By Eric Brod

Staff Writer

In just his second season as head coach, Joe Susan and the football team improved from a 1-10 team in 2010 to a rising 6-5 team at the end of the 2011 campaign. Despite a 21-6 loss at Colgate in the team’s season finale, the outlook for 2012 is very promising.

The Orange and Blue were plagued by turnovers and could not move the ball consistently against a stout Colgate defense. Trey Lauletta ’15, who played the majority of the game, finished 22 out of 35 passes for 166 yards with two interceptions. On defense, the biggest moment came when Bryce Robertson ’12 continued his record-setting season by intercepting his 13th pass of the season, finishing one behind Rashean Mathis’ single season FCS record of 14.

The Orange and Blue found themselves trailing only 7-6 at halftime thanks to a pair of Drew Orth ’12 field goals of 19 and 33 yards, respectively. Colgate scored on a 50 yard run by Gavin McCarney to give the Raiders a 14-6 lead. The score held until the fourth, but Lauletta threw his second interception of the game to give Colgate a 21-6 lead.

Jeremiah Young ’13 finished with 91 yards on the day, shouldering the bulk of the running game after Tyler Smith ’13 left with an injury. Receiver Frank DeNick ’12 finished with six catches for 51 yards, giving him an impressive 977 for his career. Orth finished with a season total of 12 field goals made, third best in program history.

With many of the core players coming back, such as Lauletta and Smith, the team looks to be a serious contender in the Patriot League and could capture its first league title since 1996.