EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette pulled down a pair of Patriot League Player of the Week awards following a 56-14 win over Marist. Junior QB Dean DeNobile secured Offensive Player of the Week honors while freshman defensive back Xavier Johnson was named Rookie of the Week.
 
DeNobile completed his first 14 passes en route to a 20-of-23 day during which he finished with 241 yards and a touchdown, despite not playing the final 27 minutes of the game. The Economics major was coming off a Monmouth victory in week two when he threw for a career-best 394 yards with two touchdowns. The Preseason All-Patriot League selection has gone the last two weeks without an interception.
 
For the season, the Upper Saddle River, N.J. native leads the Patriot League and is fourth in the nation in completion percentage (73.3). He also paces the conference in passing yards (797), passing yards per game (265.7) and total offense (271.7), ranking sixth, eighth and seventh, respectively, among NCAA peers. DeNobile has completed a school record 69 percent of his passes during his career (244-of 356) for 2,794 yards and 24 touchdowns.
 
Johnson has played in every game this season on special teams and in the defensive backfield. In the first quarter against Marist, he recovered Gianlucca Tiberia's blocked punt in the endzone for a touchdown (the team's first blocked punt for a TD since 2010) to start off the Leopards' scoring. In the third quarter, the Muscle Shoals, Ala. native picked off his first career pass in the home-opening win.
 
No. 14/18 Lafayette gets back to action on Saturday at Columbia with a noon kickoff. That game can be seen on ESPN+, SNY and NBC Sports Philadelphia+