EASTON, Pa. – Senior captain CJ Amill was the difference maker on Saturday night, leading the Leopards to a 31-24 win over Central Connecticut State at Fisher Stadium. His decisive 23-yard TD scamper came with 33 seconds left in the game. 
 
The tailback rushed for two scores, but it was his first touchdown of the night that kick-started things for the Leopards in the first quarter. The teams traded punts on the first four possessions and CCSU's second punt of the game handed Amill and the Lafayette special teams a chance to get going. Amill caught the ball and made two moves, the second one springing him for a 57-yard punt return for touchdown, the first of his career and first for the Leopards' since 2007.
 
That spurred the action in the game. CCSU (2-3) answered with a lengthy drive to close out the quarter. The Blue Devils covered 75 yards on 11 plays before ending with a 15-yard toss from Jacob Dolegala (22-of-36 for 202 yards) to Tyshaun James to knot the game at 7-7.  
 
In the second quarter, a 46-yard toss from Sean O'Malley to a diving Nick Pearson set up another scoring chance. The Leopards attempted a 24-yard field goal that missed wide left and the game remained tied.
 
Central Connecticut put together another extended drive (74 yards on 9 plays). Enyce Walker did the bulk of the work on the scoring march with 54 rushing yards. His 34-yard run on 3^rd-and-4 near midfield set up the score, taking the ball to the 11-yard line. Four plays later, Walker jammed himself across the goal line for a 14-7 lead.
 
The Leopards tied the game just before halftime, rolling up 78 yards on eight plays over 1:50. The final play, an 11-yard spinning run by Amill, and PAT by Jeffrey Kordenbrock knotted the game at 14-14. Amill finished the night with eight carries for 34 rushing yards and 118 all-purpose yards.
 
The visitors made the most of the final 40 seconds of the half. A Keith Earle sack of Dolegala left CCSU 2^nd-and-17 at its own 30, but on the next play Dolegala used a shovel pass to Drew Jean-Guillaume to pick up 37 yards. That set up a 50-yard field-goal attempt. Francis Cole booted it through the uprights at the Kirby Sports Center endzone and CCSU led 17-14 at halftime following the school-record kick.
 
As the second half opened, Lafayette's defense forced a punt and the offense took over at its own 20-yard line. O'Malley and the Leopards put together a 13-play scoring drive over the next seven minutes. The key play was a 28-yard strike to Chris Granjean on 3^rd-and-5 at CCSU 37-yard line on a night when Lafayette converted 10-of-16 third-down opportunities. A three-yard O'Malley pass to Steven Stilianos in the back of the endzone gave the Leopards a 21-17 lead. O'Malley ended the day 30-of-41 for a career-best 328 yards.
 
Another key third-down conversion from O'Malley to Granjean, this time a 32-yard pass on 3^rd-and-4 at the Lafayette 41, set up Lafayette's next score. Forty-six seconds into the fourth quarter, Kordenbrock kicked a 24-yard field goal as Lafayette led 24-17. Granjean, who had primarily been a special teams contributor previously, finished the day with six catches for 104 yards, both career highs.
 
The defense came through with another stop on the Blue Devils' ensuing possession. Harrison Greenhill blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Cole to maintain the 24-17 lead. CCSU tied the game on its next offensive possession. On the 10^th play, Dolegala kept the ball and ran in from three yards out to tie the game at 24-24 with 2:24 left.
 
The Leopards were not to be denied in front of the home crowd on Family Weekend. J.J. Younger's 37-yard kick-off return put Lafayette near midfield. O'Malley completed two passes to Quinn Revere for 18 yards and one each to Granjean (12 yards) and Julian Spigner (8 yards) to move to the 31-yard line. On the next play, Amill took the handoff and weaved through traffic for the 23-yard score as Lafayette led 31-24.
 
The visitors got the ball back with 33 seconds left, but freshman DL Billy Shaeffer forced a fumble that Major Jordan recovered to seal the victory. Jordan led the team with eight tackles on the night as the Lafayette defense limited CCSU to 364 yards and stopped the Blue Devils on 8-of-13 third-down chances.

"Our team really did a good job executing on all three sides of the ball," said Lafayette head coach John Garrett. "The special teams impacted the game with great coverage and the (punt) return. The defense made some big stops against a talented offense and kept the score down. The offense certainly had their share of explosive plays and finished off drives. It was a total team effort."
 
Lafayette (1-4) will have a week off from game action before returning home to host Georgetown on Oct. 13.