EASTON, Pa. -- A clutch fourth quarter defined Lafayette College football's opening-day 24-10 win over Colgate, marking the first victory over the Raiders since 2014 and the fewest points the Leopards have held them to since 2006.

The Leopards were up by just four midway through the final period after back-to-back long scoring drives by the Raiders, but senior quarterback Cole Northrup halted Colgate's momentum and led a 75-yard drive for his first career touchdown pass in his second career start. Sophomore DB DaRon Gilbert then iced the game with his first career interception on the next Raiders' drive.

Northrup finished his start completing nine of his 14 passes for 141 yards. Senior wide receiver Quinn Revere was his key target, tallying a team-high 67 yards on three receptions.

Defense reigned supreme for the Leopards, with Lafayette consistently stifling the Raiders late in drives. Junior DB Jordan Anderson, junior linebacker Billy Shaeffer, and junior defensive lineman Malik Hamm each led with five solo tackles and combined for 21 total. Freshman Marcus Joseph tallied the team's lone sack.

The Leopards broke through first in the opening quarter of play thanks to an eight play, 75-yard drive capped by a five-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore running back Jaden Sutton. Sutton finished the game with a team-high 96 rushing yards, the second most he has gained in a game during his career. His efforts, coupled with a a 70-yard rushing game from senior running back Selwyn Simpson, helped the Leopards tally 50 carries -- more than in any game last season.

Lafayette dove deep into its playbook to double the lead in the second quarter, with wide out Revere catching a screen pass and tossing it 28 yards to junior tight end Steven Stilianos for the score.

Colgate missed a pair of field goals in the opening half and the Leopards went into the break with a 14-0 lead.

The Raiders broke into the red zone for the third time toward the end of the third quarter, but once again couldn't find the end zone. Shaeffer and senior linebacker Major Jordan combined for a six-yard tackle for loss on second and goal during the drive that pushed Colgate deep from the end zone. The Raiders threw an incompletion on third down and settled for a field goal to cut their deficit to 14-3.

Colgate's offense continued to surge in the fourth quarter, embarking on a 12-play, 78-yard drive at the start of the period to make it a four-point game. Sophomore quarterback Jake Froschauer punched it in from the one-yard line for the Raiders' first touchdown of the game.

The Leopards had an answer, as Northrup capped the team's 75-yard put-away drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Stilianos, who leaped the defender to get into the end zone. The Hayes, Va. receiver had just one career touchdown catch coming into this season, but tallied two scores on the day and had 55 receiving yards.

Following the Gilbert interception that he returned 28 yards to the Raiders' eight yard line, senior kicker Jeffrey Kordenbrock nailed a 25-yard field goal attempt that completed the 24-10 victory.

Lafayette hits the road for its next game against Bucknell at 4 p.m. next Saturday.