Russ Abrams, who narrowly missed one opportunity to beat Towson, took advantage of an-other in overtime.
Abrams' 22-yard field goal in the extra period gave Colgate a 30-27 victory yesterday before 3,038 at Minnegan Stadium.
The game-winner, which came after strong safety Sean McCune intercepted a pass by Towson quarterback Kris Blake, followed by mere minutes Abrams' 47-yard field-goal attempt that bounced off the middle of the crossbar with 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"I thought it was good, but there's nothing you can do," said Abrams, a freshman who kicked his first career field goal in the second quarter. "You just have to say, 'This play is over.'"
Abrams' second late try retained the Patriot League lead for Colgate (3-1, 2-0) and reduced the future impact of Towson (3-2, 2-2) to that of a spoiler.
Colgate now has won all five games against Towson. In the previous four meetings, Colgate could always - sooner or later - steam-roll Towson, as shown by the three-touchdown margins. This time, Towson cornerback Donald Wood stated: "We were the better team, the ball just didn't fall our way."
Towson ran the ball 43 times for 201 yards, including 184 yards from Noah Read on 36 carries. It held Colgate to 114 yards rushing on 5l carries.
Numbers were relevant during a 25-minute stretch during the sec-ond and third quarters, when Towson outscored Colgate, 20-2. Read's 2-yard touchdown run, his third of the day, gave his team a 27-19 lead with 6:51 left in the third quarter.
Blake, who had struggled in the first half, became effective, and the defense seemed like it would handie the Red Raiders in the second half.
Colgate, no longer in the role of bully, had to forage for points to tie the game. It did this earlier to take a 17-7 lead after a 1-yard touch-down run by quarterback Tom McCune with 10:07 left in the second quarter. Of the six times the team scored, five were set up by, or directly related to, blocked punts, blocked kicks, or turnovers.
Both Towson coach Gordy Combs and Colgate coach Dick Biddle cited Ahmad Russell's block of Ed Kulic's extra-point attempt - and his ensuing 99-yard run to the opposite end zone - as a key moment in the game.
Read's second touchdown of the game, a 14-yard reception from Blake with 22 seconds left in the first half, had given Towson a 20-17 lead before Russell's play. "The key was when they blocked the extra point," Combs said, noting that his team took a smaller, 20-19, lead into halftime. "Instead of being up by four, we're up by one."
Colgate cornerback Brandon Tinson had already blocked two Mike Walck punts when he got to another midway through the fourth quarter. The kick, a 21-yarder, rolled to midfield, giving Colgate the field position it used to tie the game, 27-27, on McCune's 32-yard touchdown pass to Arundel High product. Joe Parker with 4:51 left in the game.
"I'm really proud of this team," Biddle said afterward. "It could have folded, but it has a lot of character. I don't think we're going to blow people out - we're going to have to find ways to win."
In overtime, Towson had the ball first and used three straight runs by Read - including a 16-yarder on the first play - to reach the Colgate 3-yard line.
But on third down with three yards to go, Blake tried passing to tight end Billy Hayes in the end zone. Sean McCune intercepted for Colgate.
"I saw it was play-action and saw the tight end," McCune said. "I tried to get in his tracks and broke on it when it was thrown."
On its turn, Colgate ran the ball at Randall Joseph five straight times before Abrams' kick. That put a damper on what was Towson's best performance against the Red Raiders, by far.
"I'd always rather play bad and win than play good and lose," Combs said. "I get no extra consolation from this."
