Saturday, November 14
Hamilton, N.Y.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
5-5 , 3-2
42
at
49
Colgate
6-4 , 5-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
7
21
0
14
42
Colgate
14
14
7
14
49
Colgate outscores Lehigh 49-42 to claim Patriot League's playoff berth
11/14/2015 5:48:00 PM | Football
HAMILTON, N.Y. – In an offensive shootout that saw Lehigh and Colgate combine for just under 1,000 yards of offense and 91 points, the host Raiders were one touchdown better as they claimed the Patriot League's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs with a 49-42 win over the Mountain Hawks Saturday at Andy Kerr Stadium. James Holland's one yard run gave the Raiders a 49-42 lead with 2:49 to play. Lehigh answered with a solid drive but failed to convert on five straight goal-to-go plays from the Colgate five yard line.
Junior Nick Shafnisky returned to the starting lineup at quarterback, completing 23-of-36 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 16 times for 61 yards and one scores. Freshman Dominick Bragalone posted his sixth 100-yard rushing game in his last seven outings, carrying 25 times for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
Lehigh out-gained Colgate 503-489 but the Raiders rushed for 316 yards. The Mountain Hawks once again used a balanced attack, rushing for 232 yards and passing for 271.
Colgate quarterback Jake Melville passed for 173 yards and a touchdown and ran for 132 and two scores. The Raiders improve to 6-4 overall and 5-0 in the league. Colgate clinched at least a share of the Patriot League title and secured the league's automatic playoff berth by way of its head-to-head win over Fordham.
Lehigh falls to 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the league.
"It's hard to face these kids, these seniors especially," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "We were trying to keep a real important string alive and just came up a little short. There were two good football teams. The kids competed well on both sides. Someone's got to win and someone's got to lose and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of the ledger."
Lehigh had a lengthy string of Patriot League success snapped Saturday. Every Lehigh football class since the class of 1994 had won at least one Patriot League championship.
"For the group of guys that are back next year this game will pay dividends," Coen said. "I'm pleased that our kids had an opportunity to compete like this today. Unfortunately at the end it feels somewhat wasted but we're certainly going to learn from this."
The first seven drives of the first half resulted in scores. Colgate converted 7-of-9 third down conversions and on the only two the Raiders failed to convert, they scored touchdowns on fourth down.
On the game's opening drive Melville scrambled for a 28-yard score on 4th-and-8 to put the Raiders in front. Lehigh answered with an eight-play, 55-yard drive and pulled even as Shafnisky faked a handoff and ran around the left side from a 14 yard touchdown.
The teams then traded long drives that were capped with one yard runs. James Holland put the Raiders back in front and then Bragalone answered from a yard out to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:32 left in the first half.
Melville's second touchdown run of the game, a 13 yard scamper on 4th-and-3 put the Raiders ahead again, but on Lehigh's next drive Bragalone sprinted 62 yards with the help of some strong blocking from wide receivers Gatlin Casey and Troy Pelletier to score the tying touchdown.
A Demetrius Russell one yard run put the Raiders in front with 2:31 left before the half. Lehigh's ensuing drive stalled resulting in the first punt of the game. From there the Mountain Hawks' defense created the game's first turnover as Russell was stripped by senior Matt Laub and sophomore Harrison Johnson recovered for Lehigh at the Raider 24. Three plays later Shafnisky hit sophomore Sasha Kelsey for an 11-yard score and Ed Mish's extra point tied the game at 28-28 after 30 minutes of play.
Total yards favored Colgate 303-231 in the opening half. Shafnisky was 9-of-14 for 79 yards and a touchdown and ran seven times for 39 yards for Lehigh. Bragalone eclipsed 100 yards in the first half with 109 on 11 carries. Junior Trevor Socarras was Lehigh's top receiver with four catches for 27 yards.
Lehigh took the second half kickoff and marched 62 yards in 16 plays but failed to take its first lead of the game as Shafnisky was stopped for a two yard loss on 4th-and-goal from the Raider four. The Mountain Hawk defense held from there but freshman Luke Christiano muffed Colgate's only punt of the game and the Raiders recovered at the Lehigh 35.
Colgate reclaimed the lead with its third fourth down touchdown of the day. On 4th-and-1 from the Lehigh nine, Russell rushed up the middle for his second touchdown of the game.
The Mountain Hawks responded with another long drive, this one carrying 76 yards over 13 plays. Shafnisky hooked up with Pelletier for a 13 yard score with the extra point tying the game for the fifth time at 35-35 early in the fourth quarter.
Colgate needed just seven plays to go back in front. A pair of long pass plays from Melville to John Maddaluna moved the ball deep into Lehigh territory. Melville then threw his only touchdown pass of the day, an eight-yarder to Alex Greenwalt, to put the Raiders in front 42-35.
