Lehigh downs Holy Cross; Bucknell and Lafayette earn one-point wins
 
LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (6-3, 3-1 PL) 10, AT HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (4-6, 3-1 PL) 7
Fitton Field, Worcester, Mass.    Noon (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
WORCESTER, Mass. – A 25-yard field goal from Lehigh junior placekicker Nick Garrido in the third quarter proved to be the difference in the Mountain Hawks’ 10-7 victory over Holy Cross at Fitton Field.
*Lehigh’s defense held the Crusaders to 258 total yards and seven points to hand Holy Cross its first League loss of the season.
*Mountain Hawks’ graduate student quarterback Dante Perri threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Mason Humphrey nine seconds into the second quarter to give Lehigh a 7-0 lead.
*Perri completed 4-of-5 passes for 29 yards and a touchdown.
*Sophomore running back Luke Yoder rushed for a team-high 66 yards on 18 carries, while first-year running back Jaden Green finished with 53 rushing yards on nine carries.
*Graduate student linebacker Mike DeNucci posted 11 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, one sack and one pass breakup to lead the Mountain Hawks’ defense.
*Junior linebacker Jackson Dowd finished with 11 tackles.
*Holy Cross senior quarterback Joe Pesansky threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Jacob Petersen at the 9:29 mark in the second quarter to tie the score at seven apiece.
*Pesansky completed 17-of-26 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown, while Petersen caught four passes for 30 yards. Junior wide receiver Max Mosey led the Crusaders with five catches for 46 yards.
*Sophomore running back Jayden Clerveaux rushed for a game-high 84 yards on 20 carries.
*Crusaders’ senior linebacker Frankie Monte registered a career-high 21 tackles and recovered a fumble.
RECAPS: LEHIGH | HOLY CROSS
 
AT BUCKNELL BISON (5-5, 3-1 PL) 28, FORDHAM RAMS (1-9, 1-4 PL) 27
Christy Mathewson - Memorial Stadium/Lewisburg, Pa. 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell senior quarterback Ralph Rucker IV threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Nate Anderson to take the lead with 2:35 remaining in the fourth quarter in the Bison’s 28-27 victory over Fordham to move into a tie atop the Patriot League standings.
*Rucker IV completed 27-of-45 passes for 322 yards and three touchdown passes, while Anderson finished with 76 receiving yards and two touchdowns on five catches to lead the Bison offense.
*Junior wide receiver Josh Gary added seven catches for 97 yards, and senior running back Paul Neel caught three passes for 47 yards and a score.
*Sophomore linebacker Gavin Willis recorded game-highs of 13 tackles and 4.0 TFLs while recovering two fumbles, including a 79-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
*Bison sophomore linebacker Nick Hoying finished with nine tackles and 1.5 sacks, while senior safety Alex Smith Jr. added five tackles and an interception.
*Fordham senior running back Julius Loughridge posted his second straight 100-yard rushing game with 155 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
*Loughridge’s one-yard touchdown run at the 4:18 mark in the fourth quarter gave Fordham a 27-21 lead, its first lead of the game.
*Junior quarterback Jack Capaldi completed 18-of-27 passes for 310 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
*Graduate student wide receiver Cole Thornton caught six passes for 130 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown reception from Capaldi in the second quarter.
*Sophomore wide receiver Ricky Gonzalez II caught a 30-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. He finished with 81 yards on four receptions.
*Rams’ graduate student linebacker Mike Courtney posted 12 tackles and 1.5 TFLs. Junior defensive lineman Sam Buerkle added three tackles, 2.0 TFLs and one sack.
RECAPS: FORDHAM | BUCKNELL
 
LAFAYETTE LEOPARDS (5-5, 2-3 PL) 21, AT COLGATE RAIDERS (2-8, 1-3 PL) 20
Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium/Hamilton, N.Y.              1 p.m. (ESPN+)
BOX SCORE
HAMILTON, N.Y. – Junior running back Jamar Curtis rushed for two of his three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to lead Lafayette to a 21-20 comeback win against Colgate at Andy Kerr Stadium.
*Trailing 20-7, Curtis capped an 80-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run at the 7:13 mark in the final frame, then added a two-yard score with 2:34 left to give Lafayette its first lead of the game.
*The Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year recorded his fourth straight 100-yard performance with 122 rushing yards and all three Lafayette touchdowns on 28 carries.
*Leopards’ senior defensive back Gabe DuBois forced two fourth-quarter fumbles, with the second leading to Lafayette’s go-ahead touchdown. He recovered the first fumble and added seven tackles.
*Junior quarterback Dean DeNobile completed 9-of-16 passes for 89 yards, and sophomore receiver Carson Persing had three receptions for 55 yards.
*Senior safety Saiku White posted a team-leading eight tackles.
*Colgate sophomore quarterback Jake Stearney completed 14-of-21 passes for 129 yards and a touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Reed Swanson.
*First-year quarterback Aleks Sitkowski rushed for a team-high 72 yards on 10 carries, and senior running back Brendan Cassamajor rushed for an 11-yard touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter.
*Sophomore placekicker Luke Vogeler connected on field goals from 22 and 49 yards.
*Raiders’ junior linebacker Cole Kozlowski posted a game-high 17 tackles, while junior defensive lineman Dane Picariello added nine tackles, 1.5 TFLs and one sack.
RECAPS: LAFAYETTE | COLGATE
 
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
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.