It has been a long time since the Lafayette Leopards have played an important game in November. They have not won a November game since beating Lehigh at Yankee Stadium in 2014. The Leopards won only three games total the past two seasons and certainly were not part of any Patriot League Championship conversation. All of that has changed.
Going into the last two weekends of the season, Lafayette is 3-1 and tied at the top of the Patriot League with Colgate and with Lehigh. Their next two games, as you might have guessed, are against both Colgate and Lehigh. If Colgate gets by Lafayette, they should win easily the following week against a Georgetown team that has won only one game. However, should Lehigh beat both Holy Cross and Lafayette, Lehigh holds the tie-breaker with a controversial win over Colgate.
None of that will matter, however, if Lafayette can win against Colgate and Lehigh. And the Leopards have found a formula for winning – little or no offense and the stingiest of defenses.
Offensively, the Leopards against Patriot League opponents are averaging just 9.5 points per game, but they are giving up just 4.25 points. That’s not a misprint – their defense has been phenomenal in the League. They have not yielded a point in the last nine quarters and no touchdowns in the last 10 quarters. They beat Holy Cross 10-7; Fordham 14-10; lost to Bucknell 13-7 in overtime with both Bucknell scores coming on interceptions returned for touchdowns. This past weekend, Lafayette beat Georgetown 7-0.
No matter what happens on Saturday, John Garrett, Lafayette’s first year head coach, has made the last two weeks of the season important again. Their last championship came in 2013 after winning three championships in a row in ’04, ’05, and ’06. 2013 was also the last year they had a winning record in the Patriot League.
Not to put a damper on anyone’s expectations, but the Leopards will be underdogs the next two weeks. They certainly will not win either game by scoring nine points. But there is an adage in football that “defense wins championships”. If that is true, then Lafayette has a chance to do what at the beginning of the season seemed virtually impossible – win a Patriot League championship!
If you can make it to Fisher Stadium, you will be rewarded:
If you cannot get there, watch the game on the Lafayette Sports Network or on the internet on the Patriot League Network.
I can’t wait for the kickoff on Saturday at 12:30pm!
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- Undefeated Parkland trailed Liberty by nine going into the fourth quarter of Friday’s 6A quarterfinal game. It was their first real scare of the year. They responded with 22 unanswered points to win their eleventh straight game. This game, however, may have given Easton and Freedom some hope that the Trojans can be beaten. Parkland has won five straight District titles.
- The Colonial League had to be proud of the performances by the Saucon Valley and Southern Lehigh football teams this past weekend. They both beat EPC teams handily. Saucon beat Central Catholic and Southern Lehigh beat East Stroudsburg South. Both will have a chance to do it again this weekend for District championships.
- Penn State football managed to let another game get away this past weekend at Michigan State, losing on the final play of the game. No invitation to the championship playoffs will be forthcoming. And the Heisman dreams for Saquon Barkley may also be fading. Let’s hope both the team and Saquon have great finishes to the season.
- The Penn State basketball team played at Lafayette on Saturday and won going away 102-80. Despite the score, I see why the Big Ten prognosticators see Penn State as a middle-of-the-pack team. They are good, but not impressively good. Lafayette’s problems remain the same – rebounding and defense.
- District football playoffs continue this week. Parkland will host Easton on Friday night at 7:00pm on RCN-TV in a 6A semifinal. Whitehall and Southern Lehigh will battle for the 5A championship at 10:00pm. Saturday RCN-TV will have the huge Patriot League matchup between Colgate and Lafayette at 12:30p, (see above). At 9:30pm, RCN-TV will bring you the 4A championship game featuring Bethlehem Catholic against Saucon Valley.
P.S. Two weeks ago, I picked the Astros to win the World Series in seven. (I wish I believed my own predictions – I could make them financially beneficial).
Gary’s Guesses: NFL Picks – (LAST WEEK – 9-4; OVERALL – 82-49 – 63%)
Week Ten
