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Pictured Above: Sophomore running back Brandon Peoples

Easton, PA – Wagner scored on its very first play from scrimmage on a 46-yard pass from senior quarterback Brian Gehring (Tigard, OR/Tigard/Laney JC) to sophomore running back Brandon Peoples (Abington Townhip, PA/Archbishop Wood) but the Seahawks wound up on the short end of a hard-fought and physical 35-23 decision at Lafayette tonight.
 
With the loss, which came in front of a crowd of 8,756 at Fisher Stadium, Wagner drops to 1-3 on the season while the Leopards evened their season mark at 2-2.
 
Gehring went 11-of-31 passing for 179 yards, with a career-high three-TD aerials and no interceptions. Peoples was Wagner's leading rusher with 12 carries for 68 yards while junior Otis Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard) added 51 yards on 13 carries. Sophomore wide receiver Lloyd Smith (Willingboro, NJ/Valley Forge Military Academy) was the Seahawks' leading receiver with five catches for 71 yards.
 
Lafayette RB Ross Scheurman led all rushers with 128 yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns. Quarterback Blake Searfoss completed 14-of-23 passes for 173 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in relief of starting QB Drew Reed who was 4-of-8 for 61 yards before leaving the game with a second-quarter injury.
 
Following the early Gehring to Peoples score, Lafayette answered with a seven-play, 71-yard drive, capped by a 43-yard touchdown pass from Reed to wide receiver Mike Duncan with 11:40 left in the opening quarter to knot the score at 7-7.
 
With Searfoss at the controls, the Leopards then scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 5:48 of the half to seize a 21-7 halftime lead. Lafayette took advantage of a Wright fumble at the Seahawk nine-yard line when, after the Wagner defense was stout on first and down, Searfoss hit wide receiver Matt Mrazek for a score on third-and-goal from the nine to make it 14-7.
 
After Lafayette took over on their own eight with 1:04 left in the half, the Leopards quickly moved the ball downfield. Searfoss found Scheuerman out of the backfield for consecutive games of 22 and 11 yards. After a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the latter reception tacked on another 15 yards, Lafayette had a first down at the Seahawk 24 with 28 seconds to go in the half. On the very next play, Searfoss hit Justin Adams on the near sideline at the Wagner 16 and the Leopard wide receiver was able to wriggle his way out of a would-be tackler before scampering in for a 24-yard score to make it a 14-point bulge at halftime.
 
This Searfoss to Adams connection capped a quick-strike five-play, 92-yard drive that took just 46 seconds.
 
The Seahawks made it a 21-10 game when senior kicker Bryan Maley (Eagle River, Alaska / Chugiak), who had missed three first-half field goals, came on to boot a 39-yarder with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter.
 
With Lafayette facing third-and-five at its own 33 on the ensuing possession, Seahawk senior safety Daniel Mack (Miami, FL / Dade Christian) stepped in front of a Lafayette receiver to pick off a Searfoss pass at the Leopard 35. Mack then worked his way 18 yards up the left sideline to give Wagner a first down at the Lafayette 17.
 
On second-and-11 from the Leopard 18, Gehring delivered a gorgeous throw to his left, hitting junior tight end Ryan Owens (Gainesville, NY / Letchworth) in stride on a touchdown  strike that drew the Seahawks within 21-17 with 6:01 left in the third quarter.
 
That's the way the score remained until the 5:44 mark of the fourth quarter when Scheurman shook loose on a 27-yard touchdown jaunt on third-and-11 to make it a 28-17 game. The Seahawks answered right back with a four-play, 61-yard drive following a short Lafayette kickoff, when fifth-year senior tight end Bryant Watts (Burlington, NJ/Florence) came down with a tipped ball in traffic, in the end zone, for a 25-yard score to make it a 28-23 game with 4:52 left.
 
The Seahawks elected to go for two in trying to draw to within a field goal but senior wide receiver Ralph Greene (Tigard, OR/Tigard) was unable to hang on to a Gehring pass in the right corner of the end zone, enabling the Leopards to maintain their 28-23 lead.
 
On the next possession, Wagner appeared to have held Lafayette to a three-and-out, as a two-yard Leopard gain on third-and-10 netted just two yards. But, instead of Lafayette having to punt on fourth-and-eight from its own 21 with 3:10 to play, a late flag was thrown on Wagner with the Seahawks being called for a 15-yard dead ball, unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
 
With Lafayette maintaining possession of the ball at its own 36, Wagner was forced to burn all three of its timeouts over the next minute of play. The Leopards then sealed the victory when Scheuerman burst free for a 55-yard touchdown score on third-and-11 from their own 45, which made it a 35-23 game with just 1:29 left.
 
Thanks to this final 55-yard run, Lafayette was able to outgain Wagner 383-323 on the night, while holding a 21-17 edge in first downs.
 
The Seahawk defense, which Scheuerman described afterwards as "the most physical that we've faced all season", was led by senior inside linebacker Max Wassel (Totowa, NJ/Passaic Valley), who came up with a team-best nine tackles. Wassel also record a team-high seven solo stops, in addition to being credited with 2.5 tackles for loss (minus five yards). Mack, a Wake Forest transfer in his first season as a Seahawk, had seven stops on the evening, in addition to coming up with his first interception in a Wagner uniform.
 
NOTES – Junior Eddie Garcia (Miami, FL / Christopher Columbus) made his first career start against Lafayette, gaining the nod and playing the entire game at left guard. Also making his first career start was senior defensive end John Aubel (Islip, NY / Islip/Nassau CC/Buffalo) and the 6-4, 230-pounder made the most of his opportunity by recording a career-high four tackles, which included three tackles for loss (minus 11 yards), highlighted by a four-yard sack. For Peoples, his first-quarter 46-yard TD grab was a career first while his 68 rushing yards were a career high. For Owens, his 18-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception was the first of his career.

 
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