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Oct. 24, 2015

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Holy Cross quarterback Peter Pujals threw for six touchdowns as the Crusaders topped Lafayette 42-0 in Patriot League action on Saturday at Fitton Field.

Pujals completed 27-of-36 for 358 yards, including four touchdown passes to Brendan Flaherty. Lafayette junior QB Drew Reed was 15-of-23 for 115 yards with two interceptions.

Holy Cross (3-4, 1-2) scored on its first drive of the game and never looked back. Pujals hit Kalif Raymond for a 38-yard score when Raymond was able to get behind several Lafayette defenders.

On the ensuing drive, sophomore tailback DeSean Brown (12-70) picked up two first downs, including a 24-yard middle screen that moved Lafayette to the Holy Cross 44-yard line. The drive stalled and the Leopards were forced to punt.

As the first quarter came to a close, Brown managed to run for a first down that took Lafayette to the Holy Cross 37-yard line. A two-yard rush by Brown, a holding penalty and a short completion resulted in a punt, one of seven punts on the afternoon by Ryan Forrester.

Midway through the second quarter, Holy Cross converted a 4th-and-2 to the Lafayette 36-yard line. The next play, Pujals zipped a 34-yard pass to Flaherty for the touchdown and a 14-0 Holy Cross lead.

On the ensuing kick-off, Holy Cross kicked it short and the ball was mishandled, allowing Holy Cross to recover. The Leopards defense responded. Matt Rothrock dislodged the ball from Crusader tailback Gabe Guild and Phillip Parham recovered it.

The Leopards (1-7, 0-3) returned the favor, however. Brown picked up a first down with an 11-yard run and then garnered another nine yards before fumbling the ball back to Holy Cross. Three plays later Pujals threw his third touchdown pass, a 27-yard strike to Kalif Raymond who ended the day with 11 catches for 159 yards and two TD's. Holy Cross led 21-0 with 5:30 left in the half.

As the half wound down, Lafayette had the ball 2nd-and-10 at the Holy Cross 30 when Reed's pass was tipped an intercepted in the endzone as sophomore wide receiver Matt Mrazek battled two Holy Cross defenders for the ball and fractured his clavicle on the play.

Holy Cross had the two-minute offense working as Pujals and company covered 80 yards on eight plays, the final play a 28-yard pass from Pujals to Flaherty for the 28-0 halftime advantage. The Crusaders scored 21 points off turnovers in the game.

Holy Cross maintained the momentum in the second half, covering 82 yards on the opening drive which ended with a 19-yard toss from Pujals to Flaherty. The hosts tacked on one more score in the third quarter, a five-yard pass from Pujals to Flaherty on a drive that began at the Lafayette 42 following an interception. That score ran the final to 42-0.

Holy Cross finished the day with 561 yards of total offense to Lafayette's 250. Defensively for Lafayette Sophomore linebacker Brandon Bryant made eight tackles with seven solo stops while Darrell Crawford had seven solo tackles from his cornerback spot.

Lafayette returns home to play Bucknell at 3:30 p.m. on Halloween.

Notes: DE Collin Albershardt and CB Darrell Crawford served as the game captains.

Lafayette was shut out for a second straight game for the first time since 1971.