot League's leading kickoff returner, John Maddaluna III, didn't get a chance at a runback Saturday thanks to Yale's strategic boots. But Maddaluna did set a career high with 91 receiving yards. He tied a career high with seven catches.
• In addition to Kris Kent's 12 tackles, Kyle Diener added eight. Vinny Russo and Anto Almasian posted Colgate's two sacks, while Diener and Mike Armiento contributed pass breakups.
 
Break Out the Time Capsule
• Chris Morgan's 93-yard kickoff return to tie the game at 24 was Colgate's first non-onside kickoff return for a touchdown since Ameer Riley ran back the opening kick 95 yards at St. Mary's (Cal.) on Oct. 23, 1999.
• St. Mary's no longer fields a football team.
• Colgate's most recent touchdown on a kickoff return of any kind was when Pat Simonds ran back an onside kick 38 yards at Lafayette on Oct. 27, 2007. The Raiders won that afternoon, 36-27.
 
Turning Point
• There were four lead changes and three ties in the game. The last of those ties came when Colgate's Victor Steffen forced a fumble and Pat Afriyie was there for the recovery deep in Yale territory. Travellin scored three plays later and it was 31-31.
• But three plays after that, Yale's Roberts hit Robert Clemmons on a 69-yard TD strike that proved to be the decisive points.
 
Records Watch
• Morgan's 93-yarder was the 11th longest kickoff return in program history.
• Placekicker Jonah Bowman saw his streak of consecutive made field goals end at 10 when he missed from 39 yards in the first quarter. Bowman at that point was 9-of-9 this season after making his only attempt of 2013.
• He began a new streak with a successful 31-yard field goal in the second quarter.
 
Collegiate Debut

• First-year quarterback Brett Mooney drew the starting quarterback assignment in place of Jake Melville, who suffered an upper body injury late in the Princeton win.
 
From the Sources
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the game) "We knew we were going to have to score points on them. The offense did a great job in the first half with ball possession, which kept the points low and the explosive plays to a minimum.
"In the second half, they wore us out a little bit. They started getting the run game going. Our defense came up with a big turnover in the fourth quarter to give us a chance, but we knew going in that 31 points weren't going to be enough.
"They have a really good offense with a lot of weapons. It's great when you have a running back who forces you to put eight in the box, and then you can go over the top with the pass. It makes them formidable."
(On Bret Mooney) "For the most part, he handled himself well. There were a few moments where he played like a freshman, but overall he stayed aggressive and made some really good decisions.
"You could tell he was nervous about turning the ball over and held the ball maybe longer than he should, but that's a good concern and I'm happy for him. He did a good job for his first start in a back-and-forth ballgame.
"This loss isn't because we played a freshman quarterback, that's for sure."
(On Chris Morgan's kickoff return) "It's been a long time since we've done it. To be honest, he did most of it himself. They were trying to place their kicks where we couldn't get a return set up and he just picked the ball up, broke about five tackles and took off. We were teetering at that point, so it was a huge play."
"Special teams all year has been doing a great job for us, and it's an important part of football. It's keeping us in games and helping us win. I'm happy for Chris because he puts the time in."
(Looking ahead) "No one's going to feel sorry for us because we didn't win. We've got to rally, get better, fix what we need to fix and go play another good football team in Albany. That's why you play at Colgate. We'll be ready to go next weekend."
• Colgate linebacker Kris Kent: (On Yale's Tyler Varga) "You've got to give him credit. One thing people overlook is he's got great balance. If you take on his legs, he does a good job of keeping himself up and fighting for extra yards. We didn't do a good enough job of wrapping up. He got most of his yards after contact, and that's something as a defense you really can't do."

• Colgate defensive back Chris Morgan: (On the kickoff return TD) "It was a squib ball up the middle that finally got to me. I took off and saw a hole. I made a couple of spin moves, a couple of jukes, but I got out (of the pack), saw green and took off for the end zone.
(On the kickoff return team's success) "John Maddaluna's been doing a great job all year of breaking them to the 50. We finally got it loose. Coach Knowles knows what he's doing and we finally got one. They'll probably just squib it for the rest of the year."
• Colgate quarterback Bret Mooney: (On the game) "It was fun. It was a little bit different than high school; hitting was a lot harder. It's a good start, but I've got to get used to the playing speed. I can only get better from here.
"I played OK. We played well as a team but just couldn't pull it out. It's a hard loss but we will come back next week."
(On when he knew he was going to start) "Monday I knew I had to get going, but Tuesday is when I really felt it. I just kept getting more comfortable as the week progressed and I could see that Jake (Melville) probably wasn't going to play.
"I felt good on the first drive and felt good the whole game."
• Colgate wide receiver John Maddaluna III: (On the grass surface) "It was tough; a little muddy. We did practice on the grass all week so we were used to it, but it's a lot different than turf. No excuse, though. We've still got to execute and pull the W out."
(On the new quarterback) "Mooney practiced well all week. Jake being down is tough, but Bret stepped up and played well. We've got to make a couple of more plays for him. We've got to execute better."
(On the kickoff return unit) "Chris is back there for a reason; he can make plays too. We trusted him and he took it to the house.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Saturday's crowd at the Yale Bowl was 8,788.
 
Up Next
• Colgate is back on the road next Saturday at Albany. The Great Danes won Saturday at Maine, 20-7, to improve to 5-2. The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and is being televised by Time Warner Cable Sports.