Oct. 10, 2009

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EASTON, Pa. - Maurice White scored twice and his final rush of the game, a two-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds left on the clock, propelled Lafayette to a 24-21 win over Columbia on Saturday night at Fisher Stadium. Lafayette improves to 4-1 for the third straight season after holding Columbia scoreless in the second half.

With 6:09 remaining in the game, Lafayette took over on its own 12-yard line in what would be the team's final possession of the game. Six plays into the drive, Curley fired a laser down the middle of the field to Greg Stripe for a 19-yard gain to put the Leopards into Columbia territory. Stripe finished with four catches for 76 yards.

As the drive continued, Curley and Stripe connected again, this time on a 32-yard catch by the sophomore wideout, to put the ball on the Lions' 11. A pass interference call moved Lafayette to the three-yard line. Lafayette faced a 3rd-and-goal, and White leaped his way into the end zone to cap off an 88-yard, 13-play drive that gave the Leopards the come-from-behind victory.

Columbia (2-2) scored on its first three possessions of the game and led 21-10 at halftime. The first drive featured Lions' quarterback M.A. Olawale. The Leopard defense put pressure on him early as Allan Whitesell batted down an Olawale pass that he caught for a loss of 11 yards. On 3rd-and-7, the QB again faced pressure but got the ball off for a first down. Olawale took matters into his own hands, ripping off a 27-yard run on the option to cap off a seven-play, 75-yard Columbia drive. He finished with 75 yards on 16 carries.

Just as efficiently, Lafayette marched down the field on its ensuing possession. A pass interference call against Columbia set the Leopards up at the Lions' two-yard line and White pushed his way into the end zone to tie the game at 7-7.

A 57-yard yard return by Columbia's Austin Knowlin put the Lafayette defense right back on its heels. It took Olawale no time at all to find the end zone for the second time, as he connected with Knowlin for a 21-yard pass to make it 14-7.

The Leopards managed to work their way down to the 18-yard line on their next drive but had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Davis Rodriguez, cutting Columbia's lead to 14-10 with 1:35 to play in the opening quarter.

Lafayette struck first in the second half. On their first possession, the Leopards took over on Columbia's 39-yard line and on 3rd-and-1, Curley found a leaping Mitchell Bennett in the far corner of the end zone, making it a one-score game at 21-17.

Lafayette forced its only fumble of the game seconds into the fourth quarter. Ian Dell forced an Olawale fumble and Eric McGovern recovered to give the Leopards the ball at the Columbia 41. Lafayette attempted a 47-yard field goal to end the drive, but it missed just short.

The Leopards' defense forced a 27-yard punt to the Lafayette 12-yard line, setting up the stage for the decisive 88-yard drive.

Curley finished the night 23-for-39 for 287 yards (all career-highs), one TD and three INTs. White scored both Lafayette touchdowns on 13 rushes for 50 yards. Stripe was the leading receiver. Ten different players caught passes for Lafayette, six of which reeled in more than one pass.

The Lions narrowly outrushed the Leopards 148-142, but Lafayette dominated in the passing game, finishing the night with 287 yards through the year while holding Columbia to only 153. Lafayette dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 12 minutes more than Columbia (including 10:20 minutes of possession in the fourth quarter).

Michael Schmidlein and Kyle Simmons combined for 20 tackles (10 apiece) with Schmidlein registering three for loss.

The Leopards play their final Ivy League opponent of the season next Saturday when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on Harvard. Kick-off is set for noon.

NOTES:

The Leopards won a game in the final minute of regulation for the first time since their 8-7 win at Penn on Sept. 15, 2007.

Lafayette has won eight straight over Columbia and leads the all-time series 28-11-2.