 |
|
 |
 |
| |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
| Lafayette |
7 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
Sacred Heart
|
7 |
13 |
0 |
7 |
27 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
| 2-0 |
Final Stats | Photo Gallery
|
0-1 |
| |
| Quick Stats |
LC |
SHU |
| First Downs |
13 |
16 |
| Rushing Yards |
98 |
182 |
| Passing Yards |
131 |
184 |
| Total Yards |
229 |
366 |
| Total Plays |
70 |
79 |
| Fumbles-Lost |
2-0 |
0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards |
7-35 |
3-21 |
| Interceptions-Yards |
0-0 |
3-16 |
| 3rd Down Conversions |
3-17 |
7-20 |
| 4th Down Conversions |
2-3 |
0-0 |
| Sacks By-Yards |
2-18 |
3-18 |
| PAT Kicks |
2-2 |
3-3 |
| Field Goals |
0-0 |
2-2 |
| Time of Possession |
29:46 |
30:14 |
| Stat Leaders |
| Passing |
C-Att |
Yds |
TD |
Int |
| SHU - Noel |
14-32 |
184 |
1 |
0 |
| LC - Reed |
19-39 |
131 |
1 |
3 |
| Rushing |
Car |
Yds |
TD |
Long |
| SHU - Spence |
22 |
80 |
0 |
20 |
| LC - Scheuerman |
10 |
63 |
0 |
36 |
| Receiving |
Rec |
Yds |
TD |
Long |
| SHU - King |
5 |
98 |
0 |
57 |
| LC - Keller |
5 |
68 |
1 |
24 |
 |
FAIRFIELD, Conn. - Sacred Heart handed defending Patriot League champion Lafayette a 27-14 loss in the Leopards' season opener on Saturday night.
Lafayette saw its offense struggle for most of the contest, but the defense appeared to have put the Leopards in a position for a final rally in the fourth quarter. Lafayette had the Pioneers 3rd-and-13 at the SHU 42 with 1:50 left in the game, looking to force a punt. Quarterback R.J. Noel uncorked a 57-yard pass to Jackson King who was able to get behind senior strong safety Jared Roberts. After a Sacred Heart timeout, Noel punched in the game-clinching score from one yard out, finishing with 49 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing scores.
Defensively, the Leopards had 12 tackles for loss by 13 different players and held the Sacred Heart offense to 366 yards. Linebacker Mark Dodd led the team with 11 stops while Chris Brockman added 10, each while contributing a pair of tackles for loss.
In the opening quarter, the teams exchanged punts, but it was Ryan Forrester's second punt of the night that pinned the Pioneers at their own two-yard line. Forrester had a solid night, punting 10 times, landing four inside the 20.
After Forrester's punt, Sacred Heart (2-0) ran off a 98-yard scoring drive that covered 4:35 and ended with a five-yard pass from Noel (14-of-32 for 1 TD) to Tyler Dube. Keshaudas Spence, the school's all-time leading rusher picked up two first downs on the drive with runs of 20 and 30 yards, but was held to 80 yards on the ground.
On the ensuing kick-off, the Leopards' answered in dramatic fashion when Ross Scheuerman returned a kick 90 yards for a touchdown and score. Forrester's PAT tied the game at 7-7 with 3:05 left in first quarter. Scheuerman missed most of the second half after sustaining an injury.
Lafayette turned it over late in the first quarter when sophomore QB Drew Reed was intercepted on the home sideline after a scramble. Reed finished the game 19-of-39 for 131 yards with three interceptions. The Pioneers took over at their own 22, but the Lafayette defense was up to the task, forcing a 37-yard Chris Rogers field goal to give Sacred Heart a 10-7 lead.
Rogers added a second field goal with 10:16 left in the half as Sacred Heart led 13-7.
Sacred Heart extended the lead with 5:02 left in the first half. Noel faked the hand-off to Spence and then tucked the ball and ran it in from seven yards out for the 20-7 advantage at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Leopards had the ball 4th-and-5 at the Sacred Heart 24-yard line. The Leopards went for it. The SHU defense appeared to have Reed contained in the backfield, but he scrambled to elude the pressure and hit TE Brian Keller near the 10-yard line. Justin Adams threw a block to spring him Keller for the rest of the yardage as Lafayette closed the gap to 20-14 with 5:28 in third quarter.
The Lafayette offense couldn't find its rhythm in the fourth quarter as its first four drives accounted for just 15 plays and a total of 20 yards. Sacred Heart took over with 3:05 left in the game. On first down, Brockman and Shane Dorner stopped Spence in the backfield for a loss of three. On second down, Noel had a ball dropped by his receiver, setting up the decisive 57-yard Noel strike to King.
Lafayette (0-1) opens its home slate on Sept. 13, hosting Robert Morris at 6 p.m. in Fisher Stadium.
NOTES: The game was delayed because of thunderstorms at 8:18 p.m., prompting a delay of 25 minutes. The teams returned to the field and kicked off the second half at 8:43 p.m.
Scheuerman's 90-yard kick-off return for touchdown was the longest of his career and his second for touchdown (surpassing a 78-yard return vs. Colgate on 11/5/11).
