WATERVILLE, Me. -- Colby scored on its first two possessions of the second half Saturday and held off a furious comeback from the Amherst College football team, posting a 17-12 victory over the visitors at Alfond Stadium.

Amherst fell to 0-5 on the season while the Mules improved to 3-2. The Mammoths will tackle Tufts University next Saturday the 22nd. Kick-off in Medford is slated for 1 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Trailing 17-3 early in the fourth quarter, the Mammoths comeback actually began after quarterback Mike Piazza threw an interception deep in Colby territory. The Amherst defense stiffened, and after Kemit Fisher made a tackle for loss to force the Mules to punt out of their own end zone, Adam Tolk made a great special teams play, rushing in unabated from the right side and tackling the Colby punter in the end zone for a safety that made it 17-5. 

* The Mammoths took over at their own 44 following the ensuing Colby free kick. Piazza found Owen Gaydos for 11 yards and a first down. He then rushed up the middle for 11 yards and another first down. The drive nearly stalled, but on a 4th-and-9 play from the Colby 33, Piazza found Jack Roberge for a 10-yard gain. Facing a 4th-and-4 from the 17, Piazza held his ground in the pocket and delivered a strike to Gaydos just as he was hit. The play went for eight yards and set up the Mammoths with a 1st-and-Goal from the Colby 9. Facing 3rd-and-Goal, Piazza rushed up the middle. His run was stopped around the 2-yard line, but a huge push from about seven Mammoths got him just over the goal line for a touchdown. Conor Kennelly's extra point made it 17-12 with 5:26 left in the game. 

* The Mammoths forced a punt and took over at their own 20 with 3:38 to go. A 30-yard screen pass from Piazza to Roberge on second down put Amherst at the 50. Piazza found Roberge again for 10 yards, he then dashed up the middle for eight to the Colby 32. But a rush for a loss of 1, a pass for no gain and a false start penalty put Amherst in a 4th-and-8 situation, and a pass to Gaydos fell incomplete with 1:21 to go. 

* Amherst got the ball back with 14 seconds left, but at its own 12-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Piazza found Carson Ochsenhirt for a 34-yard gain, but the game clock expired on the play. 

* The first half was a scoreless affair until the final play of it when Amherst senior placekicker Kennelly booted a 34-yard field goal to give the Mammoths the game's first points and a 3-0 lead heading into the locker room.

* The Mammoths controlled the first 30 minutes, gaining 167 yards to the Mules 43 and earning 10 first downs to Colby's two. Nonetheless, it took a blocked field goal by first-year Luke Harmon mid-way through the second quarter to keep the game at 0-0. Harmon dashed in from the left side and got a hand on the ball, which Matt Monteleone recovered. 

* After the block, each team punted, with the Mammoths taking over on their own 30 with 4:05 remaining in the half. From there, they took eight plays to drive down to the Colby 15 yard line. A 16-yard pass from Piazza to Ochsenhirt started the drive off. Following a false start penalty that gave the Mammoths a 2nd and 13 at their own 43, Piazza connected with Gaydos on a 19-yard pass play down the left sideline.Gaydos made a great effort on the play to snare the ball and keep one foot in bounds. Piazza followed up with an 11-yard dash up the middle for another first down, and then rolled right on the next play, finding Roberge in the flat for a 10-yard completion and another set of downs at the Colby 17. The drive stalled on when Piazza was sacked on third down. After a timeout with one second left, Kennelly connected for the field goal that ended the half. 

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst outgained Colby by nearly 100 yards, 337 total yards to the Mules 239. The Mammoths earned 19 first downs in the game to the Mules 14. But in third-and-fourth down situations, the Mammoths were only 5 of 19 while Colby converted 9 of 20 chances in those scenarios. There was only one turnover in the game and it was on the Mammoths side of the ledger. 

* Piazza completed 27 of 45 passes for 266 yards in the air and rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown. The Mammoths finished with 71 yards rushing as a team. Roberge had 5 carries for 8 yards but a team-high 9 receptions for 77 yards. Ochsenhirt led the Mammoths with 87 receiving yards on 5 catches. 

* Andy Skirzenski and Trey Doyle had 8 tackles each to lead the Mammoths' effort. Charlie McKissick had seven, and Ben Taylor six.