EASTON, Pa. - Quarterback Dean DeNobile threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns as the Leopards improved to 2-0 in Patriot League play via a 24-10 final over Fordham on Saturday at Fisher Stadium.
The senior completed passes to nine different receivers, with Elijah Steward reeling in five catches for 85 yards. Carson Persing (4-84) managed a 63-yard catch along with a TD, while Matthew Scerbo added three catches for 49 yards, including his first career TD. It was DeNobile's second career 300-yard passing game. Defensively, the Leopards rang up 13 TFL with four sacks with 25 players recording at least one tackle, led by 12 from Ryan Gadson.
The first quarter was dominated by defense. On Lafayette's first drive of the afternoon, the Fordham defensive line stood tall on 4th-and-1 at the 19-yard line. James Conway and Jack Low combined to stop Ethan Weber on a run up the middle for a turnover on downs.
The teams traded punts following the fourth-down stop, with Christian Bush pinning Fordham on its three-yard line. Gunnar Smith started the following possession with a screen pass to Troy Worrell for a 50-yard gain. Fordham found itself on the Lafayette 17, 1st-and-10 with 1:27 left in the quarter. Mike Saint Germain's defense remained stout, collecting two tackles for loss. On 3rd-and-14, Jaylon Joseph broke through the offensive line and sacked Smith, popping the ball loose before it was scooped up by Beckham Dee. The first quarter closed with a 0-0 score.
The Maroon and White's offense picked up in the second quarter. DeNobile, who completed 18-of-22 pass attempts for 202 yards in the first half, found Scerbo for a six-yard score. His TD granted the Leopards a 7-0 advantage at 9:57 in the second.
Lafayette forced another punt, setting up shop on its six-yard line. Four plays on the Leopards' nine-play drive came via the pass, highlighted by 34- and 29-yard completions to Steward and Scerbo, respectively. The offense found the end zone once again, with Persing hauling in a three-yard pass for a 14-0 lead with 3:52 left before halftime.
Fordham drove down the field and attempted a 32-yard field goal before time expired, but Bennett Henderson's kick sailed wide left to keep the score at 14-0.
In the third quarter, the Leopards turned it over after a DeNobile pass ricocheted off a receiver. The Maroon and White defense responded, forcing a punt with 5:30 left. Special teams made its biggest contribution of the game when Tighe Cummiskey broke through the line and blocked the punt. Dylan Aguilera was there to recover and run it back 18 yards for the touchdown. Lafayette led 21-0.
The Rams finally got on the board in the fourth quarter when Smith found Worrell for a score from four yards out. The Maroon and White led 21-7 with 13:57 remaining. Fordham scored once again with 9:01 on the clock, converting a Henderson 35-yard field goal to trim the Leopards' lead to 21-10.
Lafayette added three more points via a field goal from Jack Simonetta from 19 yards out to lead 24-10 with 4:38 left to play. Three plays later, Kevin Dodard dove to intercept a pass from Smith to seal the 24-10 final.
Next up, the Leopards close out their four-game homestand with a 12:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday vs. Bucknell which is 1-1 in Patriot League play, coming off a 33-28 win over Richmond.
NOTES:
It was the Leopards first punt block returned for a touchdown since Sept. 13, 2024 (Tiberia block and Xavier Johnson recovery)
DeNobile has completed 66.1 percent of his passes during his career (second all-time at Lafayette), ranking fourth in Patriot League history. He also moved up to sixth on Lafayette's career passing yards list, having thrown for 5,699 yards. He passed Rob Curley '10 (5,397).
Saturday marked the third-straight Lafayette victory over Fordham and it pushed Lafayette to 2-0 in conference play for the second time in the last three seasons.
