Patriot League teams go 4-3 in opening week for best week one mark since 2016

GEORGETOWN HOYAS (1-0, 0-0 PL) 43, AT MARIST RED FOXES (0-1, Pioneer) 12
Tenney Stadium/Poughkeepsie, N.Y.                                Noon (ESPN3)
BOX SCORE
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Georgetown senior running back Joshua Stakely rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Hoyas to a 43-12 season-opening victory at Marist on Saturday.
*Stakely’s 10-yard touchdown run at the 10:40 mark in the second quarter was the first of three consecutive touchdowns to give GU a 20-6 lead at the half.
*Junior quarterback Pierce Holley completed 20-of-24 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. His seven-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Joshua Tomas came with 44 seconds remaining in the second half.
*The Hoyas continued to roll in the second half, opening with a blocked punt by freshman Matthew Plunkett that was recovered and returned for an 11-yard touchdown by freshman Jimmy Kibble.
*Stakely and senior Tyler Knoop each rushed for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal GU’s 43-12 win.
*Georgetown senior defensive back Khalil Saunders, freshman defensive Wedner Cadet and sophomore defensive back Kamren Watkins-Hunter all intercepted passes.
*Senior linebacker Justin Fonteneux and sophomore defensive back Kenneth Borders recorded five tackles and 1.0 TFL apiece for a Georgetown defense that held Marist to 210 yards of total offense.
RECAP: GEORGETOWN
 
AT LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (1-0, 0-0 PL) 6, SACRED HEART PIONEERS (0-1, NEC) 0
Fisher Stadium/Easton, Pa.                               12:30 p.m. (ESPN+/LSN)
BOX SCORE
EASTON, Pa. – Lafayette’s defense stopped Sacred Heart three times from the Leopards’ 1-yard line, including a rush attempt as time expired, in a 6-0 victory to open the John Troxell era on College Hill.  
*Sophomore defensive back Saiku White posted a game-high 12 tackles, including being in on the final stop of the game to preserve the victory. He also forced a fumble midway through the fourth quarter to halt a Pioneers’ drive.
*Senior defensive lineman Malik Hamm posted 1.5 sacks, tying the Lafayette program career record of 25. He finished with five tackles, 3.5 TFLs, one forced fumble and a pass breakup against the defending NEC champions.
*Freshman quarterback Ryan Schuster rushed for an 18-yard touchdown at the 10:12 mark in the third quarter, the game’s lone score.  
*Senior running back Jaden Sutton posted 43 yards on eight carries, while Schuster finished with 34 yards on seven carries and a touchdown.
*The Leopards’ shutout was their first since defeating Bucknell, 27-0, on Oct. 9, 2021.
RECAP: LAFAYETTE
 
TOWSON TIGERS (1-0, CAA) 14, AT BUCKNELL BISON (0-1, 0-0 PL) 13 OT
Christy Mathewson – Memorial Stadium/Lewisburg, Pa.                           6 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Sophomore quarterback Ethan Grady connected with sophomore tight end Christian Spugnardi in overtime for their second touchdown of the evening, but the ensuing extra point missed the mark, as Bucknell fell to Towson, 14-13.
*Grady and Spugnardi connected on a one-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to tie the score at seven. Grady completed 12-of-31 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
*Junior running back Coleman Bennett carried 14 times for 60 yards and had two receptions for 52 yards to lead the Bison offense. Sophomore running back Rushawn Baker rushed for a team-high 95 yards on 15 carries.
*Senior safety Brent Jackson and junior linebacker Blake Leake finished with 12 tackles apiece to help the Bison defense hold Towson scoreless in the first half and to just seven points in regulation.
*Sophomore cornerback Ethan Robinson added one interception and two pass breakups, while junior defensive lineman Tyler Alston recorded 2.0 TFLs and 1.5 sacks.
RECAP: BUCKNELL
 
