The fourth week of Patriot League football saw the continuation of two trends that have emerged so far this year; success against the Ivy League and failure against the CAA. Fordham and Lehigh both posted 14 point wins over their Ancient Eight opponents. Georgetown was able to notch their first 3-0 start in 17 years by downing Columbia. On the flip side, Colgate and Lafayette both fell to ranked CAA opponents. The Raiders put up a tremendous battle before falling short at #10 Richmond. Finally, Bucknell’s early season misery continued against VMI.
Lehigh 42 Princeton 28
Lehigh (2-2) rolled up 621 yards of offense as the Mountain Hawks exacted some revenge on Princeton (1-1) for last year’s blowout loss in New Jersey. Lehigh’s offense was led by senior quarterback Nick Shafnisky who passed for a career high 461 yards (4TDs) in the win. 190 of those yards, and a TD, went to Troy Pelletier while Gatlin Casey enjoyed a career high 148 yards and 2 TDs on 6 receptions. Dominic Bragalone led the ground attack with 124 yards and a TD.
Lehigh got the scoring started less than 5 minutes into the game when Shafnisky hit WR Derek Knott for a 7 yard TD. The two teams traded punts before Princeton tied the game on Charlie Volker’s 8 yard TD run following an 11 play 71 yard drive. The Mountain Hawks retook the lead when Nick Shafnisky found Gatlin Casey for a beautiful 42 yard touchdown bomb with 11:52 left in the 2nd quarter. Lehigh extended their lead to 21-7 following an impressive 13 play 98 yard drive that ended with when Micco Brisker plowed into the end zone from 2 yards out. Princeton responded on their next possession with an impressive scoring drive of their own. Volker found pay dirt for the second time cutting Lehigh’s lead to 21-14 with 1:38 left in the half.
The Mountain Hawks were able to seize control of the game in the 3rd quarter with two Shafnisky TD passes to push the lead to 35-14. Princeton would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. The Tigers final threat of the game ended when Evan Harvey picked off Kanoff with a little over 2 minutes left in the game to preserve the Lehigh win.
Up Next: The Mountain Hawks travel to the historic Yale Bowl to take on the Eli. Yale has won the last two meetings (2014, 2015) and own a 17-6 all-time series lead.
Dartmouth 35 Holy Cross 10
The friendly confines of Fitton Field did not help Holy Cross (1-3) escape their recent struggles. The Dartmouth Big Green (2-0) proved their win over New Hampshire last weekend was no fluke by backing it up with an impressive 25 point win over Holy Cross in Worcester. The Crusaders problems on defense and propensity to turn over the ball once again cost them on Saturday. To make matters worse, all everything quarterback Peter Pujals left the game in the 2nd quarter and did not return. Pujals was seen on the sideline using crutches. His status moving forward will be known as the week goes on.
The day did not start out on a bad note for Holy Cross. The Crusaders took their opening possession of the game and marched right down the field for a TD. Pujals hit Jordan Montgomery from 18 yards out to give Holy Cross a very early 7-0 lead. From that point on Dartmouth would dominate the game thanks to a balanced offense (208 yards rushing, 245 yards passing) that kept Holy Cross on their heels. Dartmouth’s Hunter Hagdorn got the ball rolling when he scored a rushing a TD with 10:36 left in the 1st quarter to finish off an 8 play 73 yard drive. The Big Green’s next scoring drive was setup when Darius George stripped the ball from the Crusader’s Brandon Flaherty and Lucas Bavaro recovered it. Miles Smith busted off a 35 yard TD run only moments later to make the score 14-7 Dartmouth.
Darius George once again made a big play for Dartmouth to close out the first half. The Big Green defensive back recovered the ball in the end zone for a TD after the Holy Cross punter couldn’t handle the snap properly. Dartmouth basically put the game away on their first possession of the second half. Ryder Stone capped an impressive 7 play 65 yard drive with a 4 yard scamper to push the Dartmouth lead to 28-7. Holy Cross would tack on a 42 yard FG midway through the 3rd quarter to cut the lead to 28-10. Unfortunately for the Crusaders that would be the last points they scored for the day.
Up Next: Holy Cross hits the road for the third time in four games to start the season. This time it’s against league foe Lafayette in Easton, PA. The Crusaders blasted the Leopards 42-0 last year in Worcester.
Georgetown 17 Columbia 14
Georgetown pushed their record to 3-0 for the first time since 1999 with a hard fought 17-14 win over the Columbia Lions (0-2). Given Georgetown’s struggles since joining the Patriot League in 2001 the 3-0 start has to feel darn good in Hoya land even if they didn’t have to go through a murders row of opponents. The Hoyas used an opportunistic defense (+4 turnover ratio) and a “just good enough” offense (195 total yards, 8 first downs) to claim the Lou Little Trophy for the second straight year.
