Sept. 2, 2006
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FAIRFIELD, Conn. (www.lafayette.edu) - Senior tailback Jonathan Hurt ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Brad Maurer ran for one score and threw for another in the second half to lead Lafayette to a 25-14 win at Sacred Heart in the season opener on Saturday afternoon.
The Leopards, which ran for 190 yards on the afternoon, kept the ball on the ground for all but one of their first 15 plays to take a 13-0 lead in the game's first 10 minutes. The key play in the first scoring drive was a 23-yard run by Hurt on third-and-two which put the ball inside the 20, and he finished it off with a two-yard run over center. Rick Ziska's extra point made the score 7-0 just over four minutes into the contest.
Senior Marvin Snipes, a first team All-Patriot League selection a year ago, sacked quarterback Tyler Arciaga on the Pioneers' first play from scrimmage and forced a fumble, which junior Kyle Sprenkle recovered at the SHU 29-yard line. Lafayette took seven plays to score, which included the only pass of the first quarter to sophomore fullback Joe Russo for 11 yards, and Hurt plunged in from two yards out. The PAT was no good after a low snap from center.
Sacred Heart got on the board on a four-yard touchdown pass from Arciaga to Alvin Franklin early in the second quarter. Tailback Jason Payne, who had 102 rushing yards on only nine attempts, covered 44 of the Pioneers' 69 yards on the drive on a sprint up the middle on third-and-one just inside midfield.
Lafayette forced a punt on Sacred Heart's next possession, but a personal foul for roughing the punter set the Pioneers up at the 41-yard line. Payne struck quickly, finding the end zone on the next snap on a run play down the left sideline. Nick Passalacqua made the extra point to give SHU a 14-13 lead with 5:03 left in the second, and went into the locker room with a one-point lead.
Arciaga converted two third downs on Sacred Heart's opening possession of the third quarter, but the drive stalled at the 19-yard line and Joe Schroeder's 37-yard field goal attempt into a strong wind fell short to end the 13-play drive.
The Leopards found success in the run game again on their ensuing possession, moving all 81 yards on the ground on their way to the go-ahead touchdown. Hurt started the drive with a 15-yard run and carried eight times in all, including a seven-yard gain on fourth-and-two from the SHU 31 after Lafayette's only passing attempt of the 15-play series. Maurer capped the drive with an 11-yard run to give Lafayette a 19-14 advantage with seven seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Lafayette defense didn't allow Sacred Heart to run a play inside midfield in the fourth quarter, as the Pioneers' first drive of the period took more than five minutes off the clock but concluded with a punt from their own 46. The Leopards utilized the new NCAA timing rules to erase almost three minutes while running just four plays before David Yankovich got off a 46-yard punt that placed the ball inside the SHU 20.
Evin Jones ran twice for nine yards to set up a third-and-one at the 26 but was stopped for no gain by sophomore linebacker Andy Romans. Sprenkle threw Payne for his only negative run of the day on the fourth down play to turn the ball over to the offense with 4:33 left.
Maurer completed only his second pass of the day, a 21-yard toss to Shaun Adair on third-and-nine, to close the scoring for the Leopards with 2:36 to play and seal the victory.
Lafayette will open the defense of its back-to-back Patriot League championships next Saturday at Bucknell. Kickoff from Christy Mathewson Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
NOTES:
* Lafayette won its fifth straight season opener and 10th straight game following a loss, extending its school record which was previously set at seven.
* Hurt's 141-yard performance was the second-best of his career, just behind a 149-yard outing against Columbia in similar weather conditions a year ago. It was also his fourth straight and fifth career 100-yard rushing performance.
* Hurt's two touchdowns mark his seventh career multi-touchdown game, and move him into seventh place on the career rushing touchdown list with 20.
* Hurt surpassed the 1,500 yard rushing plateau, as he entered the afternoon with 1,369 yards.
* Maurer's go-ahead touchdown run was his 10th career rushing score. He is 81 yards shy of 1,000 yards rushing, and 93 yards short of 3,000 yards passing, in his career, and has accounted for 26 touchdowns (10 rushing, 16 passing).
* The defense shut out SHU in the second half after pitching four second half shutouts in the first six games last season.
* Lafayette, which ranked 11th in the nation in total defense last year with 296.9 yards per game, allowed just 248 yards (119 rushing, 129 passing). The Leopards were also ninth in scoring defense at 17.0 points per game and yielded 14 on Saturday.
* Romans (11 tackles) and Justin Stovall (nine tackles) led the Lafayette defense from the linebacking corps. SHU linebackers Rolando Garcia and Jon Corto also had 11 and nine tackles, respectively.
* Sprenkle had 10 tackles, 3.0 tackles for a loss, recovered the opening fumble and had half a sack from his defensive tackle spot.
* Snipes' sack on SHU's first play of the game gave him one more than he had all last season, in which he was a first team All-Patriot League selection at defensive end. It was his ninth career sack and seventh forced fumble.
* Senior Keith Bloom had 1.5 sacks after posting two as a sophomore, before missing his junior year due to injury.
* Torian Johnson's interception late in the first half was his sixth career pick.