AT STANFORD CARDINAL (1-0, Pac-12) 41, COLGATE RAIDERS (0-1, 0-0 PL) 10
Stanford Stadium/Palo Alto, Calif.                                  8 p.m. (Pac-12 Network Bay Area)
BOX SCORE
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Colgate sophomore defensive back Asauni Allen recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone to even the score at seven early in the second quarter, but the Raiders could not keep pace with the Cardinal in a 41-10 loss at Stanford Stadium. 
*Sophomore quarterback Michael Brescia, the reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year, passed for 57 yards and rushed for 43 yards. 
*Junior running back Max Hurleman rushed for a team-high 65 yards and caught three passes for 13 yards. 
*Sophomore placekicker Spencer Biscoe connected on a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter and went 1-for-1 on extra point attempts. 
*Senior linebacker Tyler Flick finished with a team-high eight tackles, and senior defensive lineman Coleman Coco finished with 1.5 TFLs. 
*Raiders’ senior defensive back Jackson Price recorded his first career interception and made three tackles. 
RECAP: COLGATE
 
Friday, Sept. 2
AT NO. 5/6 VILLANOVA WILDCATS (1-0, CAA) 45, MOUNTAIN HAWKS (0-1, 0-0 PL) 17
Villanova Stadium/Villanova, Pa.                    6 p.m. (FloSports)
BOX SCORE
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Lehigh could not keep pace with No. 5/6 Villanova, who scored 28 second-quarter points to drop the Mountain Hawks 45-17 in the season opener.
*Mountain Hawks’ junior quarterback Dante Perri completed 22-of-39 passes for 227 yards, one interception, and two touchdowns in a high-scoring second frame.
*Senior wide receiver Jalen Burbage caught eight passes for a career-high 106 yards. He caught a 25-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds remaining in the first half.
*Lehigh senior tight end Alex Snyder caught a three-yard touchdown pass from Perri at the 3:53 mark of the second quarter to put the Mountain Hawks on the board for the first time.
*Senior safety TyGee Leach and senior defensive lineman Mikhari Sibblis each recorded eight tackles to lead the Lehigh defense.
RECAP: LEHIGH
 
NO. 18/16 HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (1-0, 0-0 PL) 31, MERRIMACK WARRIORS (0-1, NEC) 17
Duane Stadium/North Andover, Mass.                            7 p.m. (NEC Front Row)
BOX SCORE
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior quarterback Matthew Sluka threw two touchdown passes and rushed for a third to lead Holy Cross to a 31-17 victory over Merrimack in Friday night’s season opener.
*Sluka completed 13-for-22 passes for 242 yards and rushed for 102 yards on 13 carries to help the Crusaders to avenge last season’s loss to the Warriors.
*Junior wide receiver Jalen Coker and senior wide receiver Ayir Asante caught long touchdown passes of 46 and 28 yards, respectively. Coker finished with 60 yards on three catches while Asante added 58 yards on three catches.
*The Crusaders special teams’ units were impactful as senior Spencer Gilliam blocked a punt out of the back of the end zone for a safety, and senior placekicker Derek Ng connected on 3-of-4 field goals and 3-of-4 on extra points.
*Senior linebacker Liam Anderson recorded a team-high five tackles, while senior defensive lineman Jake Reichwein added a sack for the Crusaders’ defense.
*Holy Cross senior defensive back Walter Reynolds finished with three tackles, two pass breakups and an interception. Senior defensive back Hunter Burns also picked off a pass in the victory.
RECAP: HOLY CROSS
 
Thursday, Sept. 1
FORDHAM RAMS (1-0, 0-0 PL) 48, AT WAGNER SEAHAWKS (0-1, NEC) 31
Wagner College Stadium/Staten Island, N.Y.                 6 p.m. (NEC Front Row)
BOX SCORE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Graduate student quarterback Tim DeMorat threw five touchdown passes and rushed for another to lead Fordham to a 48-31 victory over Wagner in Thursday night’s season opener in Staten Island.
*The Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year completed 18-of-25 passes for 386 yards while leading five second-half scoring drives to help the Rams erase a seven-point halftime deficit.
*Senior wide receiver Fotis Kokosioulis finished with a career-high 194 receiving yards with two touchdowns on eight receptions. Senior wide receiver MJ Wright caught a pair of touchdown passes, and classmate Garrett Cody added a 41-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.  
*Sophomore running back Julius Loughridge carried for a game-high 114 yards on 20 carries, while senior running back Trey Sneed gained 64 yards on 18 carries with a fourth-quarter touchdown run.
*Graduate student linebacker Ryan Greenhagen registered a team-high nine tackles with one sack. Senior linebacker Jackson Barletta and graduate student defensive back Anthony Tony-Itoyah recorded interceptions in the Rams’ season-opening win.  
RECAP: FORDHAM
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athlete can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.