Complete Game Notes

The Matchup: The Leopards kick off 2026, the program's 145th season, with a road trip to Washington, D.C. for a second-straight season, facing Georgetown on Thursday night. It's the first time since the pandemic-abbreviated 2021 season that Lafayette will open a campaign with a conference clash and the first such season-opening matchup in non-pandemic considerations since 2010 (when Lafayette also faced Georgetown). 
    Head coach John Troxell enters his 21st career season on the sidelines and fifth for the Maroon and White. 

Season Openers: The Leopards are 89-52-3 all-time in season openers for a program that was established in 1882. Lafayette has won three of its last six season openers, beating Colgate 24-10 on March 13, 2021, Sacred Heart 6-0 on Sept. 3, 2022 and Sacred Heart 19-14 on Sept. 2, 2023. Losses came to FBS foes Air Force (35-14 on Sept. 4, 2021), Buffalo (30-13 on Aug. 29, 2024) and Bowling Green (26-7 on Aug. 28, 2025).

Patriot League Opener: Thursday's season opener doubles as the Patriot League opener. Lafayette is 23-17 in conference openers, with play beginning in 1986 as the Colonial League, and 21-15 since 1990 when the league took its current name. Since 2000, the Leopards are 14-11 in Patriot League openers, having won the last five: 42-37 at Georgetown in 2025, 28-23 at Fordham in 2024, 56-22 vs. Bucknell in 2023, 24-14 at Bucknell in 2022 and 24-10 vs. Colgate in the spring 2021 season.

Open Early: Thursday's Aug. 27 contest is the earliest the Leopards have begun a season, moving up a day each of the last two seasons (Aug. 28 at Bowling Green in 2024 and Aug. 29 at Buffalo in 2025). 

With a Win on Thursday, Lafayette Would: 
• notch program win No. 715
• improve to 4-5 when opening the season with a Patriot League contest
• collect consecutive wins in the Georgetown series for the first time since 2016-17
• capture a win in its sixth-straight Patriot League opener

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. 

More Good Things in Threes: From 2023-05, Lafayette has been ranked in the Top 25 in each of the last three seasons. Lafayette was ranked as high as 16th in 2023, 14th in 2024 and 24th in 2025. 

Recent Rendezvous: Lafayette and Georgetown have split the last 10 meetings. Lafayette captured the 2025 matchup 42-37 and the teams have rotated results since 2019. 

Patriot, Past, Present, Future: Lafayette finished 6-1 in Patriot League play in 2025, winning six games for the first time in program history. The Leopards finished league action 5-0 in 1994, 1992 and 1988, only playing five league games for the season. Lafayette will play nine league contests in 2026 with Villanova and William & Mary joining 2025 addition Richmond to stretch the league ranks to 10 institutions. 

Solid Starts: Lafayette began its last three seasons with a 3-1 mark, with the loss in each of those campaigns coming at the hands of an FBS foe.

Captains of the Ship: Seniors Ahmir Crawley, Carson Persing, and Sean Wilson, as well as sophomore Beckham Dee all were selected as recipients of the Chris LaPietra '89 Captain Award ahead of the 2026 slate.
    Crawley started every game in 2025 with a career highs in tackles (29), tackles for loss (6) and sacks (1.5). Persing led the team in receiving touchdowns (4), receptions (60) and receiving yards (724) last season. Wilson, an All-Patriot League Second-Team selection, will hold down the starting spot at left tackle for the second-straight season. He and Persing both garnered Preseason All-Patriot League honors. Dee, the team's top returning tackler, collected FCS Freshman All-America honors with 62 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and an interception during the 2025 season.

700 Level: The Lafayette football program reached the 700-win plateau with the dominating victory over Lehigh in the 2023 regular-season finale. The Leopards, whose inaugural season was 1882, rank 51st among all levels of college football with 714 wins entering the season.

Grand Runs: Lafayette has featured a potent running game in recent times with the Leopards producing a 1000-yard rusher in each of the last three seasons via Jamar Curtis (1,460 in 2023; 1139 in 2024) and Kente Edwards (1,454 in 2025). 

Points on the Board: Lafayette boasted the highest scoring offense in the conference in 2025 while also placing 20th in the nation. The Leopards averaged 33.6 points per game, scoring 403 points over 12 games. 

Preseason Polling: Lafayette has been picked fifth in the 2026 preseason poll behind Villanova, Lehigh, Richmond and William & Mary and ahead of Holy Cross, Fordham, Georgetown and Bucknell. The Leopards, who were also slotted fifth in 2025, finished second with a 6-1 record.

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. 

Preseason All-Patriot League: Seniors WR Carson Persing and OL Sean Wilson garnered 2026 Preseason All-Patriot League honors. Persing started every game in 2025 and hauled in 60 receptions for 724 yards and four touchdowns. Wilson was a 2025 All-Patriot League Second-Team honoree in 2025. He started all 12 games at left tackle and aided in an offensive line that pushed forward a 1,000-yard rusher for a third-straight season. 

