FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Sophomore Jamar Curtis ran for 181 yards and a touchdown, propelling Lafayette to a 19-14 win over Sacred Heart on Saturday in the season opener.
 
For the second straight season, Lafayette needed a defensive stand to hold off the Pioneers, and the defense's repeat performance did not disappoint. Sophomore Taylor Smallwood picked off a fourth-down pass with 1:40 left in the game with Sacred Heart threatening from the five-yard line.
 
The Leopards took over and Curtis' 47-yard run put the Leopards in the win column. He had 19 carries for 181 yards (both career highs) and a touchdown, including 115 yards in the first half (which matched Sacred Heart's final game total).  
 
The Leopards scored on their first offensive possession of the 2023 season, putting together an eight-play, 86-yard drive. Curtis, the Leopards' leading rusher from 2022, ran five times for 71 yards on the drive and finished off the scoring march with a breakaway 28-yard touchdown run. Rookie Jack Simonetta added the PAT for the 7-0 lead six minutes into the game.  
 
A turnover appeared to shift the momentum toward the hosts' side. Soph. QB Ryan Schuster hit TE Mason Gilbert for nine yards, but the Pioneers dislodged the ball and took over at the Lafayette 40. The Leopards' defense was up to the task. Freshman Michael Vaughn and junior Phillip Peiffer recorded back-to-back sacks and forced a 36-yard field goal that went wide right. Lafayette led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Two and half minutes into the second quarter, the Leopards extended the lead to 13-0. Curtis had 19 rushing and 11 receiving yards on the drive and was aided by 17 rushing yards from junior Jermaine Conyers. On the scoring play, Schuster faked the handoff to Conyers, and slid off the left tackle and in for a four-yard score.
 
Sacred Heart got on the scoreboard just before the end of the first half. Jalen Madison bounced off a couple of would-be tacklers to run it in from 17 yards out. Despite the score on the drive, Lafayette's defense held Sacred Heart's running game in check, limiting the Pioneers to 31 yards in the opening 30 minutes. Curtis' 115 rushing yards eclipsed his single-game high from 2022 (108 vs. Lehigh on Nov. 19).
 
The 13-7 halftime advantage held through the end of the third quarter and as the Pioneers missed a second field goal, a 23-yarder midway through the session.
 
At 11:41 in the fourth, Sacred Heart took its first lead of the game on Cade Pribula's 11-yard pass to Ethan Hilliman in the corner of the endzone. The PAT was good and Sacred Heart lead 14-13.
 
After the score, the Leopards went to sophomore Dean DeNobile at quarterback and junior Nahjee Adams at running back. A 24-yard screen pass to Adams kept the drive moving, and then a DeNobile 21-yard scramble took the Leopards to the one-yard line. A one-yard run off tackle by Adams gave the Maroon and White a 19-14 advantage on Adams' first career score. 
 
Lafayette went for two, as DeNobile completed a pass to Smith, but Lafayette was whistled for offensive pass interference, negating the try. Lafayette's second pass attempt went incomplete and Lafayette led 19-14 with 7:24 left.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, Sacred Heart's Jon Moccia tore off a 47-yard return and Leopards' kicker Jakob Trestik saved a score by knocking him out of bounds just inside Leopard territory. The Pioneers picked up a 3^rd-and-9 at the Lafayette 45-yard line with an 11-yard completion. Then, Malik Grant's 14-yard run took SHU to the four-yard line.
 
On the next snap, junior Terrell Cannon and freshman Jaylon Joseph stopped Grant for no gain. The Pioneers went to Grant again and seniors Billy Shaeffer and Blamassi Meite stuffed Grant for a loss. It was junior safety Saiku White's turn on third down and he stopped Pribula for no gain. After a Lafayette timeout, Sacred Heart went back to the pass, setting up Smallwood's game-changing interception with 1:40 left.
 
Smallwood smartly knelt down for the touchback and the Leopards took over. Two plays later Curtis' 47-yard run ended the suspense.
 
Defensively, White had a team-best 12 tackles while senior LB Marco Olivas added nine. Senior LB Preston Forney contributed 3.5 tackles for loss and seven stops while Vaughn had a pair of sacks. 
 
Lafayette travels to Duke for a week two matchup on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. The Blue Devils open their season on Monday vs. Clemson.