Mountain Hawks, Crusaders and Hoyas all earn League victories
 
AT LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (4-4, 1-1 PL) 33, FORDHAM RAMS (0-8, 0-3 PL) 19
Goodman Stadium/Bethlehem, Pa.                  Noon (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – First-year running back Jaden Green rushed for a career-high 147 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries to lead Lehigh to a 33-19 victory over Fordham at Goodman Stadium.
*Green raced for a 44-yard touchdown late in the first quarter to put the Mountain Hawks in front, 7-3.
*First-year quarterback Matt Machalik scored on a pair of two-yard touchdown runs as part of a Lehigh ground attack that rushed for 246 yards. Sophomore running back Luke Yoder added 75 yards on 19 carries.  
*First-year quarterback Hayden Johnson connected with first-year receiver Matt D’Avino with 34 seconds left in the first half to give Lehigh a 31-3 lead at the break. The Mountain Hawks would add a safety in the third quarter.
*Graduate student linebacker Mike DeNucci finished with 11 tackles, 4.0 TFLs and three sacks, while junior linebacker Brycen Edwards also posted 11 tackles.
*Lehigh junior defensive lineman Matt Spatny posted 1.5 sacks, and sophomore defensive back DJ Brown recorded an interception for a Mountain Hawks’ defense that held Fordham to 226 yards.
*Fordham’s defense was led by freshman linebacker Jaylen Dawson, who recorded a game-high 12 tackles.
*Senior defensive lineman Matt Jaworski added 10 tackles, 3.0 TFLs and one sack.
*Freshman quarterback Tripp Holley found the end zone on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter for the Rams’ first touchdown of the day.
*Fordham senior running back Julius Loughridge rushed for a team-high 77 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. He also rushed for a two-point conversion early in the fourth quarter.
RECAP: FORDHAM | LEHIGH

HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (4-5, 3-0 PL) 34, AT LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (4-4, 1-2 PL) 28
Fisher Stadium/Easton, Pa.               1:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
EASTON, Pa. – Senior quarterback Joe Pesansky completed 14-of-21 passes for 183 yards and two first-quarter touchdowns to help Holy Cross improve to 3-0 in League play with a 34-28 victory at Lafayette.
*Pesansky opened the game with a 58-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Max Mosey and a six-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Justin Shorter to take a 14-0 first-quarter lead.
*Mosey, who finished with four receptions for 74 yards, rushed for a four-yard score early in the second quarter to give the Crusaders a 21-0 lead.
*Sophomore running back Jayden Clerveaux rushed for 95 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown in the second quarter, on 19 carries.
*Crusaders’ sophomore placekicker Daniel Porto connected on a program-record and Patriot League season-long 53-yard field goal at the end of the first half. He also hit a 24-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
*Senior safety Curtis Harris-Lopez posted a Holy Cross team-high nine tackles and 1.0 TFL, while sophomore linebacker Cam Santee added five tackles and 2.0 TFLs.
*Lafayette junior quarterback Dean DeNobile completed 26-of-36 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns.
*He spurred a Leopards’ comeback in the second quarter with a two-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Ethan Hosak before rushing for an eight-yard touchdown to bring the Leopards within a touchdown in the second quarter. He also completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Dallas Holmes in the fourth quarter to bring Lafayette within six.
*Junior running back Jamar Curtis rushed for a game-high 117 yards on 18 carries. He added a 30-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
*Senior safety Saiku White registered eight tackles, and senior linebackers Semaj Cross and Preston Forney added six apiece.
RECAP: HOLY CROSS | LAFAYETTE
 
AT GEORGETOWN HOYAS (5-3, 2-1 PL) 21, BUCKNELL BISON (3-5, 1-1 PL) 20
Cooper Field/Washington, D.C.       2 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON – Freshman running back Savion Hart and sophomore running back Bryce Cox each eclipsed 100 yards rushing to lead Georgetown to a 21-20 victory over Bucknell to improve to 2-1 in League play.
*Cox, who finished with 104 rushing yards on 17 carries, plunged into the end zone from the one-yard line with 5:56 remaining in the third quarter for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
*Hart rushed for a team-high 112 yards on 17 carries and a 40-yard touchdown to cut Bucknell’s early 14-0 lead in half. The Hoyas’ rushing attack finished with 274 yards on 50 carries.
*Junior quarterback Danny Lauter completed 13-of-23 passes for 130 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His 11-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Nicholas Dunneman tied the score at 14 in the second quarter.
*Senior safety Zayid Aziz recorded nine tackles and two pass breakups. Sophomore linebacker GianCarlo Rufo added five tackles and one sack for a Hoyas’ defense that held the Bison to a pair of field goals in the second half.
*Bucknell freshman running back Tariq Thomas rushed for a career-high 145 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries to lead the Bison.
*Thomas scored on touchdown runs of 15 and 27 yards in the first half to give the Bison an early 14-0 lead.
*Senior quarterback Ralph Rucker IV completed 17-of-29 passes for 226 yards.
*Bison junior wide receiver Josh Gary caught five passes for 91 yards.
*Sophomore linebacker Gavin Willis posted a game-high 13 tackles, while senior linebacker Brad Jamison added eight tackles and 1.0 TFL.
*Junior cornerback Roman Pearson recorded his second interception of the season.
RECAPS: BUCKNELL | GEORGETOWN
 
AT MERRIMACK WARRIORS (4-4, FCS INDEPENDENT) 51, COLGATE RAIDERS (2-6, 1-1 PL) 17
Duane Stadium/North Andover, Mass.            1 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Colgate could not keep pace with Merrimack’s offense in a 51-17 loss at Duane Stadium on Saturday.
*Sophomore quarterback Jake Stearney completed 15-of-28 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
*Junior running back Marco Maldonado led the Raiders with 75 rushing yards on 16 carries, while senior running back Brendan Cassamajor added 20 rushing yards and a second-quarter touchdown.
*Colgate junior receiver Brady Hutchison caught three passes for 50 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Junior receiver Treyvhon Saunders caught a team-high seven passes for 47 yards.
*Junior linebacker Cole Kozlowski led the Raiders’ defense with nine tackles, a half TFL and a forced fumble.
*Junior defensive lineman Dane Picariello finished with six tackles and 2.0 TFLs.
RECAP: COLGATE
 
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The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes 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 who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.