In one of the biggest games of the 21st century for the football team, the Leopards (6-1 overall, 2-0 Patriot League) took down 11th-ranked Holy Cross (4-3 overall, 2-1 Patriot League) which had not lost a conference game since 2019 in a 38-35 shootout. The win not only guaranteed the team’s first winning season in a decade but also earned it a spot at 19 in the FCS coaches poll rankings, the program’s first ranking in 15 years.
After falling just short in their 2022 matchup after a last-minute 4th and 16 touchdown, the Leopards traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts as 14-point underdogs to avenge last season’s loss and play spoiler on a rainstorm-riddled family weekend.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game, but I think the mindset was almost one of a revenge tour,” sophomore wide receiver Elijah Steward said. “We had a lot built-up frustration from last year when we should have won when we were still younger and less complete. We weren’t just going in to win, we were going in to make a statement.”
“I had a really good feeling from the week of practice and the Friday night at the hotel,” head coach John Troxell said. “We had a lot of emotion in terms of our sidelines and the kids being really into it.”
The game started fast. After forcing a Holy Cross punt, Lafayette’s tandem of sophomore weapons helped the Leopards drive down the field. A 40-yard bomb from sophomore quarterback Dean Denobile to Steward set up a 1-yard rushing touchdown from sophomore running back Jamar Curtis. Curtis went on to rush for 229 yards and two touchdowns en route to winning FCS Player of the Week.
“The mindset was just to make a statement that we are a real team with good players across the board,” Curtis said. “We did a good job getting downhill a lot and mixing up the run game with taking some shots down the field as well.”
The Crusaders immediately responded with a touchdown of their own, but the Leopards’ offense came back with scores on their next two drives thanks to a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Denobile and a 56-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Dallas Holmes. The Maroon and White defense held Holy Cross scoreless for the remainder of the half, allowing Lafayette to take a 21-7 lead into the locker room.
After putting a field goal on the board to begin the third quarter, the Leopards watched the Holy Cross offense wake up as its quarterback, named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, ripped off a 70-yard touchdown run. Lafayette came right back, however, as a huge special teams return set up a 43-yard touchdown pass to freshman Carson Persing to put the Leopards up 31-14.
“We talked to the team about three things,” Troxell said. “One was not turning the ball over in conditions like that when you are playing a really great team, the second was we needed to win on special teams and the third was that we needed to be able to run the ball.”
Holy Cross did not let its 20-game Patriot League winning streak go without a fight, as the Crusaders scored on their next two drives and held Lafayette’s offense scoreless for over 15 minutes of game time to bring the score within three. But just as it looked dire for the Leopards, Curtis put the game on ice, breaking through the Holy Cross defense for a 41-yard score that put the Leopards up by double digits with just under two minutes to play.
Holy Cross responded with a quick touchdown but could not fall on the onside kick, guaranteeing second-year Troxell his first signature win as head coach. The win puts the Leopards in the driver’s seat to win the Patriot League championship for the first time since 2013.
“We are gonna keep this chip on our shoulder, because a lot of the teams that we are playing down the stretch we either lost to, had close games with or are Lehigh, so we gotta make sure to keep the intensity high just like we did for Holy Cross,” Steward said.
“I think it really comes down to ignoring the outside noise. We cannot be worried where our outside noise is,” Troxell said. “Our team has not been in this situation, but we have to act like this is normal and we have to go take care of business. Each one of our games just gets harder from here because the expectations just keep getting higher. We have to focus on what we do in the building and when we get on the field.”
The Leopards will complete their string of three straight road games when they travel down to Washington D.C. tomorrow to play Georgetown in a matchup of the current highest-ranked teams in the Patriot League.
