Week five in the Patriot League was highlighted by Holy Cross’s 38-28 win over Lafayette. The Crusaders were able to start conference play 1-0 by overcoming the absence of star QB Peter Pujals. In non-league action, Colgate and Fordham both suffered heartbreaking losses to local opponents. Colgate gave up a game winning touchdown with less than 30 seconds left in their loss to Cornell, while Monmouth stunned Fordham on a 2 pt conversion in OT. Lehigh had no such trouble in a record setting win over Yale in New Haven. Finally, Georgetown put up a good fight Friday night but simply lacked the horses to take down #24 Harvard in Cambridge.

#24 Harvard 31 Georgetown 17

The Hoyas bid for a 4-0 start fell short against Harvard (3-0) on Friday night. The Crimson were easily the most formidable opponent Georgetown (3-1) faced so far this season. So while the loss is an obvious disappointment, there are some positives to be taken away from the road trip to Cambridge. Georgetown’s rush defense continues to be a strength (Harvard 3.6 ypc) and the turnover battle was once again won (+2). The offense must find more consistency though if the Hoyas want to factor into the Patriot League race.

It did not take Harvard long to find their stride on offense. The Crimson used a 9 play, 80 yard opening drive to get on the scoreboard first. QB Joe Viviano (15-23 210 3 TDs) found Brian Dunlap from 17 yards out for the early lead. Viviano led the Crimson on another impressive drive (8 play 70 yards) that ended with his second TD pass of the day. This time he connected with half back Anthony Firkser for an 11 yard TD.

Georgetown got on the board with 1:48 left in the first quarter when quarterback Tim Barnes (6-16 103 yards 1 TD) hit Brand Williams on a short out pass that turned into a 76 yard TD. Harvard pushed their lead back to two possessions early in the 2nd quarter on the second Viviano to Firkser TD of the day. This one went for 75 yards. The Crimson extended their lead to 24-7 when they elected to kick an 18 yard FG instead of going for it on 4th and goal from the 1.

After a scoreless third quarter, Harvard put the game away when their back-up QB Cam Tripp tossed a TD pass freshman WR Cody Chrest to finish off a 12 play, 55 yard drive that took 4.5 minutes off the clock. The Hoyas would add two late scores to bring the final to 31-14.

QB Tim Barnes was knocked out in the second quarter. He was replaced by Clay Norris who struggled (10-19 45 yards 1 INT) the rest of the way. Barnes status moving forward will be key to Georgetown’s hopes for a winning season.

Up Next: Georgetown returns home to face Princeton (2-1). Princeton owns a 6-1 all-time record but the teams have only met twice since 1923. The Hoyas won in 2012 with the Tigers getting revenge in 2013.

Monmouth 42 Fordham 41 OT

The Monmouth Hawks (3-2) made it 2 for 2 against the Patriot League this year by going for 2 in the first OT to shock the Rams. It was a gutsy call by Monmouth head coach Kevin Callah but one that ultimately paid off in a huge win for the Hawks. It’s the type of call and win that could propel Monmouth into the playoffs if they can take care of business in the Big South. Fordham, on the other hand, falls to a disappointing 2-2. Chase Edmonds set the school record for TDs (Kirwin Watson ’00-’03 48 TDs) in the loss. The junior RB finished with four scores (51 for career) on the day.

Edmonds (25 carries 208 yards 4 TDs) got things rolling in an explosive manner early on when he busted off a 77 yard TD run to open the scoring 3 minutes into the game. The Rams extended the lead to 13-0 (missed PAT) with 6:56 left in the opening quarter on Kevin Anderson’s 25 yard TD pass to Robbi Cantelli. Monmouth cut the lead to 13-6 on two short (25 yd, 27 yd) field goals. Monmouth tied the game with 1:36 left in the first half via Zach Welch’s 1 yard TD plunge. The final 60 seconds of the half saw two Fordham touchdowns. The first came on Anderson’s 54 yard TD pass to Austin Longi. The second was set-up when the Ram’s Max Roberts recovered Zach Welch’s fumble at the Monmouth 16 yard line with 39 seconds left. Edmonds found the end zone three plays later to give Fordham a 27-13 lead at the half.

