I hope you are as excited about tomorrow as we are. Once again, your Colgate Raiders have made it to the Patriot League Championship game. It’s been four long years since Colgate has won the league title and Coach Biddle constantly reminds the team that none of us have a ring. With that said, we are starving for a ring.

Heading into tomorrow’s contest at Lehigh, your Raiders are coming off of a record-breaking 65-41 win versus Lafayette. We compiled a league record 747 yards of total offense. Quarterback, Gavin McCarney, rushed for 288 yards on 19 carries which is also a league and school record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Runningback, Jordan McCord, also broke the 200-yard rushing mark (203) and added four touchdowns as we rolled over the Leopards.

The nationally ranked Lehigh Mountainhawks 5/8 will pose much more of a challenge tomorrow afternoon. Lehigh is 9-0 on the year and has won 18 straight Patriot League games. Their record does not reflect the caliber of their ball club. The games they have won this year have all come down to the wire. We have not changed a thing on offense and we will continue to do what we do tomorrow. Defensively, we plan to heat up Lehigh’s senior quarterback, Mike Colvin, so we can keep the ball out of All-American wide receiver, Ryan Spadola’s hands.

In my two years playing for Colgate I have not seen the guys or the coaches this excited and confident for a game before. Although,  the winner of tomorrow’s game will be crowned champion of the league, it is just another game. No matter what the circumstances may be, we would have had to play Lehigh on November 10th regardless. Tomorrow is just another game and that’s how we are treating it. We are going to come out and play Colgate football for four quarters tomorrow. Coach Biddle always tells us, “The only team that can beat Colgate is Colgate.”

We are excited to represent everything Colgate stands for in tomorrow’s championship contest. I hope we can give you something to celebrate this weekend. Let’s go ‘gate! G.A.T.A!!!!!!

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James DeCicco is a sophomore at Colgate University and plays quarterback for the Colgate Raiders football team. He is a member for the Colgate chapter of Uplifting Athletes and a member of the Student Athletes Advisory Committee (SAAC).

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