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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Colgate
Players Mentioned
Colgate Rallies Past Football Team During 31-30 Thriller; Tigers Eye Ivies
October 11, 2014 | Football
The final preparation for Ivy League play hardly went the way Princeton expected, or hoped. The Tigers were able to contain one of the nation's top-ranked rushing offenses, but Colgate passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-30 comeback win over the Tigers.
Princeton raced out to a 16-0 lead after one quarter, but it could never put away one of the Patriot League's perennial powerhouse programs. Colgate, aided by a 2-1 edge in the turnover battle, including a crucial one late in the first half, cut the deficit to two points by halftime and took the lead for good on a 23-yard field goal by Jonah Bowman on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Princeton had three drives in the fourth quarter to try and grab the lead, and the first two landed in Colgate territory. Princeton got to the Colgate 29 midway through the fourth, but Connor Michelsen's fourth-down pass was batted back at the line of scrimmage. The next drive stopped short on the 35 with another fourth-down incompletion.
In both cases, Princeton was kicking into the wind. The Tigers had a shocking final attempt to win the game, as Dorian Williams recovered a fumble with 1:15 remaining on a third-down run that would have iced the game. Princeton took over at its 28 with no timeouts and moved to the 46, but two straight incompletions ended the game.
It was a stark contrast to the first quarter of the game, when Princeton scored 16 points, outgained the Raiders 186-30 and saw Dré Nelson return the opening kickoff for a program-record 100-yard touchdown. Nelson's score, his second touchdown return of the season, came on the first play and gave Princeton the quick lead, but a failed two-point conversion pass left the score 6-0.
A 59-yard run by DiAndre Atwater set up a 1-yard surge by Quinn Epperly later in the quarter, and a 38-yard field goal by Nolan Bieck with under two minutes remaining opened the Tigers' biggest lead of the game.
Colgate started to use an efficient passing attack, led by sophomore quarterback Jake Melville, to move the ball in the second quarter, and two touchdowns in the final minute turned a sizable advantage into a two-point lead. Melville hit Alex Greenawalt on a deep post for a 24-yard score with 52 seconds remaining in the half. Princeton tried to score in the final minute, but Mike Armiento intercepted Epperly and returned it 56 yards to the Princeton 13.
As the clock ran out in the first half, Melville threw a deep lob that was caught in the back of the end zone by John Quazza for the score.
Will Powers helped Princeton reclaim the lead with a bruising 12-yard score early in the third, but Colgate came right back and scored on a perfect 24-yard pass to Risley Lesko into the back right corner of the end zone.
Colgate controlled the clock for most of the second half and ended with 36:30 time of possession, an edge of 13 minutes.
Sophomore Rohan Hylton led the charge on the Colgate run game, which averaged only 2.3 yards per carry despite 48 attempts. Hylton recorded a career-best 18 tackles and a sack, while classmate Williams added 12 tackles and the late fumble recovery. R.J. Paige, also a sophomore, added a career-high 11 tackles and a sack, while All-Ivy senior Mike Zeuli had 10 stops.
Junior DiAndre Atwater paced the offense with 131 yards on 18 carries (7.3 per rush), while Powers added nine rushes for 43 yards. Epperly completed 19 of 29 passes for 217 yards, while sophomore James Frusciante had a career-high six catches for 44 yards, including one leaping grab over the middle on third down that extended a fourth-quarter drive. Senior Matt Costello had five catches for 87 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown reception from Connor Michelsen just before Colgate's 14-point surge late in the first half.
While the loss stung the Tigers, it didn't alter Princeton's place in the Ivy League. That will change over the final six weeks, as Princeton will play only league games the rest of the season. That stretch starts Oct. 18 at 3:30 pm when the Tigers host Brown, a double-overtime winner over Holy Cross Saturday. Princeton has won two straight in the series, including a 19-0 home shutout two years ago.