AMHERST, Mass. – A fourth-quarter rally lifted Colby College over the Amherst College football team, 19-16, on Saturday afternoon in NESCAC action on Pratt Field at Lehrman Stadium.

The Mules (3-2) took the lead on a field goal with three seconds remaining then added a safety on the final play of the game.

The Mammoths (2-3) are back in action next Saturday (Oct. 21), hosting Tufts at 1 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* After a scoreless first quarter, the Mammoths capped a nine-play drive at the start of the second quarter with a 41-yard field goal from first-year Matthew Kelley, the longest of his rookie campaign.

* Amherst punched through to the end zone later in the second quarter. On a drive that started at midfield, the Mammoths worked their way up the field on a nine-play drive, culminating in a 7-yard touchdown as junior quarterback Jack Cox threw a short pass to classmate Owen Gaydos, who caught the ball around the 5-yard line and dove into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.

* The Mules responded on their next possession, as senior quarterback Thomas Keeling connected with junior Matt McHugh for two passes of 30+ yards in a drive that took Colby 75 yards up the field before Keeling rushed for a 2-yard touchdown on a quarterback keeper to cut the Amherst lead to 9-7.

* The Mammoths scored on the first possession of the second half as Cox threw 30 yards down field to sophomore Carter Jung, who ran 30 more yards into the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown, Amherst's longest passing play of the season and the first career touchdown for Jung, to give the Mammoths a 16-7 lead.

* The Mules got back within two points on the first play of the fourth quarter when junior Locksley Burke rushed into the end zone from 2 yards out on 4th-and-goal.

* Amherst still held a two-point lead when Colby got the ball back on its own 12-yard line with 1:34 to play. The Mules drove all the way to the Amherst 8-yard line to set up a 25-yard field goal attempt that first-year Christos Tzoumakas made with three seconds to play to give Colby a 17-16 edge.

* On the final play of the game, the Mammoths used a series of laterals in a last-gasp attempt to score but the ball ended up on the ground and batted out of the back of the end zone for a Colby safety to account for the 19-16 final score.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Each team's top offensive players posted remarkably similar numbers. Cox completed 20-of-42 passing attempts for a career-high 209 yards and threw two touchdown passes for the Mammoths, while Keeling threw for 201 yards for the Mules.

* Amherst senior Tariq Muhammad and Colby junior Brendan Sawyer each led their teams with 36 rushing yards.

* Each side had two receivers tally at least 60 yards. Jung notched 69 receiving yards and Gaydos added 63 for the Mammoths. McHugh had 68 receiving yards and Sawyer added 61 for the Mules.

* Sophomore defensive back Kevin Agnew recorded an interception for the second straight game, while classmate Luke Harmon was involved in a career-high 13 tackles, including four tackles for loss and one sack.