EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette's undefeated conference season came to an end on Saturday when No. 4 Lehigh beat the No. 24 Leopards 42-32 in front of a sellout crowd in the 161st meeting of college football's most-played rivalry.

It was a battle on the ground as Lafayette's Kente Edwards and Lehigh's Luke Yoder put on a display. Edwards carried the ball a career-high 41 times to finish with 157 yards and three TDs. Yoder, who garnered game MVP honors, ended the day with 234 yards and four touchdowns for the Mountain Hawks who had 320 rushing yards. 

The Leopards moved down the field with ease on their opening drive, converting a trio of third downs. Lafayette capitalized with eight minutes in the first. Edwards punched in his 18th touchdown of the season. The junior tailback racked up a quick 50 rushing yards against a defense that had only allowed 67 rushing yards per game this season. The Maroon and White led 7-0 after a 14-play possession. 

Lehigh answered just 3:14 after, capping off a seven-play drive with a 29-yard touchdown from Yoder. With 4:46 left in the quarter, the Leopards and Mountain Hawks were knotted at seven apiece.

Lafayette's ground game remained poised, running nine times on the ensuing 14-play drive. Offensive coordinator T.J. DiMuzio relied on Edwards and Dean DeNobile to carry the offensive unit down the field. DeNobile threw for 29 yards, while Edwards scurried for 49. On 3rd-and-goal from the two-yard line, DeNobile sent Edwards in motion. The senior quarterback took a quick drop back before running a draw up the gut to break across the goal line for his second rushing TD of the year. Lafayette regained a 14-7 advantage with 14:21 in the second quarter.

The momentum of the game turned with eight minutes to go in the half. The Leopards sat at the 34-yard Lehigh line when WR Carson Persing was picked off by Nick Peltekian. Two plays later, Hayden Johnson connected with Mason Humphrey for a 77-yard touchdown pass. The game was tied at 14-14 at 7:32 in the second.

Another 14-play drive from the Maroon and White resulted in another score before heading into the locker room. The Leopards ran three plays in the redzone, all shut down by the Mountain Hawk defense. Jack Simonetta was called on for a 21-yard field goal, which he converted. The Leopards led 17-14 heading into the half.

The Leopards controlled the pace of action in the first half with a 21:59 time of possession to Lehigh's 8:01.

The Mountain Hawks were quick to score out of the break, needing one Yoder rush to scamper 80 yards into the endzone. Lehigh led 21-17 just 18 seconds into the third quarter.

The Maroon and White grinded out a a 97-yard possession over the span of 13 plays. DeNobile completed passes of 27 and 35 yards to Persing and Matthew Scerbo, respectively, to convert a pair of third downs. Lehigh stopped Edwards on the one-yard line on three straight plays to force 4th-and-goal. The Annandale, N.J. native's final attempt finally broke the plane, giving Edwards his second touchdown of the game and a 24-21 lead with 2:46 in quarter three.

The opponents ran the ball on four consecutive plays, marching 73 yards down the field. Yoder racked up a 33-yard run prior to Johnson scrambling for 37 yards. Yoder punched the ball in two plays later for his third touchdown. Lehigh led 28-24 as the third quarter concluded.

Lafayette put together a solid drive before finding itself on 4th-and-1 at midfield. Lehigh forced a turnover on downs, stuffing Edwards just short of the marker and taking over on the Leopards' 47. The opponents used the field position to their advantage, with Yoder eventually picking up his fourth score. The Mountain Hawks stretched their lead to 35-24 with 10:20 left to play.

DeNobile and the offense engineered a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with Edwards capturing his third score of the afternoon. The possession featured two passes to Mason Kuehner that put the Leopards in the red zone. After Edwards' touchdown, Lafayette decided to go for two. The Maroon and White ran the patented Philly Special and ended with Jason Penza finding Kuehner open in the endzone. The Leopards trailed 35-32 with 7:14 of action left to play.

The opponents put away the game late in the fourth quarter after Johnson ran a QB sneak for a one-yard touchdown to solidify the 42-32 final. 

Defensively, Ryan Gadson paced the defense with seven tackles. Darson Jeanty and Olivier Camerlain combined for a sack, while Avery Jones tallied an interception. Jalen Edwards, Darien Riley and Davis Oliver-Goodwin all registered pass breakups.

NOTES: 
Lafayette holds an 82-74-5 lead in the all-time series which began in 1884.

Lafayette held an 11-minute advantage in time of possession, as Lehigh scored on three drives that lasted less than two minutes each. 

Edwards collected his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season. His 41 attempts marked both a season and career high. His 1,454 yards this season are the second-most in a single season in Lafayette history (1,460 in 2023). Edwards became the 11th player in Patriot League history with 20 rushing TD in a season and is tied for eighth all time in a season.