Skip To Main Content

Lafayette College Athletics

Football

Delaware Rushes Past Leopards, 24-6

Sept. 02, 2016

Final Stats |  Photo Gallery 

EASTON, Pa. The Lafayette football team walked into Fisher Stadium for the first time in 2016, but could not contain Delaware's grinding running game. Two Blue Hen backs, Thomas Jefferson and Jalen Randolph, combined for 229 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-6 win over Lafayette on Saturday night.

Despite the final outcome, it was closely contested throughout. The Leopards' defense consistently came up with stops with Brandon Bryant in the middle of nearly every big defensive play for Lafayette. The junior linebacker finished the night with a game-high 14 tackles and a sack, a year removed from a career-high 18-tackle game at Delaware.

The teams traded punts on the first two possessions. On Delaware's (2-0) second offensive possession, they put together an eight-play drive that was capped by a 43-yard field goal by Frank Raggo.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lafayette started with the ball on its own 13. The Leopards looked to senior quarterback Drew Reed (14-31-2 for 111 yards) and he delivered, completing five passes for 38 yards and rushing for 10. Two of the five completions were to Matt Mrazek, who led the team with eight receptions for 59 yards.

Delaware committed a costly penalty on the drive that allowed the Leopards to move into field-goal range and the Maroon and White capitalized with a 27-yard field goal from Jacob Bissell to knot the game at 3-3.

The Blue Hens were threatening on their first drive of the second quarter, making their way to the Lafayette 36. Delaware handed the ball off to Randolph on a third-and-four, but he was stuffed at the line by Brant and Collin Albershardt, forcing the Blue Hens to punt.

From that point forward, neither team was able to make it deep into the opposition's territory so the score remained even at 3-3 entering the half.

At the 11-minute mark of the third quarter, the Leopards went on a drive and were quickly forced to punt. Lafayette punter Ryan Forrester received the ball and kicked it 42 yards to the Delaware 19. Justin Watson, the Blue Hens return man, circled under it, but muffed the catch, resulting in a Lafayette recovery at the Delaware 11-yard line. Forrester had a standout night, averaging 43.3 yards per attempt on nine punts while landing three inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

Lafayette made its way to the three-yard line on a C.J. Amill eight-yard rush, but that was as far as the Leopards were able to get before being forced to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Bissell.

With four minutes left to play in the third quarter, the Blue Hens got the ball and worked their way down the field with five rushes for 33 yards. From the Lafayette 16, Jefferson was given the ball and he scored after finding a hole up the middle to put Delaware on top 10-6.

The Blue Hens extended their lead in the early stages of the final quarter after a seven-play, 91-yard drive. The drive began with five straight runs from Randolph for a combined 68 yards.

Delaware quarterback Joe Walker found some running room and took off for 10 rushing yards of his own. Following one final run by Randolph, Walker found receiver, Diante Cherry for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Blue Hens a 17-6 advantage.

The Leopards got the ball back, but the Blue Hens picked off Reed on the first play and scored once more on a four-yard rush by Randolph to seal the 24-6 victory over the Leopards.

Lafayette (1-1) will head to Princeton for its next game on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m.

Print Friendly Version