UAlbany Edged By Colgate, 13-11, in Football Season Opener at Andy Kerr Stadium

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Hamilton, N.Y. – Tailback Jordan Scott rushed 44 times for 180 yards and one touchdown and Mike Buck kicked the go-ahead field goal in the third quarter in leading Colgate to a 13-11 non-conference victory over UAlbany in the season opener for both teams on Saturday, Sept. 1 at Andy Kerr Stadium.

The Raiders, who snapped a three-game skid in season lid-lifters, reversed an 11-10 halftime deficit when Buck nailed a 19-yard field goal with 11:15 remaining in the third quarter. The scoring play was set up when a low punt snap was covered by UAlbany’s Chris Lynch at his own 15-yard line.

Both teams had scoring opportunities in the final two periods, but could not convert in this expected defensive struggle. UAlbany quarterback Vinny Esposito, who threw for 154 yards and rushed for 39 more in his first collegiate start, moved his team into field goal position twice. But Jason Fralicker missed right from 23 yards in the third period and misfired from 41 yards in the fourth.

With their backs against the goal line and 4:27 to play, the Raiders put together a game-clinching, non-scoring drive of 77 yards. Reserve quarterback Alex Relph found Pat Simonds down the sideline for 33 yards in a third-and-13 situation to keep the march alive. Scott, a first-team All-Patriot League running back who ran for 121 of his total in the second half, then went to work. His key run came when he kept his balance on a first-down run to the UAlbany 28 that helped run out the clock.

In a first half where the special teams were involved in all of the scoring, Colgate jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the opening five minutes. Cody Williams broke out of a pack and broke down the left sideline 87 yards with the kickoff. Scott scored on a 4-yard run over the right side on his team’s first offensive play. UAlbany’s Lynch shanked a punt that led to Buck’s 37-yard field goal with 11:44 left in the first quarter.

“We spotted them 10 points before the national anthem was over,” said UAlbany coach Bob Ford, whose team edged Lehigh, 17-16, in last year’s opener. “We had some breakdowns on special teams and had a couple of opportunities to take control of the game on offense.”

The Great Danes rebounded in that first half when a snap went through Colgate punter Jacob Stein’s hands that resulted in a safety. UAlbany used the subsequent free kick to march deep into Raider territory. Fralicker booted a 37-yard field goal to slice the deficit to 10-5. The senior placekicker added field goals of 41 and 45 yards in the second quarter to put his team ahead. The second tied the school’s single-game record and equaled the seventh-longest kick in the program’s history.

“The positive is that we can play with anyone,” said UAlbany defensive end Mark Sheehan, who had career-highs with nine tackles and three sacks. “It’s a team game and each side of the football needs to help each other out. We need to get these things fixed to have a big season." Colin Disch and Dave West added seven tackles apiece.

Fullback Dan Beigel offered, “Vinny Esposito had a heckuva day. He is someone who lead our team as the season goes along. But we made too many mistakes and were not aligned properly at times on offense. Our defense played extremely well.”