WORCESTER, Mass. – Holy Cross' defense never let the Lafayette offense gain any traction on Saturday in a key Patriot League matchup at Fitton Field. The Crusaders held Lafayette without a touchdown, limiting the Leopards to 171 yards on the afternoon in a 35-10 final.
 
The Leopards managed 33 rushing yards and 138 passing yards on the afternoon, with 68 of those combined yards coming on the final drive of the game when they added a 41-yard field goal by Micah Pettit.  Holy Cross sacked Leopard QB Ah-Shaun Davis seven times. 
 
Holy Cross' Ayir Asante scored three touchdowns of 19, 47 and 16 yards to fuel the offense which racked up 517 yards as Holy Cross remained undefeated in Patriot League play.  
 
Holy Cross scored the first points of the game. After missing a 45-yard field goal on its first drive, the Crusaders put together a 10-play march that covered 68 yards and finished with a one-yard plunge by Jordan Fuller. The Crusaders ran the ball eight times on the drive with 32 yards by Tyler Purdy.
 
They used the passing game to score their second touchdown mid-way through the second quarter. Asante capped a 77-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown catch with a defender draped on him. Holy Cross led 14-0 with 8:09 left in the half.
 
Lafayette's defense scored the Leopards' only points of the first half. Freshman LB Reggie Thomas deflected a Marco Siderman pass which fellow linebacker Major Jordan intercepted at the 50 and returned 50 yards for the score. Pettit added the PAT and Lafayette trailed 14-7 with 2:46 left in the half.
 
Holy Cross made the most of its timeouts and attempted a 47-yard field goal at the end of the half. For the second straight week, the special teams came up with a block. This time Jyaire Stevens stepped in and knocked down the attempt to preserve the 14-7 halftime score. Stevens finished the game with a career-high 15 tackles.
 
In the second half, special teams affected the game, this time when Holy Cross pressured Lafayette into a 15-yard punt following a three-and-out from the offense. The Crusaders took over at the Lafayette 48-yard line and used seven running plays to get into the end zone. Matthew Sluka's six-yard run gave Holy Cross a 21-7 advantage.
 
A 47-yard connection from Sluka to Asante with five minutes left in the third quarter gave Holy Cross a 28-7 lead.
 
Three minutes later, the Leopard defense stopped another potential score when Marco Olivas forced a fumble at the Lafayette 20 that DaRon Gilbert recovered. Olivas ended the day with 13 stops. The offense could not take advantage, however, forced to punt for the seventh and final time.
 
In the fourth, Holy Cross put the game away with a 16-yard pass from Siderman to Asante for a 35-7 advantage. The Leopards added a late field by Pettit to run the final to 35-10.  
 
Lafayette plays its final home game of the season on Nov. 13, hosting Colgate at 12:30 p.m. on Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day.