By CRAIG MUDER
Observer-Dispatch

HANOVER, N.H.— Colgate’s big-play offense is back on track.
Quarterback Tom McCune passed for 282 yards and four touchdowns, and the Red Raiders scored three times on plays of 20 yards or longer as Colgate defeated Dartmouth 42-24 Saturday. The Red Raiders, who were only able to generate seven points in their opening-week loss to Connecticut, ran up 528 total yards against the Big Green.

“Our offensive line really gelled today,” said McCune, who also ran for a touchdown. “And a lot of what we did passing was making reads. That takes time, and the line gave it to us.”

The game was no cakewalk, however. Dartmouth (0-1) rallied from a 21-0 second quarter deficit to trail by just seven at halftime.

“We needed to get a win under our belt,” said Colgate coach Dick Biddle. “But we didn’t play anywhere near where we’re capable of playing.

“The difference between this and the Connecticut game, though, was on third down. We finally converted some plays on the money down.” Colgate was 8-of-19 on third down against Dartmouth — and 3-of-4 on fourth down — while the Red Raiders held the Big Green to just four third-down conversions on 12 tries.

Dartmouth began the game and its season with an impressive 10-play, 76-yard drive. But on the 10th play, Dartmouth tight end Brian Hood fumbled on the Colgate one-yard line after catching an 11-yard pass from quarterback Brian Mann. The ball rolled into the end zone and was recovered by strong safety Sean McCune, giving Colgate the ball on its own 20.

“If he doesn’t fumble, it may be a different game,” said Colgate tight end Barry HoAire, who caught three passes for a career-high 110 yards Saturday. “But we were able to do some things on offense that kept them from getting too close.”

After an exchange of punts following the fumble, the Red Raiders (1-1) embarked on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 15-yard pass from Tom McCune to a wide open Joe Parker in the end zone. Russ Abrams’ extra point made the score 7-0 with 3:40 remaining in the first period.

Just 27 seconds later, Abrams kicked another PAT to give Colgate a 14-0 lead.

Dartmouth fumbled on its first snap of its next possession, and Colgate’s John Costantino recovered on the Big Green’s 23-yard line. On Colgate’s next play, McCune lofted a pass to Ryan Ojeda in the corner of the end zone — but the play looked doomed when Dartmouth cornerback RichardvEfem stepped in front of Ojeda and tipped the ball in the air. But Ojeda never gave up on the ball — and reached over Efem to grab the tip and give Colgate a two-touchdown lead.

The Red Raiders scored again on their next drive, a nine-play, 86-yard march that featured two fourth-down conversions and two passes worth 65 yards to HoAire, the last one covering 33 yards on fourth-and-four to give Colgate a 21-0 lead.

“We saw some things on film from last year’s game (a 35-3 Colgate win) that made it look like we could run some plays to the tight end,” said HoAire, who was left in single coverage on all three of his receptions. “After we called the play, it was just Tom getting me the ball so I could catch it.”

But Dartmouth refused to fold, and got on the board on its next possession on a 20-yard TD run by Mann.

And, after holding Colgate without a first down following the kickoff, Dartmouth drew within seven on a 15-yard run by Aaron Pumerantz with 4:05 remaining in the second quarter.

But the Red Raiders opened the second half with a 10-play, 76-yard drive that ended with McCune’s fourth touchdown pass of the day — a 24-yarder to a leaping Jason Mattes in the end zone that gave Colgate a 28-14 advantage.

A little more than eight minutes later, McCune scored on a 1-yard run to end a drive highlighted by a 45-yard HoAire catch and run.

Dartmouth added a 20-yard field goal by Todd Catlin in between the two third quarter touchdowns, but Nate Thomas scored on a 7-yard run with 6:46 left to give Colgate a 42-17 lead.

Jay Barnard’s 12-yard touchdown pass from Dartmouth backup QB Greg Smith with 2:18 left completed the scoring.

“That was the key — that first scoring drive in the second half, then keeping them to a field goal after that,” Biddle said.

“Up until that third-quarter drive, we had basically scored with a bunch of big plays. We hadn’t really stopped them, and we didn’t put together a long drive.

“But after the first drive of the third quarter, I think we set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Eugene Kendrick led Colgate with 64 yards rushing on 12 carries, while Thomas had 59 yards on 14 attempts. Parker finished with six catches for 73 yards.