Georgetown’s most impressive drive of the game came on their first possession. The Hoya’s jumped out to a 7-0 advantage three minutes into the game when QB Tim Barnes found freshman WR Dereus Michael for a 44 TD. Columbia’s offense could not get any traction in the first quarter. Of the Lion’s five possessions in the quarter, 3 ended in turnovers (2 INTs, 1 Fumble) while the other two resulted in a punt. Georgetown was able to parlay the fumble into a lengthy 47 yard FG to push their lead to 10-0 with a minute left in the opening quarter. The Hoyas extended their lead to 17-0 midway through the 2nd quarter when Tim Barnes finished off a quick 3 play 36 yard drive with a 9 yard TD scramble.
Columbia finally broke through early in the second half. The Lions used a grinding 11 play 46 yard drive that ended with a Chris Schroer TD run to cut the Hoya lead to 17-7. Following four straight Georgetown punts Columbia was able to get their offense going again. The Lions cut the lead to 17-14 early in the 4th quarter on Anders Hill 9 yard TD run. Columbia’s defense continued to stifle the Hoya “O” the rest of the way but they couldn’t find a way to add points. The Lions had two chances late in the game to either tie or take the lead but their threats ended on downs and a fumble. Georgetown held on despite having only 53 total yards of offense in the second half.
Up Next: The Hoyas take a major jump in competition when they travel to Cambridge for a Friday night battle with Ivy League favorite Harvard (2-0). The Crimson won the two other meetings between the schools (2014, 2015) by a combined score of 79-3.
Fordham 31 Penn 17
The Rams (2-1) were able to notch their 3rd straight win over the Quakers (0-2) in large part to a very solid defensive performance. They did an especially good job limiting Penn’s potent passing attack. Fordham held Ivy League Offensive POY Alek Torgersen to 131 passing yards. His favorite target, WR Justin Watson, had only 33 yards on 3 receptions. If Fordham can build off of this type of defensive performance they will be very difficult to beat once league play begins in two weeks.
One constant for Fordham is Chase Edmonds. The junior running back once again led the Rams offense on Saturday with his 152 yards rushing and 3 TDs. Edmonds also factored into the passing attack (4 receptions, 49 yards, 1 TD). His 22 yard TD reception gave the Rams a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Penn responded with a 10 play 72 yard scoring drive to tie the game at 7. Fordham then proceeded to use two Edmonds rushing TDs and a short 22 yard Makay Redd FG to pull ahead 24-7. The Quakers cut the lead to 24-10 at half on their own 23 yard chip shot FG.
Penn would close the gap to 24-17 on Alek Torgersen’s 2 yard QB plunge with 4:50 left in the 3rd. From that point on the Rams defense would really put the clamps on the Quakers offense. Penn’s final three possessions of the game ended either on downs or with a punt. Fordham put the game on ice when Edmonds found the end zone from a yard out with 5:31 left in the game.
Up Next: Fordham takes the short bus ride to West Long Branch, NJ to face the Monmouth Hawks (2-2). The Rams beat Monmouth 54-31 last year in the Bronx.
#10 Richmond 38 #23 Colgate 31
Colgate’s (1-2) comeback attempt fell just short as the Raiders lost a hard fought 38-31 decision to Richmond (3-1) in front of a sold out Robins Stadium. Both team entered the game looking for a victory to propel themselves back into the national conversation. As it turned out, Richmond left their home field as the team that picked up a crucial out conference. The Spiders star QB Kyle Lauletta’s had arguably his best game (23/34 307 4 TDs 1 INT) of the year in the win. His favorite target Brian Brown also stepped up with a big time performance ( 7 rec. 148 yards 2 TDs). The two were helped out by RB Xavier Goodall’s 130 yard 1 TD performance.
Richmond got out to a quick 10-0 lead after a 45 yard FG by Trau Griffin and Goodall’s 1 yard TD run. Colgate would not be deterred however. The Raiders responded with three consecutive scores to take a 17-10 lead. Perhaps the biggest play came when Ben Hunt had a pick six with 2:45 left in the 1st quarter to put Colgate ahead by 7. The Spiders would tie the game right before half on Lauletta’s first TD pass of the game.
Whatever message Coach Rocco was trying to convey at half time got through because Richmond came out of the locker room on fire. Richmond’s defense forced a three and out on Colgate’s first possession of the second half to quickly get the ball back in the hands of Kyle Lauletta. The redshirt-jr QB proceeded to march his team on a 7 play 68 yard drive that culminated in a 23 yard TD pass to Brian Brown that gave Richmond a 24-17 lead. Lauletta would tack on two more second half TD passes to give the Spiders a commanding 38-17 lead.
