Lafayette coach Eric McDowell wasn’t surprised St. Pius X gave his team trouble early on Friday at Scott Marriott Field.
The Fighting Irish almost found themselves trailing the Warriors by one score at halftime. Lafayette’s offense had other plans, as senior Daeton McGaughy found Miles Henderson in the endzone.
The touchdown sparked complete momentum for Lafayette, who went on to win 46-13.
“We started off slow in the first half, but we’re just wearing them down, wearing them down,” McGaughy said. “The second half, we really took off. It was just working for us.”
Lafayette (5-3) jumped out to a 6-0 lead with the help of a run by Henderson. The Irish missed the PAT.
St. Pius (3-5) responded on its next drive with a touchdown by sophomore Jack Mosh and took a 7-6 lead.
The Warriors’ lead never reached more than a possession.
“They came out and did some things they haven’t done before,” McDowell said. “Kudos to them. We had to change up our coverage a little bit. But really, I’ve said it all along. St. Pius is not a bad team. “
Lafayette’s special teams squad came up with a blocked punt in the final minute of the first half.
Behind McGaughy and company, the Irish slowly advanced up field. They sat inside the Warriors’ 10-yard line with two seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, McGaughy connected with Henderson, sending Lafayette into halftime with a 20-13 lead.
“We know who our playmakers are, and that’s our new rule,” McDowell said. “We don’t take the balls out of our top three playmakers, top four playmakers hands in big situations. It was no doubt it was going to be one of those guys.”
For the rest of the story click here.
