Oct. 25, 2008

Final Stats | | | Photo Gallery
| |
Purchase Tickets | More Coverage: Lafayette News Stand

BRONX, N.Y. - No. 24 Lafayette jumped out to a 28-6 halftime lead and ran away to a 48-13 victory at Fordham in Patriot League football action on Saturday at Jack Coffey Field. Freshman tailback Jerome Rudolph carried 16 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns while Lafayette cranked out 484 yards of total offense, including 322 on the ground.

Lafayette (6-1, 2-0) put up 14 points quickly in the first quarter to take command of the game. On the first offensive play, TB Tyrell Coon was injured, bringing Rudolph into the mix. The freshman caught a short screen pass from Rob Curley and carried it 31 yards into the endzone for his first career score. Davis Rodriguez added the PAT and Lafayette led 7-0.

The Lafayette defense shut down Fordham (3-4, 0-3) on the Rams' first possession and took over on the Lafayette 33. Curley threw a 22-yard strike to Mark Layton that put the Leopards at the Fordham one-yard line. TB Matt Ferber scored his first touchdown of the season with a one-yard run off tackle for the 14-3 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter.

As the first quarter wound down, Fordham QB John Skelton (19-for-36, 264 yards, 1 TD) connected on a 47-yard pass to David Moore that put the ball at the Lafayette 13. The defense held Fordham a 28-yard field goal by Adam Danko, the first of two in the opening half.

Lafayette took a 21-3 lead at 12:14 in the second quarter. Rudolph carried the ball 21 yards for a first down at the Fordham 26. He fumbled at the end of the play, but it was recovered by Ryan Hart-Predmore at the 21-yard line. On the next play, the Leopards went right back to Rudolph with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Curley. The drive covered 84 yards on seven plays.

Following another Danko field goal by Fordham (3-4, 0-3), Lafayette punched in its own score. Joe Russo caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in the flat from Curley (11-for-16 for 162 yards, 2 TD). He broke one tackle and then bullied his way into the endzone for the Leopards' 28-6 halftime lead.

Lafayette put the game out of reach early on in the second half with a seven-play 83-yard drive. Curley hit Shaun Adair for three passes for 62 yards, setting up Rudolph's second score of the game, a 15-yard touchdown jaunt that put the Leopards ahead 34-6. Rudolph finished the game with 16 carries for a career-high 140 yards before leaving in the third quarter with an injury.

The Leopards' defense surrendered its only touchdown of the game late in the third quarter. Skelton hit Clayton Busch for a 14-yard touchdown pass to make it 34-13.

The Leopards waited all of 10 seconds before answering, as freshman WR Greg Stripe returned the kickoff 80 yards for touchdown and a 41-13 advantage. On the Leopards' last possession of the game, Lafayette went to "smashmouth" football, putting together a 16-play 90-yard drive that including all running plays on the able legs of Russo and Matt Ferber. Russo finished off the drive with a 17-yard scamper with 10:45 left in the game.

Defensively, the Leopards were without 2007 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year for much of the game due to injury. The defense continued its stellar play, however, holding Fordham to 13 points on 99 yards rushing and 264 in the air. Neil Goldsmith, in his first game back from injury, led the team with eight tackles followed by six from Michael Schmidlein.

Lafayette will play its fourth of five straight games on the road, traveling to Hamilton, N.Y. for a crucial Patriot League matchup with Colgate. Kick-off is slated for 1 p.m.

NOTES:

Lafayette's 322 yards rushing were the most since Nov. 13, 2004, when Lafayette had 344 in a win over Holy Cross.

The program's 6-1 start is the best since 1981, matching a 6-1 mark by head coach Frank Tavani's predecessor Bill Russo. Prior to that it was 1944.