Nov. 23, 2013

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Lafayette jumped out to an early lead and never looked back to defeat rival Lehigh 50-28 on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Stadium to win the Patriot League football title for the first time since 2006.

The Leopards led 14-0 after one quarter, and built their lead to 36-14 by the end of the third quarter. After Lehigh closed to within 36-28 in the fourth, Lafayette answered 20 seconds later on a 68-yard touchdown pass from Drew Reed to Demetrius Dixon and capped the victory one minute later with a 40-yard fumble recovery touchdown by James Coscia.

Lafayette wins the Patriot League football title for the first time since 2006, and the Leopards claim their first outright crown since 1994. Lafayette captures its seventh Patriot League title overall, tying Colgate for the second-most in League history. The Leopards also snapped a five-game losing skid against Lehigh with their first win over the Mountain Hawks since 2007 in the 149th meeting of the Most-Played Rivalry in College Football.

Lafayette (5-6, 4-1 Patriot League) becomes the first sub .500 team to earn a berth in the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs, with selections for the 24-team field announced on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on ESPNU. No. 11/12 Fordham (11-1) can expect to join the Leopards in the playoffs, and maybe even earn a first-round bye, after defeating Colgate (4-8, 3-2) 56-19 on the road on Saturday. Lehigh (8-3, 3-2), ranked No. 15/17 in the country, will also hope for an at-large berth.

Also on Saturday, Bucknell (6-5, 3-2) closed its season with a winning record for the second time in three years with a 35-23 victory at VMI, while Georgetown (2-9, 1-4) snapped an eight-game losing skid with a 28-21 victory in its season finale at Holy Cross (3-9, 1-4).

Recaps, box scores and a synopsis from each contest are included below, with a video feature from Lafayette's championship added soon.

Lafayette 50 at No. 15/17 Lehigh 28
Box Score
*Lafayette jumped out early and led throughout to defeat No. 15/17 Lehigh 50-28 and win the Patriot League football title Saturday at Goodman Stadium.
*The Leopards win their first crown since 2006, and tie for the second-most in League history with seven all-time titles.
*Lafayette also wins the outright title for the first time since 1994 and fourth in school history.
*The Leopards snapped a five-game losing skid against Lehigh in the 149th meeting of the Most-Played Rivalry in College Football.
*Lafayette earns the Patriot League's automatic berth in the FCS postseason, and will become the first sub .500 team to ever make the field.
*The Leopards led 14-0 in the first quarter and 21-14 at halftime, and took control in the third quarter with touchdown runs by Marcellus Irving and Ross Scheuerman for a 36-14 lead.
*Lehigh came back, with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cut the Lafayette lead to 36-28 with 8:49 to play.
*On Lafayette's first offensive play of the next series, Drew Reed threw a screen pass to Demetrius Dixon who took it 68 yards for a touchdown and a 43-28 lead.
*One minute later, Tyrus White forced a fumble and James Coscia scooped it up and returned it for a 40-yard touchdown to seal the 50-28 win.
*Reed completed 20-of-27 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns to earn game MVP honors.
*The freshman went 4-1 while starting the final five games, completing 73.7% of his passes for 1,681 yards and 17 touchdowns with just five interceptions for a 196.9 passing efficiency.
*Ross Scheuerman ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns and had 218 all-purpose yards by returning three kickoffs for 112 yards.
*Mark Ross caught six passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, while Dixon hauled in six catches for 107 yards and the score.
*Scheuerman went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark while Ross topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season.
*Scheuerman became Lafayette's first 1,000-yard rusher since 2006, while Ross is the first Leopard ever to have two 1,000-yard seasons in a career.
*The duo of Ross and Scheuerman is the first pair in Lafayette history to have 1,000-yard seasons in the same year.
*Coscia and Jared Roberts tied for team honors with eight tackles, with Coscia's fumble return touchdown the first for a Lafayette player since 2004.
*Lafayette held the edge in yards (498-307), including a dominant 378-128 edge through the air.
*Lafayette is the fifth Patriot League program in the last seven years to win the League title, with each of the crowns coming outright.
*Lee Kurfis finished with seven catches for 79 yards and a touchdown for Lehigh, and broke the school record by finishing with 99 receptions for the year.
*Kurfis broke the mark of 96 receptions set by Ryan Spadola in 2011, and came just two away from the Patriot League record of 101 held by Fordham's Javarus Dudley since 2003.
*Keith Sherman ran for 141 yards and a touchdown for Lehigh to finish over 1,000 rushing yards for the season.
*Sherman becomes Lehigh's first 1,000-yard rusher since Jermaine Pugh in 2002.
*Unless they make the postseason, the Mountain Hawks' senior class finishes their careers with an impressive 39-9 record that includes Patriot League championships in 2010 and 2011 and a pair of FCS playoff wins.

