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HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Colgate used a potent mix of the run and pass to rack up 437 yards of offense in a 38-17 win over Lafayette on Saturday at Andy Kerr Stadium. The Leopards pulled within a touchdown with 11 minutes left in the third quarter, but Colgate added two late scores.

The hosts took the early lead, scoring on their first drive of the game after covering 65 yards on seven plays before John Wilkins punched it in from a yard out.

Colgate (4-5, 3-2) added another score just before the end of the first quarter. The drive started with a 48-yard strike from Jake Melville to Owen Rockett. Rob Hinchen's 14-yard sack slowed the Raiders who eventually picked up the first down. More pressure by Lafayette, this time a sack by Michael Root, forced a 39-yard field goal by Jonah Bowman that gave Colgate a 10-0 lead.

It looked as if Colgate was going to run away and hide as the Raiders stretched their lead to 17-0 when Melville and Rockett hooked up again, this time for 19 yards. Colgate led 17-0 lead with 7:03 left in the half.

Lafayette had a solid scoring opportunity on the ensuing possession. A 19-yard DeSean Brown run and pass interference penalty put Lafayette 1st-and-10 at the 28. Three Brown rushes later, Lafayette was 4th-and-1 at the Colgate 19. Drew Reed's pass to Vangelas was just out of bounds and Colgate took over on downs.

Colgate didn't waste any effort on its next drive, using four plays to score. Melville picked up the bulk of those yards with carries of 26 and 37 yards. Then, he found Nick Martinsen for a 12-yard touchdown and a 24-0 advantage.

Lafayette got on the scoreboard just before the close of the half. Reed connected with Rocco Palumbo for a 32-yard TD. Palumbo finished with seven catches for a career-high 104 yards. Bissell added the PAT to put the halftime margin at 24-7.

The Lafayette defense made an early stand in the second half, when Hinchen recorded a safety as one of his game-high eight tackles. It was the first safety a Lafayette player registered since 2010 (Mike Schmidlein at Bucknell).

The offense seized the momentum, taking over near midfield after the free kick. Brown had a 25-yard run on the drive and eventually scored on a two-yard carry. He finished the day with 15 carries for 91 yards. A Reed (24-of-41 for 202 yards) to Joey Chenoweth pass gave the Leopards the two-point conversion to cut the margin to 24-17 with 11 minutes left in the half.

The teams traded punts and then Colgate put away the game. The Raiders took over at the Lafayette 34-yard line. Melville handled most of the drive, picking up two first downs on his own with a pair of 10-yard runs before eluding several would-be tacklers on a 24-yard touchdown scamper. Melville ended the day with 17 carries for 141 rushing yards while completing 15-of-23 for 202 passing yards.

Colgate took advantage of Lafayette's punt from its own end zone and a penalty on the return. On the first play from scrimmage, Colgate scored on an 11-yard run by Wilkins that put the final at 38-17.

Lafayette (2-8, 1-4) will host Lehigh on Saturday in the 152nd meeting of college football's most-played and longest consecutive rivalry. That game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. and can be seen nationally on MASN.