However, the Raiders would not give up. Following Abu Daramy’s 84 yard kickoff return, Jake Melville scored from 4 yards out to draw the Raiders to within two scores. Colgate cut the lead to 7 with 3:34 left in the game on Keyon Washington’s 4 yard TD scamper. The Raiders had one last chance to tie the game with under a minute to go but Melville was picked off by Richmond’s Tafon Mainsah to preserve the 38-31 win.
Up Next: Colgate gets to defend their home turf for the first time of the year when their Central New York rivals, the Cornell Big Red (2-0), pay a visit. Cornell owns a 48-46-3 advantage in the series but Colgate has won the last seven games.
VMI 23 Bucknell 16 3OT
It was a historic evening in Lewisburg for the visiting Keydets! VMI’s (2-1) thrilling OT victory meant that two dubious streaks ended on Bucknell’s (1-3) home turf. The back-to-back road wins (VMI won @ Morehead State prior to their bye) were the Keydets first since they closed the 1981 season with a 6-0 win at Virginia Tech and opened the 1982 campaign with a 21-3 win over Eastern Tennessee in Johnson City. It was also VMI’s first back-to-back wins of any kind since 2005.
Not to be overshadowed, VMI’s senior QB Al Cobb set two school records in the win. He broke the all-time record for career passing yards and career completions in the victory. The outstanding QB finished the game 34/52 for 285 yards. He did have 3 interceptions.
VMI took an early 6-0 (2 pt try failed) on Daz Palmer’s 9 yard TD. The next three Keydet drives would end with 2 interceptions and a missed FG. Bucknell would jump ahead 7-6 early in the 2nd quarter when Matt Muh (20/30 226 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs) connected with WR Will Carter for a short 2 yard TD. The two teams traded 3rd quarter touchdowns which resulted in the score being tied at 14 (VMI converted a 2 pt conversion) heading into the final fifteen minutes of regulation. The Bison would retake the lead with 8:37 left on Jack Chamber’s 22 yard FG. Following a Bison punt, the Keydets went on a 15 play 46 yard drive that ended with King Reed’s game tying 25 yard FG with 59 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Bucknell had one last attempt to win the game but Matt Muh was sacked at VMI 40 yard as time expired.
The OT sessions were all about defense and missed field goals. VMI stopped a 4th and 2 from the five yard line on Bucknell’s first possession of OT. The Keydets first chance to win ended when Julie’n Davenport
blocked King Reed’s 39 yard FG attempt. The second overtime saw both teams miss field goals. The Bison started the third OT frame with the ball. Unfortunately for Bucknell they would only run one play as VMI’s Riuq Trotman intercepted Matt Muh to end the Bison possession. VMI would not let another opportunity to win slip away. On the 5th play of the drive Daz Palmer scored the game winning touchdown from 12 yards out. What ensued was pure exultation from the Keydets!
Up Next: Bucknell will have a much needed bye before heading to Worcester to start league play against Holy Cross on October 8th.
#20 Villanova 31 Lafayette 14
The Wildcats (3-1) got their first ever win over Lafayette in five tries on a beautiful evening in Easton. In a game that was 96 years in the making, Villanova’s defense stole the show in the 17 point victory. The Wildcat D had a scoop and score fumble recovery to set the tone early in the game and finished off the scoring with a pick 6. The win was Villanova’s 4th straight over a school from the Patriot League. Lafayette’s last win over a CAA opponent was in 2012 when they took down William & Mary 17-16.
It did not take long for Villanova to make Lafayette play catch-up. Wildcat’s All-American DE Tonah Kpassagon picked up DeSean Brown’s fumble on the first play from scrimmage and returned it 25 yards for a TD. The rest of first quarter would remain rather uneventful as both defenses controlled play. Villanova would get back on the board early in the 2nd quarter when Gerard Smith nailed a 37 yard FG to extend the lead to 10-0. On Villanova’s next possession Jevon White found the end zone to put the Wildcats up 17-0 with 7:48 left in the first half. Lafayette would cut the lead to 10 before half time when Drew Reed (19/27 229 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs) hit Yasir Thomas for a 14 yard TD pass and catch.
Lafayette closed the gap to 3 following a 7 play 68 yard drive that ended with Reed tossing a 19 yard TD pass to Tim Vangelas early in the 3rd quarter. The Leopards would get no closer the rest of the way. Villanova put the game away on two late third quarter touchdowns. The second of which occurred when Jeff Steeb returned a Drew Reed pass 45 yards for a pick 6.
Up Next: Lafayette opens Patriot League play at home against Holy Cross (1-3). The Leopards will be looking avenge last years 42-0 shellacking the Crusaders dished out in Worcester.
Power Rankings
1. Colgate
2.Fordham
3. Lehigh
4. Lafayette
5. Georgetown
6. Holy Cross
7. Bucknell
