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FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — Kevin Duke passed for two touchdowns and freshman Julius Chestnut ran for two scores to help Sacred Heart beat Lafayette 35-6 on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.
Duke finished 17-of-23 passing for 146 yards and Chestnut had 12 carries for 57 yards. Senior Jordan Meachum ran for a career-high 132 yards on 17 carries and Andrew O'Neill had nine receptions for 103 yards and one touchdown for Sacred Heart.
Duke hit O'Neill for a 10-yard score to cap the Pioneers' opening eight-play, 80-yard drive and make it 7-0 with 9:02 left in the first quarter. Senior Eli Terry left the game and did not return after taking a hard hit at the end of a 27-yard run on Sacred Heart's first offensive play.
Lafayette's Jacob Bissell made a 44-yard field goal fewer than three minutes later, but the Leopards got no closer. Chestnut scored on a 1-yard run that capped a 14-play, 55-yard drive, which lasted more than seven minutes, and made it 14-3 with 4:36 left in the second quarter. After a punt by Bissell pinned the Pioneers at the 11 about three minutes later, Meachum ripped off a 54-yard run and, four plays later, Duke hit Kezio Snelling to give Sacred Heart a 21-3 lead at halftime.
Noah Provenzano returned an interception 71 yards for a TD in the third quarter and Chestnut scored on a 31-yard run on the first play of the fourth.
