WATERVILLE — The Colby College football team had the best half of its young season on Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Mules, a slow start hindered the team in a 24-19 loss to Williams College in a New England Small College Athletic Conference game in front of a packed homecoming crowd at Harold Alfond Stadium.

Quarterback Miles Drake was 21 of 39 passing for 227 yards, tossing two touchdowns and an interception for Colby (0-2). Senior running back Keon Smart had 80 yards rushing on 17 carries, as well as five receptions for 24 yards.

“We stepped up, we fought, all those things for sure, which is really good to see,” Colby head coach Jack Cosgrove said. “The offense is kind of putting some things together as we thought, and knew, we could.”

Williams (2-0) was led by sophomore quarterback Owen McHugh, who accounted for all three of the team’s touchdowns (two rushing, one passing). He was almost perfect in the passing game, going 16 of 18 for 192 yards and also ran for 51 yards on 14 carries.

“That was an amazing (win),” McHugh said. “(Colby) is a great team, much improved from last year. I think they’re going to have a fantastic season. It was a tough game. It was played well on both sides; it was really just a lot of fun.”

Colby running back Keon Smart, left, catches a shovel pass as Colby quarterback Miles Drake gets tackled against Williams during a college football game Saturday in Waterville. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“(Colby) covered (receivers) well and I thought they had a really nice plan defensively,” Williams head coach Mark Raymond said. “McHugh took some openings when he had them.”

All 19 of Colby’s points, along with 281 of its 361 offensive yards, came in the second half. Trailing 14-0 entering the third quarter, the Mules scored their first touchdown of the game when junior quarterback Declan McNamara — who periodically subbed into the game for Drake at multiple points of the game — hit wide receiver Matt McHugh on a 6-yard pass off a bootleg. A failed extra point attempt kept the Williams lead to 14-6. McNamara was 2 of 3 passing for 16 yards and had 27 rushing yards on six carries.

Moments later, Colby went for an onside kick and recovered it in Williams’ territory. Seven plays later, Drake connected with senior tight end Atticus Duncan on a 9-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 14-12.

The Ephs responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 5-yard rushing touchdown from McHugh for a 21-12 lead. On its next possession, Williams added three more points when kicker Ivan Shuran nailed a 37-yard field goal to lengthen the lead to 24-12.

“The receivers made it easy for me,” McHugh said. “They found the soft spots (in the defense), found the openings and got open for me. They made a bunch of great catches and I’m just grateful for that.”

Colby continued to fight, marching 95 yards on 12 plays late in the fourth quarter, when Drake fired a tight spiral to Duncan, between two defenders, on a 10-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to cut the lead to 24-19. The Mules got the ball back on their own 19-yard line with 54 seconds to play and quickly moved 61 yards down the field to the Ephs’ 20-yard line. Drake attempted a pass intended for Duncan in the end zone, but Duncan was tied up with defenders, and Williams defensive back Brady Carroll intercepted the pass to seal the win.

“I thought we had a shot with the ball in close at the end like we did, but it just didn’t happen,” Cosgrove said.

“We got a stop when we had to, we got a score in the second half when we had to,” Raymond said. “Colby is a really good football team. Their defense is really good. They completed some passes on us. It’s just satisfying to come out of here with a win, no question.”

Carroll’s interception was the lone turnover in the game. Colby recovered a fumble on a Christos Tzoumakas punt at the Ephs’ 35-yard line with 6:12 left in the second quarter, setting up a possible scoring opportunity for the Mules. Minutes later, however, it was announced that there had been an inadvertent whistle on the play, forcing Colby to re-kick.

Freshman Jack Nye led Colby receivers with four receptions for 71 yards. On defense, junior linebacker Sebastian Romain led the Mules with two sacks, while senior linebacker Julian Young had 11 tackles.