Colgate Comeback Falls Short in Orono - Colgate University Athletics (2024)

• Summary
• Box Score

Game Recap: Football | 8/31/2024 1:31:00 AM

Two rushing touchdowns not enough in season-opening loss

ORONO, Maine — Colgate football dropped its season opener on the road, falling to Maine, 17-14. Senior quarterback Michael Brescia racked up 248 yards of total offense while classmate Brendan Cassamajor added his fourth score on the ground in as many games. Defensively, Colgate only allowed 287 total yards behind junior Cole Kozlowski's career-high 10 tackles.

"I'm proud of our guys, but I have to give a lot of credit to Maine," said Fred '50 and Marilyn Dunlap Head Football Coach Stan Dakosty. "Maine football is physical but our guys are tough, too. The game came down to the final seconds so you love to see the fight to the end. We have 10 more tough games coming up so we'll have to figure some things out."

"When we go back and look at the film I'm sure there'll be a couple things that we could correct," Dakosty continued. "On both sides of the ball there's going to be takeaways and turnovers in the first game of the season. There's going to be questions about how our guys will respond. But you can pull out drives or a series of plays and say, 'Yeah we can win with that.' But then you can pick out plays that we're going to have a tough time winning with."

HOW IT HAPPENED

Brescia came out firing through the air completing seven of his first nine passes. The first pair of completions came to junior wideouts Treyvhon Saunders and Brady Hutchison, both for first downs, before a false start penalty put the Raiders behind the sticks and killed the drive.

Sophom*ore pass catcher Winston Moore ignited the Raider offense with a 45 yard reception, the longest of his career, to kick off the second quarter. After Moore bounced off would-be tacklers and fought his way down to the two yard line, Brendan Cassamajor forced his way into the end zone for Colgate's first touchdown of the season.

First TD of 2024 goes to the Big Fella ????

?? | https://t.co/b3G9yVMv76 (FloSports)@PatriotLeagueHQ @espn pic.twitter.com/L5zwxGo4Rz

— Colgate Football (@ColgateFB) August 30, 2024

The Black Bears were quick to answer, however, piecing together an 11-play, 75 yard touchdown drive to knot the score. A stalled Colgate possession gave way to a surging Maine offense that was only held to a field goal by Dane Picariello's first career sack and a pass-break up by Tymir Wynn in the endzone.

Trailing 10-7 coming out of half, Colgate's Brock Winsett broke through the Black Bear back field for the Raiders' second sack of the night. The lone Raider possession of the third quarter lasted 10 minutes and spanned over 40 yards, but ended with a Shelby Pruett punt downed inside the 10 yard line.

Colgate stifled Maine yet again on defense thanks to Andrew Taddeo's first-career solo sack. The Raiders failed to capitalize on the momentum when a flea-flicker pass narrowly missed the open arms of a streaking Hutchison.

Two punts began the final quarter of play, but Maine took the reins after pinning Colgate deep. An ensuing 54-yard punt return from the Black Bears allowed the home side to start their second touchdown drive of the evening just two first downs away from the endzone.

Three plays later, Maine took a 17-7 lead at the 10:25 mark of the final frame.

The Raiders were not done, however, as Cassamajor and Brescia strung together a 12-play touchdown drive, capped by Brescia dragging multiple Black Bear defenders across the goal line for a score.

A pivotal 35-yard, third down completion from Maine nearly iced the season-opening loss for the Raiders, but a fumble-recovery from Justin Tedim gave Colgate life with 57 ticks left on the clock and no timeouts.

RAIDERS BALL WITH 30 SECONDS LEFT DOWN 3

?? | https://t.co/b3G9yVLXhy (FloSports)@PatriotLeagueHQ @espn pic.twitter.com/CIAMfyw2Pb

— Colgate Football (@ColgateFB) August 31, 2024

Three-straight completions put the Raiders just yards outside of field goal range, but the Black Bears came up with a game-sealing interception with seven seconds remaining.

GAME NOTES

• Colgate moves to 67-62-3 in season-openers in program history.
• The Raiders out rushed the Black Bears 129-121 despite amassing five less carries.
• Colgate picked up 18 first downs in the loss, one more than Maine, but racked up six penalties for a loss of 45 yards.
• Junior linebacker Cole Kozlowski ended the night with a game-high 10 tackles.
• Junior wide receiver Brady Hutchison tied his career high with seven receptions.
• Senior defensive lineman Andrew Taddeo logged a career high three tackles-for-a-loss including 1.5 sacks.
• Senior punter Shelby Pruett inched his career punt average up to 39.7 yards per punt, just over a yard away from the program record of 40.9.

UP NEXT
The Raiders return to Andy Kerr for their home at 6 p.m. against Villanova.New this season, Colgate Athletics will be transitioning to newdigital programsto help enhance fans' gameday experience. The digital programs will deliver impactful content in a new way and provide deep engagement opportunities that go beyond the game itself. The digital programs will be accessible to all fans in attendance and can be viewed by scanning a QR code which will be presented throughout each athletics venue on game days. For more information on the new programs,click here.