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HAMILTON – Colgate's offense again showed signs of a fourth-quarter rally, but No. 12/15 New Hampshire held off the Raider charge in a 26-8 decision here Saturday night.
 
Intermittent showers and the UNH defense dampened Colgate hopes for the first three quarters. The Wildcats led 23-0 and the Raiders had reached the red zone just once, when a 17-play drive was halted at the UNH 14.
 
But like the week before at Navy, Colgate sprung to life in the final 15 minutes.
 
The Raiders scored on their first possession of the period when Jake Melville hit Alex Greenawalt with a 13-yard pass along the right sideline of the end zone. Melville's lofting two-point conversion pass was hauled in by John Quazza and the Raiders trailed 23-8.
 

Christian Hardegree then came up with his first career interception to put Colgate right back in business at the UNH 22. The Raiders picked up a first down at the Wildcat 12 but then were halted on fourth-and-8 when Melville couldn't escape a heavy rush.
 
The teams traded possessions before New Hampshire's Christian Breda tacked on his second field goal of the game with 2:04 remaining for the final margin.
 
Bottom Line
• New Hampshire 26, Colgate 8

Won-Lost Records
• Colgate is now 0-2.
• New Hampshire improves to 1-1.

Facts & Figures
• Colgate's defense limited New Hampshire to just a pair of field goals in the second half. The Wildcats picked up 294 yards of total offense in the opening 30 minutes to only 117 after intermission.

• Linebacker Kyle Diener was Colgate's defensive stalwart, posting a career-high 14 tackles including seven solo. Hardegree, Keyon Washington and Pat Afriyie added eight tackles apiece.
• Afriyie picked up his first sack of the year and added another tackle-for-loss.
• Offensively, Jake Melville finished 21-of-41 passing for 195 yards and the TD to Greenawalt. Melville's 41 passing attempts are a career high.
• He also led the Raiders in rushing with 59 yards on 17 attempts, despite having a long first-quarter gainer called back by penalty.
• John Wilkins added 48 yards on the ground and James Holland 32.
• Quazza was the Colgate receptions leader with seven for 56 yards, while John Maddaluna III led in yards with 67 on six catches. Wilkins added four for 40 and Greenawalt three for 30 to go with his TD.
• The Raiders were 1-of-3 in the red zone in the fourth quarter, and 1-of-4 for the game.
• Colgate attempted six fourth-down conversions in its comeback bid, converting two.
• The Raiders for the second week in a row won the time-of-possession battle, but this one was close: 30:01 to 29:59.
 
Another Early Injury
• Colgate for the second week in a row suffered a crucial injury to a defensive senior.
• Defensive lineman Victor Steffen picked up a tackle on New Hampshire second play from scrimmage, but then was injured on the very next snap.
• Last week in the first quarter, cornerback Adam Bridgeforth was injured on special teams and will miss the remainder of the season. Steffen also is likely to miss the rest of 2015.
 
Turning Point

• Colgate faced a 23-0 hole entering the fourth quarter but made a game of it.
• The Raiders got on the board via a 13-yard Melville-to-Greenawalt TD strike, followed by Melville's 2-point conversion pass to Quazza.
• On New Hampshire's ensuing drive, junior safety Christian Hardegree stepped in front of a Wildcat pass and returned his first career interception to the UNH 22.
• But after a roughing-the-passer penalty handed Colgate a first down at the 12-yard line, UNH's defense stiffened and limited Colgate to just two yards over the next four plays.
 
From the Source
• Colgate head coach Dan Hunt: (On the defense) "They gave us a chance in the fourth quarter. They kept fighting while we were struggling offensively, and all you can really ask at that point is keep it to where if we get in the end zone we have a chance.
"We were able to get it in the end zone and get the two-point conversion, and then come right back and get the turnover. That's kind of the recipe to win a game like that, and then unfortunately in the red zone we weren't able to make the plays necessary to get it down to a one-score game.
"Losing Victor, just like last week (Adam Bridgeforth) – but the defense responded and put us in position to have a chance to win the game in the second half."
(On building on tonight's performance) "We play a good schedule; we play good teams, which is what we want to do. A lot of the mistakes that we made tonight were self-inflicted. It frustrates you, but that's fixable. We can have a good week of practice and clean up the mistakes that we made and move forward."
(On Kyle Diener) "That's Kyle. He plays hard every snap. But more importantly about Kyle is he practices hard. He's a kid who shows up every day to practice and wants to get better. I knew we'd be able to rely on him to make the plays and kind of pick the defense up now that two of the seniors are out.
"He'll be a guy we lean on and he's the right guy for that job."

(On Yale next Saturday) "It's always interesting when it's their first game. Obviously, it's an advantage to us having played two. But you have no film on them to get ready for.
"But moving forward it's still about us. We have to get better. We've got to find a way to get the ball in the end zone and stop making mistakes that are killing us. That's on me, and that will be our emphasis this week."
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Colgate legend Mark van Eeghen was on hand Saturday and spoke to the Raiders during their pregame meal at Frank Dining Hall. He also spent time greeting fans before, during and after the game, and was a guest of WKXZ's radio coverage during the third quarter. Read about van Eeghen's return to Hamilton HERE.
• Saturday's crowd inside Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium was 2,988.
 
Up Next
• Colgate hosts Yale for Homecoming next Saturday. Start time is 1 p.m.
• It's the season-opener for the Bulldogs.
• Time Warner Cable Sports is providing the telecast, and it also is available via the Patriot League Network.

Game Archive (Part 1 and 2)