No. 11/12 Fordham 56 at Colgate 19
Box Score
*No. 11/12 Fordham strengthened its position for an FCS at-large playoff berth with a 56-19 win at Colgate on Saturday.
*The Rams improved to 11-1, becoming the first Patriot League team since Colgate in 2003 to win 11 games in the regular season.
*Fordham wins 11 games for the first time in the school's modern era.
*The Rams are one of only three FCS teams with 11 wins, joining No. 1 North Dakota State and No. 2 Eastern Illinois. *The Rams jumped out to a 28-0 lead with four touchdowns less than 10 minutes into the game, and led 42-7 midway through the second quarter.
*Payton Award candidate Mike Nebrich capped his regular season by going 29-of-38 for 395 yards and five touchdowns.
*He has set the school record with 28 touchdown passes, and tied the mark of 284 completions.
*Tebucky Jones caught 12 passes for 224 yards and a score, while Brian Wetzel made eight receptions for 73 yards and three touchdowns.
*Jones and Sam Ajala are Fordham's first-ever pair of 1,000-yard receivers.
*Wetzel had a four-touchdown day overall with an 81-yard punt return for a score in the second quarter.
*He becomes the first player in school history to record two punt returns for more than 80 yards in a season.
*Carlton Koonce led the Fordham ground game with 148 yards and two touchdowns to bring his season total to 1,340 yards.
*DeAndre Slate paced the defense with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
*Fordham held a 557-303 edge in total offense, and has set the school record for total offense (6,252) and passing yardage (4,248)
*Fordham snapped a five-game losing skid against Colgate with its first win over the Raiders since 2007.
*The 56-point outburst was Fordham's highest of the season and the fifth 50-point game of the year for the Rams, who have set a school record with 461 points.
*Jake Melville led Colgate with 71 rushing yards and threw for 111 yards and a score in place of Gavin McCarney at quarterback.
*Victor Steffen led the Colgate defense with 11 tackles, while Vinny Russo had nine tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
*Colgate's eight losses are the most under 18th-year Head Coach Dick Biddle.

Bucknell 35 at VMI 23
Box Score
*Bucknell finishes at 6-5 overall with a 35-23 non-League win at VMI on Saturday.
*The Bison won five of their final six games to earn their second winning mark in the last three years.
*Bucknell trailed 17-7 in the third quarter before scoring three straight touchdowns in a span of 8:42 to take control.
*CJ Williams caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Wesley, and both players then added touchdown runs as Bucknell went up 28-17 early in the fourth quarter.
*Matt Johnson had a 30-yard fumble recovery to cap the scoring and put the game away with 1:35 to go.
*Wesley capped his career by throwing for 204 yards and a touchdown and rushing for 34 yards and two scores.
*Williams ran for 72 yards and the score in addition to the receiving touchdown.
*Evan Byers had another huge game with 19 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced and recovered fumble.
*The Bison defense had 11 tackles for loss and six sacks in the game, with two coming by Demetrius Baldwin-Youngblood, and also forced four second-half turnovers.

Georgetown 28 at Holy Cross 21
Box Score
*Georgetown snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 28-21 win at Holy Cross on Saturday.
*The Hoyas tie the Crusaders with a 1-4 mark in Patriot League action.
*After the score was tied 14-14 at halftime, Georgetown went ahead on pair of Matt MacZura field goals in the third quarter and capped the win on an 82-yard touchdown run by Kyle Nolan that made it 28-14 with 1:57 to play.
*Holy Cross scored in the final minute to get within 28-21, but the Hoyas recovered an onsides kick to seal the win.
*Nolan ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns and also completed 19-of-32 passes for 227 yards.
*Zack Wilke caught seven passes for 121 yards for the Hoyas.
*Patrick Boyle led the Hoyas with 13 tackles, while Alec May had six stops and two sacks and Nick Alfieri recorded seven tackles and an interception.
*Georgetown outgained the Crusaders 439-297, and 212-59 on the ground.
*Peter Pujals threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score for Holy Cross.
*Mike Fess caught seven passes for 89 yards and a touchdown to cap an outstanding career for the Crusaders.
*Holy Cross dropped its final five games of the season, all to Patriot League opponents. *