Monmouth would once again fight back from a two score deficit. The Hawks used a pair of Williams to White ( 72 yds & 11 yds) TD passes to even the score at 27. Monmouth took their first lead of the game at 34-27 with 5:03 left in regulation on Ed Royds 9 yard TD run to cap an impressive 13 play 63 yard drive that took nearly 7 minutes off the clock. The drive was kept alive by a key 4th and 2 conversion at the Fordham 40 yard line. The Rams were able to tie the game back up on their ensuing possession by leaning on Edmonds. The sensational junior RB touched the ball on 4 out of the 6 plays on the drive that culminated in Edmonds breaking loose for a 55 yard TD run with 2:03 left. Following a Monmouth punt, the Rams had a chance to win in regulation but Makay Redd’s 47 yard FG attempt sailed wide right.

Starting overtime on offense first, the Rams were able to put pressure on Monmouth thanks to Edmonds fourth TD run of the day. The Hawks didn’t flinch though. Running back Ed Royds scored from 4 yards out to make the score 41-40 Fordham. Instead of kicking the extra point and trying their luck in a second OT, Callahan elected to go for two and the win. It proved to be the right decision because Willams and White connected for their 3rd scoring play of the day. This time it was a game winning two point conversion!

Up Next: Fordham begins Patriot League play against Lafayette in the Bronx next Saturday. The Rams have outscored the Leopards 77-25 the last two years.

Cornell 39 Colgate 38

The Big Red used a late touchdown to cap a thrilling come from behind victory against Colgate Saturday afternoon in Hamilton, NY. The win pushed Cornell’s record to 3-0 for the first time since 1999. Colgate meanwhile drops to a surprsing 1-3. After suffering two straight tough losses the Raiders must regroup with a huge game at Lehigh up next. They have a few positives to pull from in the loss including WR John Maddaluna’s monster game (11 rec. 261 yards 3 TDs). The senior WR fell 13 yards short of Colgate single game receiving mark (Cory Hill 274 vs Navy ’98) but did set the mark for longest touchdown reception from scrimmage (93 yards).

Maddaluna’s 93 yard TD reception got the scoring going with 10:46 left in the first quarter. Following a Big Red interception, Colgate QB Jake Melville (23-37 399 yards 3 TDs) found Maddaluna again. This time it was a 51 TD strike that pushed the Raiders lead to 14-0 early on. The Raiders extended the lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter when backup RB Keyon Washington found the end zone from 9 yards out. Cornell finally got on the board when Kurt Frimal sacked Melville in the end zone for a safety. The Big Red then parlayed the added possession into a Zach Mays 29 yard FG to bring the score to 21-5 with 10:02 left in the first half. Colgate responded with the third Mellville to Maddaluna connection of the day to push the lead to 28-5. Cornell, like they did all game, fought back. Quarterback Dalton Banks needed just one play to find Collin Shaw for a 70 yard TD. Colgate would tack on a late first half FG to head to the locker room with a commanding 31-12 lead.

Cornell went on a 5 play 62 yard drive TD drive on their first possession of the second half to close the gap to 31-19. Colgate fired back with an impressive scoring drive (13 play 78 yards 6:49 TOP) of their own. Washington ended it with a 2 yard TD run to extend the Raider lead to 19 points. That would prove to be Colgate’s final score of the game. Cornell on the other hand closed out the 3rd quarter with two Dalton Bank TD passes to pull within 5 points. Cornell’s next three 3 possessions would end in turnovers but Colgate was unable to make them pay.

Despite their 4th quarter struggles, the Big Red made sure their final drive count. After getting the ball back with 90 seconds left in regulation, the Big Red offense went on a 6 play 57 yard drive that ended when Banks found Collin Shaw for the game winning 17 yard TD pass with 28 seconds left.

Colgate starting RB James Holland did not play. Keyon Washington (26 carries 115 yards 2 TDs) played very well in his absence.

Up Next: Colgate opens league play with a pivotal game at Lehigh. The Raiders defeated Lehigh 49-42 last year to secure the Patriot League championship and auto-bid into the playoffs.

Lehigh 63 Yale 35

Lehigh (3-2) completed their Ivy League sweep for the year with an emphatic 28 point win over Yale (0-3) in New Haven Saturday. Backup Lehigh quarterback Brad Mayes (33-46 524 yards 6 TDs) had a record setting day in the win. Thrust into the starting role so Nick Shafnisky could rest his sore ankle, the sophomore QB broke the all-time Lehigh single game passing record with 524 yards. The 524 yards passing also broke the Yale Bowl record for most passing yards in a game. Lehigh’s 63 points scored tied (UConn ’98) the record for most allowed by a Yale defense all time. The loss dropped Yale to 0-3 for the first time since 1993.