Five plays later, Lehigh found itself tied again. Shafnisky opened the drive with a 29-yard completion to Casey and then hit sophomore tight end Drew Paulsen for 35 yards, but Paulsen slipped at the seven yard line, preventing a touchdown. Back-to-back runs from Bragalone, including a one-yard plunge for his third touchdown of the game tied the game at 42 with 5:33 to play.
Russell delivered the biggest play of the fourth quarter for Colgate, breaking a 2nd-and-9 run for 58 yards down to the Lehigh three yard line. On 3rd-and-goal Holland scored his second touchdown of the game to put Colgate back in front.
A good return from freshman Donavon Harris set Lehigh up at its own 40 yard line with 2:41 to play. Shafnisky hit Kelsey for 11 yards on a first down on Lehigh's first play, and later converted a 4th-and-1 with a three yard rush. Three straight completions got the ball down to the Raider five yard line, but after three incompletions, Shafnisky's fourth down dump off to junior Kenny Crawford was stopped for a loss.
Pelletier was Lehigh's leading receiver with nine catches for 92 yards. Socarras finished with six receptions for 39 yards and Kelsey added four for 64.
Both teams were outstanding on third downs as Lehigh converted 12-of-16 (75 percent) and Colgate converted 9-of-13 (69 percent). The Raiders were also 3-for-3 on fourth downs with all three conversions resulting in touchdowns. Lehigh had 28 first downs to Colgate's 21.
"We ran the ball very well," Coen said. "They were giving up only 70 yards per game. Our plan didn't change. It's what Drew (Folmar) has been doing all season. Keep balance in the offense. Throw the football and take some shots deep. Nick missed a couple of the deeper throws but I don't think it really hurt us because we scored on most of them."
Coen commented on the efforts of his senior class and the team's ability to look ahead to next week's season finale.
"I just told them how much I appreciate their effort and what they're going to mean," he said. "We've got to move on to next week. We've got a big game next week. We can't be hung over on this one. We have to practice with as much vigor as we have all year and get ready for them."
The Mountain Hawks will close out the regular season next Saturday when they host Lafayette in the 151st meeting of college football's most-played rivalry. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. with television coverage on WFMZ-TV and the Patriot League Network and audio coverage on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 11:30 a.m.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh suffered just its second loss the week prior to the Lafayette game in 13 years… On both occasions the Mountain Hawks lost to Colgate and the Raiders claimed the Patriot League title with the victory… Saturday marked the first time Lehigh lost a game this season in which the difference between the Mountain Hawks' total rushing yards and passing yards was less than 100… junior Colton Caslow led the Lehigh defense with 11 tackles… Lehigh had zero sacks after totaling nine in the previous two games.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
COLGATE
Total Yards
503
489
Pass Yards
271
173
Rushing Yards
232
316
Penalty Yards
25
25
1st Downs
28
21
3rd Downs
12
9
4th Downs
1
3
TOP
29:04
30:56
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 0, COLGATE 7
COLGATE - Melville,Jake 28 yd run (Bowman,Jonah kick), 9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:12
LEHIGH 7, COLGATE 7
LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 14 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 3:44
LEHIGH 7, COLGATE 14
COLGATE - Holland,James 1 yd run (Bowman,Jonah kick), 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 5:46
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 14, COLGATE 14
LEHIGH - Bragalone, Dom 1 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 11 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:27
LEHIGH 14, COLGATE 21
COLGATE - Melville,Jake 13 yd run (Bowman,Jonah kick), 12 plays, 70 yards, TOP 5:43
LEHIGH 21, COLGATE 21
LEHIGH - Bragalone, Dom 62 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 6 plays, 83 yards, TOP 2:30
LEHIGH 21, COLGATE 28
COLGATE - Russell,D. 1 yd run (Bowman,Jonah kick), 7 plays, 88 yards, TOP 2:31
LEHIGH 28, COLGATE 28
LEHIGH - Kelsey, Sasha 11 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Mish, Ed kick) 3 plays, 24 yards, TOP 0:15
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 28, COLGATE 35
COLGATE - Russell,D. 9 yd run (Bowman,Jonah kick), 6 plays, 35 yards, TOP 3:05
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 35, COLGATE 35
LEHIGH - Pelletier, Troy 13 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Mish, Ed kick) 13 plays, 76 yards, TOP 5:32
LEHIGH 35, COLGATE 42
COLGATE - Greenawalt,A. 8 yd pass from Melville,Jake (Bowman,Jonah kick) 7 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:50
LEHIGH 42, COLGATE 42
LEHIGH - Bragalone, Dom 1 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:36
LEHIGH 42, COLGATE 49
COLGATE - Holland,James 1 yd run (Bowman,Jonah kick), 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:37
Game Leaders
CMP
23
TD
2
YDS
271
INT
0
Players Mentioned
RB
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WR
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LB
/ Football
WR
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DB
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DL
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WR
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TE
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WR
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WR
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