Complete Game Notes

Matchup: The Maroon and White are back on the road Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Williamsburg, Va. against William & Mary. Saturday's contest marks the first Patriot League meeting between both programs since the Tribe were added to the conference—along with Villanova—this past summer. Fans can catch all of the action on ESPN+.

No. 1 Kick Returner: Sophomore WR Zane Wooldridge posted a historic special teams performance last time out vs. Villanova (10/31) with a seven-return 186-yard outing. The Austin, Texas native is the first Leopard to record a 100+ yard kick return game since Michael Hayes' four-return 144-yard day against New Hampshire during the 2021 season. Wooldridge's 44-yard return in the fourth quarter is the second longest in the PL this season and he's averaging a conference-best 24.8 yards per opportunity (T-16th in the nation). 

Penza Passing Rushing TDs: Junior QB Jason Penza became the first Lafayette gunslinger to run for two touchdowns since Dean DeNobile's 50-yard day against Monmouth during the Leopards' latest Patriot League title-winning season in 2023. Penza registered the career-best outing on just four carries for 40 yards. The Economics major broke off a 31-yard run (second longest of the season) in the first quarter to grant Lafayette a 7-3 lead and found the pylon again with a three-yard score in the third quarter. He's gathered 15 carries so far in 2026 and averages a team-best 6.7 yards per carry (10 or more attempts). 

CP Catching Up: Senior WR Carson Persing continues to ascend the career receiving lists, making a single catch for three yards vs. Villanova. His only grab of the afternoon cemented him into third place for career receptions with 170. He needs 28 more grabs to become the program's all-time leader (Mark Ross '14). Persing remains in ninth for career receiving yards (1,816) and requires 44 more yards to jump Matt Mrazek '18 in eighth place (1,860). 

7 TDs for 5: Junior RB Jakyre Henley has racked up seven touchdowns so far in 2026 and his 6.4 yards per carry average ranks second in the conference. The King William, Va. native began his touchdown tally with a 17-carry, 125-yard day at Columbia (9/19) before finding the end zone twice against Richmond (10/3), Bucknell (10/17) and Fordham (10/24). Henley has rushed for 100+ yards three times this campaign, with his season-high 152 yards on the ground coming against the Spiders. 

Career Day for Jordan at Fordham: Rookie QB Eddie Jordan put together a career performance in the second start of his career at Fordham. The Waldorf, Md. native's perfect passing performance of 13-for-13 for 199 yards and a touchdown set a new program record for completion percentage in a single game. The previous record was held by Drew Reed '16, who went 21-for-22 at Holy Cross in 2013. Jordan's six-yard strike to Mason Kuehner in the second quarter marked his first career passing TD. His 16-yard rushing TD in the fourth quarter was also his first in Maroon and White.

Simonetta Getting His Kicks: The Gotha, Fla. native made a pair of field goals at Columbia, booting the Leopards' first (40-yarder in the first quarter) and last scores of the game (31-yarder) with 1:03 left to send the contest to overtime). He holds Lafayette's career PAT record (156) and the single-season mark (53 in 2025). Last season he was 6-for-6 in field goal tries and booted a 49-yard field goal against Colgate (the longest of his career and the fourth-longest in school history). 

With a Win on Saturday, Lafayette would: 

• notch program win No. 718

• snap a six-game losing streak against W&M that dates back to 2013

Big Boot: Christian Bush's career-long 70-yard punt against Richmond was the first 70-yard plus punt for the Leopards since 2008 (Tom Kondash, 2008).

Last Time Out: 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.

All-Time Series: Over the course of seven previous meetings, William & Mary holds the all-time series lead with a 6-1 record. The Tribe have enjoyed victories in the last six matchups and have outscored the Leopards 203-76 across that stretch. Lafayette won the first meeting between both programs, 17-14, in Williamsburg back in 2012.

Last Time They Met | Sept. 17, 2022: Then No. 15/17 William and Mary wore down the Leopards in the second half on Sept. 17, 2022 at Fisher Stadium, pulling away for a 34-7 final. William and Mary senior Bronson Yoder ran for three scores, two in the second half, to finish the day with 134 yards. The Tribe offense, which was averaging 287 rushing yards coming into the game, pounded out 289 to go along with 194 passing yards from quarterback Darius Wilson. Lafayette freshman quarterback Ryan Schuster continued to perform well under intense defensive pressure, completing 14-of-23 for 151 yards in his third career start. Schuster, who was the Patriot League Rookie of the Week the first two weeks of this season, added his second rushing touchdown of 2022, a one-yard QB sneak in the first quarter.

