Nov. 15, 2003

Final Stats

WORCESTER, Mass. (www.lafayette.edu) - Lafayette junior tailback Joe McCourt ran for over 100 yards in the first quarter en route to his second-straight four rushing touchdown performance in Lafayette's 41-13 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.

McCourt finished with 186 yards on 26 carries and touchdown runs of 40, one, three and 25 yards. He broke the 100-yard rushing barrier for the sixth time this season and 16th time in his career.

The Leopards (5-5 overall, 2-4 Patriot League) set the tone for the contest in the opening six minutes. Larry Johnson returned the opening kickoff to the Holy Cross 47-yard line and on the third play from scrimmage, McCourt broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run.

The defense forced and recovered a Holy Cross fumble on the ensuing possession and quickly moved 48 yards in six plays. McCourt finished the drive with a one-yard dive over the pile and Mike Beatrice's point-after made it 14-0 just 5:43 into the contest.

McCourt's third score, a three-yard run, capped a 13-play, 76-yard drive that ate 6:34 off the second-quarter clock. Beatrice's third PAT pushed the lead to 21-0 with 4:22 left in the half.

Holy Cross (1-10, 1-5) got on the board 1:08 before intermission on a 21-yard touchdown pass from John O'Neill to Sean Gruber. The snap was mishandled on the point-after attempt, leaving the score 21-6 at the break.

The Leopard defense forced a Holy Cross punt to open the second half and the offense responded with a nine-play, 76-yard drive that ended with McCourt's fourth score, a draw play in which McCourt sprinted untouched into the end zone.

Holy Cross cut the lead to 27-13 on a three-yard pass from O'Neill to Ari Confessor with 1:47 left in the third. The score capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive, with O'Neill throwing for 57 yards on the drive.

Following the score, Larry Johnson returned the kickoff 62 yards to the Crusader 31-yard line. Glavic would throw an interception on third down, but Johnson got the ball back for Lafayette with an interception of his own two plays later. Glavic scored on a nine-yard run and Beatrice's fourth PAT made it 34-13 with 13:42 left.

Blake Costanzo's first interception of the season gave the Leopard offense the ball back at the Holy Cross 30-yard line. A 24-yard pass to Joel Cesare and a five-yard run by David Nelson moved the ball to the one, where Glavic found Josh Keister in the back of the end zone for his first career touchdown catch. Beatrice's fifth PAT rounded out the scoring with 12:19 left.

Glavic finished 17-of-29 for 175 yards and a score. Justin Lauver ran eight times for 77 yards late in the contest, while eight different receivers caught passes for the Leopards.

O'Neill completed 24-of-44 passes for 296 yards and a pair of scores for the Crusaders.

Holy Cross hosts Colgate at 12:30 p.m. next Saturday, while Lafayette visits Lehigh at 12:30 p.m. for the 139th meeting in college football's most-played rivalry.