The football team (0-1 overall) came up short in its season opener as the Leopards lost to FBS opponent Buffalo (1-0 overall) 30-13 at UB Stadium in Buffalo, New York on Thursday night.
The Leopards’ offense struggled mightily in moving the ball across the entire game. The unit went 5-16 on third down attempts and its typically fierce rushing attack accumulated only 43 yards on the ground. Junior quarterback Dean DeNobile also threw two interceptions and was sacked three times on the evening.
“What hurt us was getting behind the sticks,” senior wide receiver Chris Carasia said. “Getting delay of game penalties really hurts us so we can’t get into our normal rhythm of things.”
The struggles were also apparent on the defensive side of the ball, as the Leopards surrendered 403 total yards of offense to the Bulls. Although they forced a punt on their first drive, the Maroon and White defense could not stop Buffalo after its offense regained possession and drove down the field to take a 6-0 lead. From that point on, the Leopards played from behind.
Senior linebacker Preston Forney said that the defensive performance was largely inconsistent.
“Overall, I’d say everything at times was together and executed well, but at certain times it was not,” Forney said. “There’s a lot to clean up going forward.”
The Bulls added on to their lead twice in the first half. A first-quarter passing touchdown and a second-quarter field goal extended the score to 16-0.
The Maroon and White captured some offensive momentum in their closing drive of the first half. DeNobile hit Carasia for a 29-yard strike, setting the offense up on the Buffalo 14-yard line. However, the run game struggles continued as junior and sophomore running backs Jamar Curtis and Troy Bruce were tackled for losses on two of the next three plays. Facing fourth down on the seven-yard line, Buffalo’s defense stuffed a DeNobile draw as the Leopards turned the ball over on downs and proceeded into halftime scoreless.
“A lot of people like to point at the offensive line first, but it starts with us first on the outside,” Carasia said of the wide receiver group. “We didn’t really live up to our standard that we preach. We’ve got to be better with space and perimeter blocking as that’s what fuels the run game.”
One shining aspect of the Leopards’ performance was their special teams unit. Four minutes into the second half, Bruce sprinted off the edge and blocked a Buffalo punt as Lafayette set up shop on Buffalo’s 18-yard line. On the next play, DeNobile tossed the ball to sophomore wide receiver Carson Persing who found junior tight end Dallas Holmes wide-open in the endzone. An incomplete pass on the two-point attempt left the score at 16-6.
Lafayette’s momentum was short-lived, however, as the Bulls strung together a 75-yard touchdown drive that extended their lead to 23-6. While the drive was capped off by a 32-yard passing touchdown, Forney said it was the team’s inability to stop the run game that was critical in the loss.
“We started letting up a few too many chunk runs throughout the game,” Forney said. “That can open up their pass game a little bit. All it takes is one guy not doing their job for a good team like that to capitalize.”
The Maroon and White put together another impressive drive early in the fourth quarter. The offense drove 66 yards in 10 plays, ending on a 13-yard touchdown strike to Carasia, who finished with career-highs of eight receptions and 83 receiving yards on the evening.
The Leopards’ special team unit also continued to produce as junior linebacker Ian Langan recovered a muffed Buffalo punt return in the red zone. The offense was unable to capitalize, however, as they failed to pick up a first down and sophomore kicker Jack Simonetta missed the ensuing field goal attempt wide left. The Leopards retook possession with six minutes left, but DeNobile’s second interception of the game set up a 19-yard Buffalo rushing touchdown to seal the game.
Forney said that the team is not letting the loss define it moving forward and is taking practice “one day at a time.”
“We’re working on communicating well and everyone doing their one-eleventh,” Forney said. “Overall, we’re emphasizing that this is not the same team from last year and we have a lot to prove. We’re confident in ourselves but we still have to go out there and put it on tape.”
The Leopards will return to action on Saturday as they remain on the road to take on Monmouth University at Kessler Stadium in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Kickoff is slated for noon and coverage will be on FloSports.
Poopy Fart • Sep 4, 2024 at 12:13 pm
Dan the man back at it again with another flawless piece