NEWARK, Del. – Delaware shut out Lafayette 37-0 on Saturday afternoon at Delaware Stadium. The Blue Hens, who were receiving votes in both Top 25 polls, churned out 414 yards of total offense led by quarterback Pat Kehoe.
 
The junior signal caller threw for three touchdowns and finished the day 18-of-28 for 279 yards while completing passes to nine receivers. The Blue Hens' offense held a distinct advantage in time of possession 38:31 to 21:29.
 
Lafayette's offense remained without a touchdown for the second straight week, held scoreless for the first time since Nov. 11, 2017 (Colgate, 27-0). Sophomore QB Sean O'Malley ended the day 17-of-33 for 111 yards with one interception. Classmate Cole Northrup also played several series, completing one pass for one yard with one INT.  
 
Defensively for the Leopards Michael Root, Trent Crossan and Major Jordan had 11, 10 and 10 tackles, respectively. Freshman Malik Hamm registered five stops, including three tackles for loss with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a fumble return.
 
The hosts put up 14 points in the first quarter. The Leopards were forced to punt on the first offensive possession and Delaware (1-1) took over near midfield. Eight plays later, Kehoe found TE Charles Scarff in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown catch over Yasir Thomas.
 
On Delaware's second offensive possession, the Leopard defense forced a three-and-out and a punt. Eric Mitchell fumbled the punt and Nasir Adderley recovered at the Lafayette 31. A Jerry Powe sack, one of his nine tackles on the day, left Delaware 3rd and-16 at the Lafayette 26 before Kehoe completed a 20-yard pass to Vinny Papale. Kehoe then hit Bryce De Maille across the goal line for a seven-yard TD toss and a 14-0 advantage.
 
Delaware took a 21-0 lead four minutes into the second quarter. DeJoun Lee used a 35-yard run and a 12-yard scamper to set up a Kehoe's third TD pass of the day, a 15-yard connection with Papale.
 
The Leopards' next drive started at midfield after J.J. Younger's 43-yard kickoff return. Northrup, who took over for O'Malley at the end of the third quarter, was under center for the drive. A bad shotgun snap resulted in a 15-yard loss and the Leopards punted for the third time in the game.
 
Lafayette's defense and Hamm held Delaware out of the end zone just before the half. He sacked Kehoe, stripped him of the ball, recovered the fumble and then returned it 22 yards. Hamm was one of two freshmen to start on the defensive line, joining Ian Grayson. Delaware led 21-0 at halftime.
 
The Leopards had one first down in the first half and eclipsed that total on the first drive of the second half. O'Malley hit Quinn Revere (8 yards) and Julian Spigner (11 yards) as Lafayette moved inside the Delaware 40-yard line. Delaware brought intense pressure on third and fourth downs on a pair of screen passes, one to each side, of the field were incomplete.
 
Delaware took over at its own 32-yard line and marched 68 yards for the score. A 20-yard pass from Kehoe to Owen Tyler, who found himself with linebacker coverage, set up the Blue Hens at the seven. Kani Kane finished off the drive, bowling his way into the end zone for the 28-0 margin.
 
Just before the horn at the end of the third quarter the Leopards opted for the fake punt. Harrison Greenhill completed a short pass to Nick Pearson who ran 24 yards for the first down. The Leopards picked up another first down on a seven-yard toss to Mike Dunn. The drive continued to the Delaware 24 before O'Malley was picked off in the end zone.
 
Delaware tacked on two more scores. Khoury Spruill capped a 15-play drive that covered 80 yards with a four-yard run for the 35-0 lead. After Delaware booted a punt to the one-yard line, the Blue Hens stopped Mike Dunn in the end zone for a safety, the first safety Lafayette surrendered since 2011.
 
On the day, Lafayette was 3-of-13 on third down while Delaware converted 9-of-16 tries.
 
Lafayette (0-2) opens its five-game home slate on Sept. 15, hosting Monmouth at 6 p.m.