The men’s football team tallied a Homecoming Weekend win after beating Patriot League competitor Lafayette 42-17 on Oct. 22. Will Carter ’17 and Chad Freshnock ’20 each recorded two touchdowns for the Bison.

The game marked the team’s third consecutive win over Lafayette, the longest run from 1968-1972. The Bison ran a season high of 259 yards and evened their Homecoming record at 44-44-5. The game boosted the season record to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in Patriot League. Forty-two point stands as the team’s most points in a game in two years.

“Our approach offensively this week was to challenge Lafayette with more spread formations and attack them with misdirection. Our defense front needed to pressure the Lafayette QB consistently,” head coach Joseph Susan said.

The first half ended with a 14-3 home team lead with the help of a 17-yard run by Carter and Andrew Podbielski ’18 catching a nine yard pass from quarterback R.J. Nitti ’17, making his return after a four game injury leave.

Carter extended the lead on the first drive of the second half by completing a 10-yard run. Running back Joey DeFloria ’18 rushed eight times for 50 yards on the drive.

Lafayette responded by scoring two touchdowns in 90 seconds, narrowing the score to 21-17. The Orange and Blue defense held the Leopards at 17 for the remainder of the third quarter by forcing four consecutive punts.

The Bison made an astounding comeback in the fourth quarter.

“Our run game wore down the Lafayette defense and in turn kept our defense rested,” Susan said.

The Bison possessed the ball for over ten minutes in the final period, and outscored Lafayette 21-0 with two touchdowns from Freshnock and one from DeFloria, who completed a team-high seven rushing touchdowns.

The game ended with the Bison having outgained Lafayette 349-268 yards. Ben Richard ’18 led defense with ten tackles, followed by nine from fellow linebacker Mark Pyles ’18. Defense held Lafayette 2-for-13 on third downs. The Bison totaled four sacks, with two from Abdullah Anderson ’18 and one from R.J. Sheldon ’17 and Doug Whitlock ’17. Safety Bret Berg ’17 finished with three tackles, one interception, and two pass breakups. Making his debut as starting punter, he also averaged nearly 37 yards on seven punts.

The next three games will be on the road to play nationally ranked Charleston Southern, Lehigh, and Georgetown before returning home for the final home game against conference opponent, Fordham, on Nov. 19.