Lehigh scored on their first two possessions of the game to jump ahead 14-0 midway through the first quarter. Yale would answer with a quick 2 play 75 yard TD drive on their third possession of the game. Eli WR Williams-Lopez took a jet sweep 15 yards into the end zone to cut the Mountain Hawk lead in half. Lehigh would then score touchdowns on three out of their next four possessions to take what seemed like an insurmountable 35-7 lead with 11:35 left in the second quarter. The Eli would not give up however. QB Tre Moore connected with Williams-Lopez for a beautiful 63 yard TD pass and catch. Following a quick Lehigh possession, Yale’s Jason Alessi returned Ed Mish’s punt 82 yards for a TD to cut the deficit to 35-21. Yale continued to ride the wave momentum the next time they touched the ball. The Eli closed to within 7 points with 4:56 left in the first half on Tre Moore’s 14 yard TD scramble. Lehigh made sure Yale would draw no closer the rest of the game. The Mountain Hawks used a 6 play 56 yard scoring drive late in the first half to enter the locker room up 42-28.

Lehigh extended their lead to 49-28 on the opening possession of the second half when Mayes connected with Trevor Soccaras for 17 yard TD. The Mountain Hawks put the game away midway through the 3rd quarter on Pelletier’s (13 rec. 213 yards 3 TDs) third TD reception of the game. Lehigh’s final score of the game came on Mayes’s 44 yard touchdown pass to Gatlin Casey (6 rec. 169 yards 2 TDs).

Lehigh posted 600+ yards of total offense for the second straight game.

Up Next: Lehigh will be seeking payback against Colgate for ending the Mountain Hawks league championship and playoff dreams last year in Hamilton. Lehigh has won 4 out of the last 6 meetings with Colgate.

Holy Cross 38 Lafayette 28

In what turned into a battle of backup quarterbacks, it was Holy Cross (2-3 1-0) who emerged with a much needed victory against Lafayette (1-4 0-1) Saturday evening in Easton. Filling in for the injured Peter Pujals, sophomore QB Geoff Wade (21-27 238 yards 3 TDs) had an excellent debut in the victory. He was helped out by a great all around performance by star WR Brandan Flaherty. The senior led the Crusaders in rushing (15 carries 69 yards) and receiving (9 rec. 56 yards 1 TD). Lafayette had to turn to senior QB Blake Searfoss after Drew Reed was knocked out during the Leopards first series of the game. Searfoss played very well (32-45 280 yards 4 TDs) in relief.

Holy Cross received the opening kickoff and wasted little time putting points on the scoreboard. Wade found WR Jake Wieczorek for a 39 yard TD a little over 3 minutes into the game to give the Crusaders an early 7-0 lead. Holy Cross would extend the lead to 13-0 thanks to two Zane Wasp field goals (32 yds, 23 yds). After struggling on offense early on, Lafayette finally put together an extended drive (12 play 65 yds) early in 2nd quarter. Unfortunately for the Leopards it would end on a missed 38 yard FG. They would finally break through on their next possession. Searfoss found Matt Mrazek for an 11 yard TD with 22 seconds left in the first half to send the Leopards into the locker room down only 6 points.

After Holy Cross went 3 and out to open the second half, Lafayette would take their first lead of the game on an 8 play 75 yard drive that ended with Searfoss hooking up with Mzarek for the second time. Holy Cross retook a 16-14 lead on their ensuing possession when Wasp drilled a 41 yard FG. The Leopards would once against respond. Searfoss and Mzarek connected for a third time which gave Lafayette a 21-16 lead with 21 seconds left in 3rd quarter. It would prove to be the Leopards last lead of the game.

Holy Cross went ahead 24-21 lead (2 pt conversion good) with 10:47 left in the 4th quarter on Wade’s 20 yard TD pass to Lucas Nikolaisen. The Crusaders would extend their lead to 10 points on their next possession when Wade connected with Flaherty for a short 7 yard pitch and catch with 7:51 left in the game. Holy Cross defensive Ryan Smith put the game out of reach on an 8 yard scoop and score touchdown following Dwayne Cameron’s strip sack of Blake Searfoss.

Up Next: Lafayette will look to end a 7 game league losing streak when they head to the Big Apple to face Fordham next Saturday. The Leopards last league win came in the 2014 season finale against Lehigh at Yankee Stadium.

Power Rankings

  1. Lehigh
  2. Fordham
  3. Colgate
  4. Holy Cross
  5. Georgetown
  6. Lafayette
  7. Bucknell