EASTON, Pa. – A strong offensive display pushed Villanova past Lafayette, 44-21, on a sunny Halloween afternoon at Fisher Stadium. The matchup marked the Wildcats' first trip to College Hill as Patriot League foes, but five touchdowns from the visitors proved too much for the Leopards to overcome.
The hosts won the coin toss and elected to kick it away to the Wildcats to get the action underway at Fisher Stadium.
Villanova's first drive of the afternoon began on its own 25-yard line, but Ja'briel Mace moved the chains on first down with a 14-yard rush off the left side. A pair of completions for 17 yards by McQuaide moved the Wildcats into Leopard territory before he found Brandon Binkowski for a 16-yard gain. A combination of Isaiah Ragland and Mace then moved the ball down to the Leopards' 11-yard line. Defensive stops from
Joey Shimko and
Darrick LeBeouf on second and third down forced Villanova to settle for a field goal after a 13-play 62-yard drive.
The Maroon and White were only trailing for a few minutes as they responded with a seven-play 83-yard touchdown drive. The offense got off to a hot start when junior tailback
Jakyre Henley ripped off a 23-yard rush on first down. Freshman quarterback
Eddie Jordan moved the chains again on the next play with a 10-yard strike to
Ethan Hosak. Lafayette faced a crucial 3rd-and-3 with just over five minutes to go in the first quarter, but a six-yard carry from
Malachi Gamble kept the offense on the field. On 2nd-and-4, junior quarterback
Jason Penza entered the ballgame and broke off a 31-yard touchdown run up the middle to hand the hosts an early 7-3 lead with 5:18 to go in the first period.
Just over three minutes expired prior to the visitors' first trip to the end zone. McQuaide slung a pass to Binkowski on 2nd-and-7 for 14 yards and went back to the air on the next play with an 8-yard completion to Andrew Esposito. The McQuaide-Binkowski duo then connected for the Wildcats' first TD of the day, a 49-yard strike over the middle of the field.
Villanova's defense came up with a huge play during the Leopards' next possession to maintain the momentum the offense provided. Lafayette looked to pass on 3rd-and-7, but Jordan's attempt was intercepted by Omari Bursey and returned 28 yards for a touchdown.
The Wildcats' longest possession of the day (6:09) extended its lead to 24-7 with 4:49 remaining. The 12-play 88-yard drive resulted in a 1-yard score for Mace, his seventh of the season.
The Leopards took over on their own 25-yard line and used 10 plays to drive the length of the field for their second score of the afternoon. The offense needed 11 yards on third down to move the chains, and it did just that after Jordan rifled a pass to junior wideout
Mason Kuehner for 18 yards. Later in the drive, Jordan slung a pass to Hosak for 23 yards which took the hosts down inside the red-zone. On 3rd-and-4, Gamble burst through the offensive line and into the end zone for his second TD of the season (24-14).
Villanova tacked on a fourth touchdown with a five-play 57-yard drive. The two-minute drill offense featured four completions by McQuaide with his final being an 18-yard dart to Chris Colby for the score.
At the half, Lafayette trailed 31-14.
The hosts' second possession of the period was short-lived after a fumble on 2nd-and-10 (9:13) handed the ball to the Wildcats on the Leopards' 38-yard line. Villanova used four rushes to move into scoring territory, but a holding penalty against Tommy Broderick stifled the offense's momentum. Dominic LeBlanc proceeded to tack on his second field goal of the day to extend the visitors' lead (34-14).
Lafayette's third and final touchdown of the day came on a 12-play 55-yard drive, which started on its 45-yard line after a 44-yard return by sophomore wide receiver
Zane Wooldridge. The Austin, Texas native finished the afternoon with career highs of seven kickoff returns for 186 yards. After four runs and seven attempts through the air, Penza tallied his second rushing TD of the day from the three yard-line, and
Jack Simonetta's converted PAT cut the hosts' deficit to 13 points (34-21).
At the start of the fourth quarter (14:11), LeBlanc converted a 27-yard field goal to cap off a nine-play possession that expired 4:26 from the game clock.
The Wildcats found the end zone again with 5:27 to go to cap off their fifth win in 2026 and fourth conference triumph.
Head coach
John Troxell and his group are back on the road for their next matchup. The Maroon and White travel to Williamsburg, Va. on Saturday for a 1 p.m. clash with William & Mary.
For the latest on the Lafayette College football program, follow the Leopards on X
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