QB Schuster injured as Leopards blanked
There was no brotherly love in Philadelphia for the Lafayette offense Saturday.
The Leopards were held scoreless in a game for the first time since late in the 2019 season and fell to Penn 12-0 in a nonleague contest at Franklin Field.
Even worse, Lafayette freshman quarterback Ryan Schuster had to be transported off the field after suffering an apparent head injury on one of the Quakers’ five sacks.
Penn quarterback Aidan Sayin threw a short TD pass to Justin Cayenne in the second quarter to cap a 9-play, 77-yard drive and Sayin kept it himself for a 1-yard run with 3 minutes, 13 seconds left in the third quarter to complete the scoring. The second score ended a 35-yard drive that was set up by the Quakers defense after Schuster was sacked at the Lafayette 1.
The Quakers’ PAT kick after the first TD was blocked by Malik Hamm. A run for the two-point conversion failed after the second TD.
Schuster, who had won three consecutive Patriot League Rookie of the Week awards during the Leopards’ 1-2 start, completed 11 of 23 passes for 167 yards and had an interception before leaving the game in the final seconds of the third quarter. Junior Rent Montie replaced Schuster and went 8 of 18 passing for 74 yards.
Lafayette had just one rushing yard and was outgained 270-242, but the Leopards had several drives into Quakers territory. The Leopards’ best drive ended at the Penn 18 on downs in the second quarter.
Chris Carasia had five catches for 62 yards and freshman Elijah Steward added five receptions for 49 yards, but it didn’t help Lafayette avoid its first shutout loss since a 16-0 defeat against Colgate on Nov. 16, 2019.
The Leopards defense was led by Gabe DuBois, who had nine tackles. Hamm had 1 sacks and Lafayette had six stops for a loss overall in addition to an interception by Saiku White.
Lafayette fell to 1-3 this season with a trip to Bucknell to open Patriot League play next Saturday. Penn, which beat Colgate 25-14 in its opener, improved to 2-0 and will open its Ivy League schedule at Dartmouth next Saturday.