2008 Woodie Awards
Football Topplse Towson Tigers
Bill Stoklosa
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Sports
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The Raiders welcomed the Towson Tigers back to Andy Kerr Stadium last Saturday in a rematch of former Patriot League foes. Though the weather was gray and rainy for most of the game, Colgate delivered an impressive Family Weekend performance and defeated the Towson Tigers, 27-17.
Colgate started its first drive of the game at its 12-yard line after first-year defensive back Coree' Moses intercepted a pass from Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer. The Raiders proceeded to drive 87 yards down the field to the Towson one. On first-and-goal, Relph fired a bullet to senior Erik Burke, who made a sensational catch at the goal line to give 'Gate the lead. The Michigan native caught six balls on the day for 105 yards, marking the fifth time he cracked over 100 receiving yards this season.
Towson answered right back however, as running back Nick Williams ran in from 15 yards out to tie the game at seven. Colgate would drive the ball inside the red zone two more times in the first half, but Relph turned the ball over with a pick and a fumble. Colgate's defense held firm for most of the second quarter, but Towson drove 56 yards in just 1:15 and kicked a field goal as time expired to head into the locker room with a 10-7 lead.
Shockingly, the running game struggled in the first half, as Colgate accrued just 20 rushing yards. With the running attack on its heels, Relph had to step up, which he most certainly did. Although the two turnovers were costly, the Victor, New York native moved the Colgate offense down the field with relative ease throughout most of the game and threw for a career-high 264 yards. According to Head Coach Dick Biddle, Relph's increased role was not just because of Scott's struggles.
"We planned to throw the ball more not out of necessity, but out of what Towson did," Biddle said. "They played a lot of man-to-man with no help."
On Towson's first drive of the second half, Tigers running back Rasheed McClaude was gang-tackled at the Towson 15 and fumbled the ball. One of the tacklers, the illustrious senior linebacker Mike Gallihugh, recovered the fumble. The recovery set up the offense 15 yards from the endzone, but the drive literally went nowhere, as Colgate netted zero yards. Senior kicker Mike Buck booted a 32-yard field goal to tie the score at 10. On the next Towson drive, Tigers kicker Mark Bencivengo baldy missed a 43-yard field goal, giving Colgate the ball at the 26-yard line with the chance to take the lead. Thanks in large part to a 32-yard pass from Relph to Burke, the Raiders got into field goal range, and Buck kicked a 42-yard field goal to give Colgate a 13-10 lead. However, the lead did not last, as Nick Williams' second touchdown run of the day from eight yards out put Towson back on top. After the extra point, Towson had a 17-13 lead with 14:33 left in the fourth quarter.
Colgate started its first drive of the game at its 12-yard line after first-year defensive back Coree' Moses intercepted a pass from Towson quarterback Sean Schaefer. The Raiders proceeded to drive 87 yards down the field to the Towson one. On first-and-goal, Relph fired a bullet to senior Erik Burke, who made a sensational catch at the goal line to give 'Gate the lead. The Michigan native caught six balls on the day for 105 yards, marking the fifth time he cracked over 100 receiving yards this season.
Towson answered right back however, as running back Nick Williams ran in from 15 yards out to tie the game at seven. Colgate would drive the ball inside the red zone two more times in the first half, but Relph turned the ball over with a pick and a fumble. Colgate's defense held firm for most of the second quarter, but Towson drove 56 yards in just 1:15 and kicked a field goal as time expired to head into the locker room with a 10-7 lead.
Shockingly, the running game struggled in the first half, as Colgate accrued just 20 rushing yards. With the running attack on its heels, Relph had to step up, which he most certainly did. Although the two turnovers were costly, the Victor, New York native moved the Colgate offense down the field with relative ease throughout most of the game and threw for a career-high 264 yards. According to Head Coach Dick Biddle, Relph's increased role was not just because of Scott's struggles.
"We planned to throw the ball more not out of necessity, but out of what Towson did," Biddle said. "They played a lot of man-to-man with no help."
On Towson's first drive of the second half, Tigers running back Rasheed McClaude was gang-tackled at the Towson 15 and fumbled the ball. One of the tacklers, the illustrious senior linebacker Mike Gallihugh, recovered the fumble. The recovery set up the offense 15 yards from the endzone, but the drive literally went nowhere, as Colgate netted zero yards. Senior kicker Mike Buck booted a 32-yard field goal to tie the score at 10. On the next Towson drive, Tigers kicker Mark Bencivengo baldy missed a 43-yard field goal, giving Colgate the ball at the 26-yard line with the chance to take the lead. Thanks in large part to a 32-yard pass from Relph to Burke, the Raiders got into field goal range, and Buck kicked a 42-yard field goal to give Colgate a 13-10 lead. However, the lead did not last, as Nick Williams' second touchdown run of the day from eight yards out put Towson back on top. After the extra point, Towson had a 17-13 lead with 14:33 left in the fourth quarter.
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