Scoop and Score: In the fourth quarter at Columbia, the defense snatched the momentum when Joey Shimko sacked the QB and Sean Curtis was on hand to scoop and score on a 23-yard fumble return that tied the game at 31-31. It was the Leopards' first fumble return for a touchdown since Nov. 23, 2013, when James Coscia ran back a 40-yard score. That score helped pushed the Leopards to a 50-28 victory over No. 15/17 Lehigh in Rivalry 149 and handed the Leopards a Patriot League title.  

Running The Ball?: With the departure of a 1,000-yard rusher, opportunities have emerged in the run game. Junior Jakyre Henley had 49 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns in 2025, making two starts and playing in all 12 games. Henley has handled the bulk of the carries as the starter through five games, running for 379 yards on 57 carries with three touchdowns. 

Senior Ethan Weber is the most experienced of the running backs, having played in 29 games with two starts over three seasons. He finished 2025 with 107 carries for 570 yards and eight TDs before a knee injury ended his season in week 10. He made his 2026 season debut with two carries vs. Marist and added five each vs. Columbia and Holy Cross. Rookie Malachi Gamble is pushing for more carries after leading the team in rushing at Connecticut. He had four carries for 25 yards at Columbia and seven for 61 vs. Richmond. Soph. Koven Smith is also vying for carries after playing in four games (primarily on special teams) in 2025 without a carry. He had three carries for 17 yards against Marist and five for 15 at Columbia.

D Was the Key: Lafayette's defense came through when it was needed most in the win over Marist (9/12), shutting out the visitors in the second half. Despite allowing 359 total yards, Lafayette limited the Red Foxes to just nine points on five red-zone possessions and stopped them on 4-of-5 fourth downs.

On the Sideline: John Troxell '94 is in his fifth season at the helm, a tenure that includes a Patriot League title and an NCAA playoff berth in his second season and the best three-year run for the program since 1901-03. Lafayette finished 8-4 overall in 2025, and won a program-record six conference games. In 2023, Lafayette posted the most wins in a campaign in more than 40 years (9), winning the conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Playoffs. The team went from 4-7 (3-3) in 2022 to 9-3 (5-1) in year two (2023). Both seasons were capped by wins over archrival Lehigh. During his time on College Hill, Troxell's teams have finished .500 or better in four of five seasons. Troxell was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in 2023 and was a finalist for Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year honors. 

Mother Nature 1, Lafayette and Georgetown 0: Lafayette and Georgetown tried to kick off the 2026 season on Thursday, Aug. 27. The teams played 30 minutes before Mother Nature delivered continuous lightning strikes in and around the Washington, D.C. campus. After several hours waiting out the weather, the game was declared a no-contest by Patriot League officials who had consulted with game officials and institutional representatives. The game does not count toward the Patriot League standings nor do the statistics. 

The scheduled season opener was slated to be the earliest in program history. It was also the first season opener since 2010 (excluding the 2021 pandemic spring season) that was also the conference lid-lifter (when Lafayette and Georgetown met). 

Good Things in Threes: Over the last three seasons, Lafayette has won 23 games, going 9-3 in 2023, 6-6 in 2024 and 8-4 in 2025. It's the most wins in a three-year span since 1901-03 when Lafayette was 9-3, 8-3 and 7-3 for 24 victories. Lafayette began two of its last three seasons with a 3-1 mark, with the loss in each of those campaigns (2023, 2025) coming at the hands of an FBS foe.

More of Threes: Lafayette has been ranked in the Top 25 in the last three seasons. The Leopards were ranked as high as 16th in 2023, 14th in 2024 and 24th in 2025.

The Opponent: William & Mary comes into its seventh Patriot League matchup of the season, sporting a 3-6 overall record and a 1-5 mark in conference clashes. The Tribe's wins came over Villanova in their first game of the season (35-32), Delaware State in the subsequent week (22-15) and North Carolina Central in week six (17-14).

Junior Winston Watkins is calling the signals, completing 112-of-193 for 1443 yards with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Freshman and sophomore wide receivers Khylil Johnson and Kai Austin have combined for 51 catches, 822 yards and five touchdowns.

On the ground, William & Mary has averaged 104.2 yards per game led by junior RB Andrew King who has 546 rushing yards to go along with four touchdowns.

Defensively, sophomore LB Christopher Higgins has a team-best 70 tackles through nine games.

Mike London (Richmond '83) is in his eighth season as the Tribe's head coach, leading the team to five consecutive winning campaigns for the first time in nearly three decades during his time at the helm.