Local Flavor: Since John Troxell took over in 2022, he has placed an emphasis on retaining local talent from the greater Lehigh Valley region. Troxell, a Phillipsburg graduate, added his alma mater's Matthew Scerbo as part of the Class of '29 and Whitehall's Justin Hussett in the Class of '30. 
    Junior WR Mason Kuehner, who started in every game during the 2025 season and caught 52 passes for 572 yards, is a Nazareth native. Senior Sean Wilson is an Easton graduate who started all 12 games at left tackle in 2025, one of two players from Easton along with senior QB Peyton Cosover.
    Senior Ethan Hosak, who started 10 games in 2025 on his way to All-Patriot League Second-Team honors, played at Allentown Central Catholic, while sophomore LB Justin Peluso hails from Freedom High School in Bethlehem, where he played for Jason Roeder, brother of current Lafayette passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Ryan Roeder.

500 Club: Lafayette's has managed a winning record for three-straight seasons. The only sub-.500 season in the John Troxell era was his first campaign when the team went 4-7 overall and 3-3 in PL play after he inherited a 3-8 team.

Getting His Kicks: Senior K Jack Simonetta started all 12 games in 2025 and converted a single-season record 53 PATs while going 6-for-6 in field goal attempts. He booted a 49-yard field goal against Colgate that was the longest of his career and the fourth-longest in school history. Simonetta also currently holds a career record with 137 PATs.

Who is Running The Ball?: With the departure of 1,000-yard rusher Kente Edwards, opportunities have emerged in the run game. Junior Jakyre Henley had 49 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns in 2025. He made two starts and played in all 12 games. Soph. Koven Smith will also vie for carries after playing in four games (primarily on special teams) in 2025 without a carry.
    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 touchdowns before a knee injury ended his season in week 10. A rookie, Malachi Gamble, is making his push for early playing time.  

Lining Up: Lafayette used just one starting lineup on the offensive line in 2025 [Sean Wilson (LT), Brian Baucia (LG), Sean Kinney (C), Spencer Adams (RG), and Reed Collins (RT)]. The group helped push a Leopard running back over 1,000 yards for a third-straight season. (For context, in 2024, the squad employed six different front fives).
 
At QB?: The quarterback competition appears to be a two-man race coming out of camp between senior Dan Lipovski and junior Jason Penza, bringing a contrast of styles. Lipovski appeared in three games in 2025, throwing one 26-yard touchdown pass vs. Colgate in the waning minutes. The strong-armed Lipovski played in three games over two seasons before transferring to Lafayette from Delaware.  
    Penza served as Dean DeNobile's back up in 2025. Primarily used as a running option, Penza carried 33 times for 195 yards and two touchdowns last season. The Crystal Lake Ill. native attempted eight passes, completing seven of them for 40 yards.
    Rookie Eddie Jordan may also push for playing time as the season wears on. He was a three-year starter at Beachside High School in St. Augustine, Fla. where he threw for a school-record 8,147 career passing yards and 107 total touchdowns.

Front Five: The offensive line will be led by seniors Spencer Adams and Sean Wilson. Adams, who has started 24 games over the last three seasons, including every game in 2025, will return to his right guard spot. Wilson started every game at left tackle in 2025 and played 10 games in 2024 (six starts at right tackle). Seniors Michael Dincher (LG) and Addison Hoffman (LT) bring experience alongside Wilson on the left side of the line. Sophomore James Madison transfer Jake Hohenshelt is the likely starter at center and will be backed up by Nick Strelczyk who played in 10 games the last two seasons. Junior Olivier Camerlain moved to the offensive side of the line of scrimmage during the spring and is expected to bring his aggression to the right tackle spot. Junior Connor Gaines and soph. Parker Moss are the likely backups on the right side.  

In the Classroom: Lafayette athletic programs continue to excel on a national level. The Nov. 2025 release of the NCAA Division I annual Graduation Success Rate (GSR) report shined a light on those academic achievements.
    Lafayette claimed a 97 percent GSR overall for its 19 sports measured while 16 Leopard teams achieved a graduation success rate of 100 percent. In addition to those programs with perfect GSR scores, the Leopard football program had the eighth best score (93) in the country. Lafayette joined schools from the SEC, ACC, CAA, Big Ten and the Ivy League in the top 10. 

The Opponent: Picked eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, Georgetown is coming off a 6-6 record in 2025 when the team finished 3-4 in Patriot League play. Conference wins came against Colgate (21-17), Bucknell (31-24) and Fordham (14-0). 
    The Hoyas' top two quarterbacks were lost to transfer. Senior Jacob Holtschlag is competing with soph. Jack Johnson to step in. In 2024, Holtschlag completed 34-of-69 for 337 yards while running the ball 13 times for 17 yards. In 2025, Johnson completed 12-of-17 for 167 yards and a TD in 12 games.
    Savion Hart, the 2025 rushing leader and an All-Patriot League selection, has exited the program. Junior Jayden Sumpter may see more carries after finishing 2025 with 385 yards and two TDs. Jimmy Kibble '26, an All-League First-Team selection, recently signed with the Patriots after leading the team in receiving (83.5 ypg) with 63 catches for 1,002 yards.
    Defensively, senior safety Braylon Wise is the team's top returning tackler with 55 stops. 
    Head coach Rob Sgarlata (Georgetown '94) is in his 13th season at his alma mater.