EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette erupted for 42 first-half points and ran away to a 56-22 victory over Bucknell on Saturday in the Patriot League opener at Fisher Stadium.
The offense stood out on Homecoming Weekend, propelling Lafayette to a 4-1 mark for the first time since 2009 while giving Leopard head coach
John Troxell his 100
th career head-coaching win.
Four different players scored for the Maroon and White in the opening half. Soph. RB
Jamar Curtis accounted for two of the scores, including the initial touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run at 5:44 in the first. Curtis finished the day with 10 carries for 106 yards, his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season.
After a quick defensive stop, the offense was back on the field. A 54-yard rush by freshman wide receiver
Devin Paige set up the next score that came via a one-yard run by junior RB
Jermaine Conyers for a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
At the beginning of the second quarter, freshman
Troy Bruce blocked a punt and the Leopards took over near midfield. Four plays later soph QB
Dean DeNobile's quick strike to rookie WR
Carson Persing for 30 yards gave Lafayette a 21-0 lead 1:10 into the second quarter.
The Leopards added three more touchdowns in the half, with two coming on five-and eight-yard strikes from DeNobile to soph. WR
Chris Carasia and Curtis. DeNobile (16-of-23 for 22, 4 TD) added one more scoring connection just before the half, finding sophomore
Elijah Steward for a 63-yard catch, run and score.
Jack Simonetta's PAT was true and Lafayette led 42-12 at halftime.
The Leopards tacked on two more touchdowns in the second half and were never really threatened, winning their second straight and sixth out of the last seven meetings vs. the Bison. Freshman
Kente Edwards managed a two-yard TD run and classmate
Ethan Weber finished off things with a nine-yard score as the Leopards rang up their most points since 2009.
Perhaps overshadowed was the Leopards' performance on the defensive side of the ball. Senior LB
Billy Shaeffer had a nine-tackle effort that included 3.5 sacks. The Leopards finished with seven sacks on the afternoon for the second straight game with
Jaylon Joseph and
Blamassi Meite each adding one and
Tim O'Hearn and
Michael Vaughn combining for another. Lafayette's defense stifled the Bucknell running game, holding the Bison to minus-24 yards on 22 carries while limiting them to 6-of-15 on third down.
Lafayette will be away from Fisher Stadium for the next month, first traveling to Princeton on Oct. 7 in a 1 p.m. game.
NOTES:
Lafayette is 3-0 at home for the first time since 2009.
The Leopards did not commit a turnover for the second straight game.
Steward's first-half touchdown was the longest play from scrimmage in 2023.
