EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette rushed for 297 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 31-17 victory over Sacred Heart on Saturday at Fisher Stadium.
 
Junior Jamar Curtis accounted for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground while Troy Bruce added 83 yards and a score. Rookie QB Jason Penza contributed 49 rushing yards and fellow QB Dean DeNobile got in on the action with a one-yard TD run.
 
With his 12^th career 100-yard rushing game, Curtis moved into seventh place for career rushing yards (2,534) and career rushing touchdowns (24). He also led the team in receiving yards with five catches for 42 yards.
 
The teams traded scores in the first quarter. The Leopards scored on a 12-play, 70-yard drive over five minutes that was capped by a one-yard run by Curtis. On the drive, Penza converted two third downs with runs of nine and eight yards.
 
For Sacred Heart, a 42-yard screen pass from John Michalski to Kevin McGuire set up the Pioneers' Jalen Madison for a six-yard rushing TD. That knotted the game at 7-7 with five minutes to go in the first quarter.
 
A Mason Kuehner punt return put the Leopards in good field position at the SHU 28-yard line. Troy Bruce had back-to-back carries, the second for five yards and his third touchdown of the season.  
 
Lafayette parlayed a turnover into its next score. Tim O'Hearn stripped the ballcarrier before A.T. Ntantang recovered. Lafayette took over near midfield. DeNobile hit Curtis for a 27-yard completion and Ethan Hosak for 15 more yards. Curtis finished the drive with his second TD of the day, from five yards out.
 
Half way through the second quarter, Madison broke through the right side for a 27-yard touchdown that sliced Lafayette's advantage to 21-14.
 
Just before the end of the first half, Lafayette used a steady diet of the running game to set up its final score, spurred by a 26-yard carry from Bruce (who had six rushes for 46 yards on the drive). Jack Simonetta booted home a 23-yard field goal to finish off a 13-play drive and hand the Leopards a 24-14 margin at the intermission.
 
Sacred Heart opened the second-half scoring with a 32-yard field goal by Matt Kling. Lafayette led 24-17.
 
The Leopards added to their lead with a drive that spanned the end of the third quarter and reached into the fourth. It was the longest drive of the season, eating up 7:06 on the clock. A 10-yard DeNobile toss to Avery Jones left the Leopards a yard short of the endzone. DeNobile went under center and finished the drive with a QB sneak that put away the game.
 
Defensively, Saiku White (7) and Ian Langan (6) combined for 13 tackles. Bryson Bright added a sack, while Preston Forney and Jaylon Joseph combined for one of their own. The Leopards limited Sacred Heart to 3-of-12 on third down.
 
Lafayette returns home to face Holy Cross on Homecoming/Parents Weekend on Saturday in a game with significant Patriot League title implications.