Sept. 27, 2003
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EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - Junior tailback Joe McCourt scored three first-half touchdowns to lead Lafayette to a 28-13 win over Princeton on Saturday.
McCourt scored on runs of one and three yards in the first quarter, then caught a nine-yard scoring pass from Marko Glavic early in the second. Glavic scored on a three-yard run just 14 seconds before halftime to give the Leopards a 28-0 lead at intermission.
Lafayette (2-1 overall, 0-1 Patriot League) took the opening kickoff 80 yards in 18 plays, erasing nearly seven minutes off the clock. McCourt finished the drive with his one-yard plunge.
Maurice Bennett recovered a Princeton fumble on the ensuing possession, and seven plays later McCourt was in the end zone again. Holder Michael O'Connor bobbled the snap on the point-after attempt, recovered, and beat the Princeton defense to the left corner of the end zone for two points and a 15-0 Leopard lead.
Princeton's offense went three-and-out, and the Leopards embarked on a 10-play, 64-yard scoring drive. Glavic found McCourt for a nine-yard scoring toss to build a 22-0 lead.
Glavic closed out the first half with a three-yard scoring run over left end. Mike Davis' PAT was wide left and Lafayette led 28-0 at the break.
The Tigers got on the board with 1:19 remaining in the third quarter on a 19-yard toss from Matt Verbit to Eric Walz. Lafayette's Larry Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to the Princeton 49, but the drive stalled when Mike Davis missed a 27-yard field goal wide right.
Princeton went to the no-huddle offense and drove 80 yards in nine plays to make the score 28-13 with 9:53 remaining. Branden Bensen finished the drive with a one-yard scoring plunge.
Larry Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the Princeton 33, but the drive stalled on a failed fourth-and-15 from the Princeton 26.
Princeton, still in the no-huddle, drove to the Lafayette 28, but Verbit was thrown for a loss on fourth-and-one with 3:02 remaining.
McCourt ran 29 times for 108 yards and two scores, while Glavic was 19 of 33 through the air for 160 yards and a touchdown. McCourt broke the 100-yard rushing barrier for the 12th time in his career.
Verbit was 20 of 43 for 253 yards and a score. Bensen and Jon Veach both collected 55 yards on the ground for the Tigers.
Justin Stull and Joseph Weiss were in on 12 and 10 tackles, respectively, for the Tigers, while Lafayette had seven players collect at least five tackles.
Lafayette plays the middle game of a three-game homestand next Saturday, hosting Georgetown in a Patriot League contest at 1 p.m. Princeton hosts Columbia next Saturday at 7 p.m.
