EASTON, Pa. – Fordham's touchdown with 28 seconds left in regulation spoiled a thrilling performance by Leopard freshman quarterback Ah-Shaun Davis on Saturday evening at Fisher Stadium.  
 
Davis completed 20-of-24 for 354 yards with three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), but saw Fordham counterpart Tim DeMorat run in a two-yard score for the 42-41 final in the Patriot League opener for both teams.
 
Davis was a key part of one of the Leopards' top offensive performances during the John Garrett era, as Lafayette rolled up 499 yards of total offense. Senior running back Selwyn Simpson and junior wide receiver Julius Young had 110 rushing yards and 123 receiving yards, respectively for the Leopards. Junior K.J. Rodgers had a breakout game with four catches for 114 yards while junior WR Joe Gillette accumulated five catches for 78 yards.
 
Fordham set the tone for an offensive game early, scoring two touchdowns in the first six minutes of the game. Trey Sneed logged a four-yard score and Trey Wilson broke away for a 23-yard touchdown.
 
Trailing 14-0, the Leopards took over at their own four-yard line, needing a score. The offense found its rhythm. Davis moved the chains, first with a 25-yard completion to Gillette that put the Leopards near midfield. Two plays later, he uncorked a 46-yard pass that Young ran under and into the end zone to cut the Fordham lead to 14-7 with 4:46 left in the first quarter.
 
Fordham (2-3, 1-0) answered on the next drive. DeMorat set up the score with a 36-yard completion to Hamze El-Zayat (13-166) before a 14-yard TD toss to Garrett Cody for the 21-7 lead.
 
The back and forth continued. Lafayette took over near midfield after a punt. Davis hit Gillette (12) and Rodgers (23 yards) to put the Leopards at the Fordham nine-yard line. Three rushing plays later, Simpson punched in his second touchdown of the season to bring Lafayette within one score, 21-14, with 9:35 left in the half.
 
Lafayette knotted things at 21 apiece just before the end of the first half. Davis completed passes of 26 and 21 yards to Young that put the Leopards at the one-yard line. Lafayette handed off to senior fullback Ty Hranicka on two straight plays, and the second one found paydirt. Micah Pettit added the PAT and the game was tied 21-21 going into intermission.
 
The teams combined for 521 yards of total offense in the first half (Fordham: 279, Lafayette 242) with DeMorat (12-of-18 for 205 yards) and Davis (12-of-15 for 201 yards) accounting for 406 in the air.
 
Big plays through the air continued to propel the Leopard offense when the second half opened. Davis hit Rodgers for a 74-yard touchdown pass to give the Leopards a 28-21 advantage. It was Rodgers' first career touchdown and the Leopards' longest play from scrimmage this season.
 
Special teams changed the tenor of the game, when Fordham downed a punt at the one. The Rams' defense took advantage, recording a safety before the offense converted a 39-yard field goal to pull within 28-26 at 10:29 in the third.
 
When it was the Leopards' turn, they started from their own seven-yard line after a punt. Davis capped a 93-yard scoring drive with a four-yard run, the first rushing touchdown of his career. Lafayette led 35-26 with 1:44 left in the third.
 
Fordham pulled back within two points on the opening drive of the fourth quarter after the Rams put together a nine-play drive covering 67 yards. Sneed banged in a one-yard score off left tackle with 13:52 left in the game.
 
On the Leopards' ensuing drive, Lafayette faced a 3^rd-and-4 at its 15 yard-line. Davis completed a pass to Young that was initially ruled a first down. The spot was reviewed by replay and it was determined to be a yard short, forcing Lafayette to punt.
 
On Fordham's first play after the punt, Sneed ripped off a 33-yard run to get Fordham inside the red zone. The Rams settled for a 19-yard field goal by Nick Leinenweber and retook the lead 36-35 with seven and half minutes left.
 
Davis and the Leopards embarked on an 11-play, 75-yard scoring march that utilized the run and the pass and chewed up six minutes. A 23-yard strike from Davis to Young was followed by a 11-yard run from Simpson to give the leopards 1^st-and-goal at the nine-yard line. Michael Hayes ran in the TD from two yards out and Lafayette led 41-36. Lafayette went for the two-point conversion with a Davis run, but it was stopped, leaving Fordham with a five-point deficit and 1:40 left on the clock.
 
DeMorat, a senior and the Patriot League's preseason Offensive Player of the Year, engineered the game-winning drive, completing four passes to the Lafayette 34-yard line with 54 seconds left. Sneed's 18-yard rush on 2^nd-and-10 took the Rams to the Lafayette 16. Then DeMorat found M.J. Wright for a 14-yard completion to the two-yard line before scoring the game-winner on the next play.
 
Lafayette (1-4, 0-1) continues Patriot league play and closes out its four-game home stand on Oct. 9, hosting Bucknell at 1 p.m.
 
 
NOTES:
* Simpson's 100-yard game was the first for the senior since Nov. 2, 2019, when he did it against Fordham.
* It was also the first time a Lafayette QB threw for 300 or more yards since that game (Keegan Shoemaker, 309).
* The 123-yard receiving game by Young was the first for the Leopards since Sept. 21, 2019.
* The Leopards' 41 points were the most since Sept. 13, 2014.
* Prior to the game, Lafayette hosted an event at Bourger Plaza that kicked off a year-long celebration of 50 Years of Women's Athletics. Nicole Farmer Hurd, Lafayette's 18^th President, Sherryta Freeman, director of athletics, were keynote speakers along with volleyball alum Cara Mulholland McCutcheon '10.
 * Farmer Hurd, who was inaugurated as the school's 18th president on Friday night, and her husband, Bill, handled the pre-game coin toss and were later recognized on the field during the first quarter.