Lafayette Leopards 2026 Season Preview

Troxell's Program on Solid Ground

John Troxell closed 2025 at 8-4, and the 5-1 mark in league play is the number that actually explains why Lafayette sits among the sport's stronger programs by the numbers, checking in at 38th nationally. That combination of a winning record and near-perfect conference play gives the staff real margin heading into 2026. Nothing here points to instability, just a program building off a season that did what it was supposed to do.

Penza Inherits a Ground Game

Lafayette's offense wasn't built on a passer last year, and it won't be in 2026. The run game that pushed 205 yards per game and an offense that converted 48.8% of third downs made the Leopards go, and Jason Penza, projected to start after throwing just 40 yards a year ago, only needs to keep that machine on schedule rather than reinvent it. The bigger question is whether a defense that let opponents stay on schedule 44.5% of the time and gave up 28.8 points a game can hold up long enough for that formula to matter again.

Jason Penza takes the first-team reps into 2026 as the front-runner, though the job is not settled. Daniel Lipovski, who has a touchdown to his name, along with Peyton Cosover and Michael Schmelzer, are all in the mix, and Edward Jordan arrives from Beachside to add another name to the competition. Whoever wins the room inherits an offense that ran for 205 yards a game (9th nationally) and moved the ball at 6.31 yards per play (23rd), with the passing game at a more modest 216 yards a game (55th), so Lafayette needs its new starter to protect that identity more than reinvent it.

Kente Edwards is the whole engine here, a 1454-yard, 20-touchdown workhorse who anchored a rushing attack that ranked 9th nationally at 205 yards per game. Ethan Weber gives John Troxell a legitimate change of pace behind him with 570 yards and 8 scores, and Jakyre Henley showed enough on limited touches (194 yards, 2 TD) to matter as the third option. With that trio back, Lafayette does not need to reinvent its identity, it needs to keep leaning on the run to prop up a passing game that ranked just 55th and let Edwards dictate the terms on third down, where this offense already converted at a 48.8% clip.

Carson Persing quietly put up 60 catches for 724 yards and Mason Kuehner added 572 more, giving John Troxell a proven top two even with Elijah Steward's 508 yards out of the mix. The passing game ranked just 55th nationally in yards a season ago despite Lafayette's 33.6 points per game, so the offense leaned on a 205-yard rushing attack while Persing and Kuehner did their damage efficiently. Matthew Scerbo caught only 13 balls but turned three into touchdowns, and if he pushes into a bigger role alongside that top duo, this passing attack finally has the juice to match its ground game.

Ethan Hosak's 15 catches for 158 yards and 2 scores were modest production for an offense that ran for 205 yards a game and finished 7th nationally in third-down rate, but that split tells the story: Lafayette moved the ball on the ground and through explosive shots, not by leaning on its tight ends. Hunter Ditrano (5 catches, 32 yards, 1 TD) and Carson Jacoby (1 catch) are back to round out the room, while Tony Keck, Kendrick McWilliams and Will Renda return without a catch on file. With that whole group back, John Troxell can keep using the position as a complementary blocking and play-action piece rather than reinvent it as a focal point of the passing game.

Lafayette ground out 205 rushing yards per game last season, ninth-best nationally, and John Troxell has to replace the interior that built that number with Spencer Adams, Brian Baucia, Reed Collins and Sean Kinney all gone. The fix is a mix of pipelines rather than a single savior: Nate Shields arrives from Trinity, Zenaje Liggons comes in from Central Catholic, and Bryce Tencza joins as a high school signee out of Providence Catholic. None carry prior college stats, so the 48.8% third-down conversion rate and 6.31 yards per play the 2025 line produced are the bar an experienced backfield and quarterback room will need new bodies up front to hold.

Lafayette's front let opposing plays stay on schedule at a 91st-ranked clip a year ago, and the modest production Phillip Peiffer and Jaylon Joseph gave up in graduation barely registers against that bigger problem. The line's real value showed against the run, where the defense held up at 52nd in rushing yards allowed per game, but a middling 5.50 yards per play allowed shows the pass rush rarely bailed out the back end. John Troxell needs the group up front to win more snaps on early downs in 2026, because the 82nd-ranked pass defense behind it has no margin for a line that lets quarterbacks sit clean.

Lafayette's front seven let opponents stay on schedule at a 91st-ranked clip in 2025, and the answers now come from outside the program rather than within it. Drew Wilson arrives from Minnesota and Michael Dent III joins from Pflugerville Weiss to help replace a group that combined for tackle production spread across Robert Stevens (11 tackles, 1 sack), Darson Jeanty (6 tackles, 1.5 TFL) and Bryson Bright (5 tackles), part of six linebackers gone from John Troxell's roster. With that much tackle output and disruption walking out the door, the run defense that ranked 52nd in yards allowed per game only holds if Wilson or Dent can win a starting job fast, since neither brings any prior stats to lean on.

Opponents found room through the air more than on the ground last season, with Lafayette giving up 235 passing yards per game (82nd) against a more respectable 148 on the ground (52nd), and that gap is the real question for this secondary heading into 2026. Four defensive backs who combined for tackle production, Ryan Gadson, Avery Jones, Jalen Edwards and Davis Oliver-Goodwin, are all gone, taking with them the group's experience against the pass. Caden Ward arrives from La Marque to add a body at corner, but with the passing numbers already a weak point at 5.50 yards allowed per play (45th), an experienced secondary returning to the room will need to tighten coverage faster than it did a year ago.

Jack Simonetta was money last fall, going 6 of 6 on field goals with a long of 49 and piling up 71 points, and he heads a placekicking room so deep that Mac Dumont, Kandler Happe and Phil Joos are all still on hand behind him. The bigger swing belongs to the punting job, where Christian Bush (49 punts, 41.2 average) returns to handle duties with a proven leg rather than a guess. Long snapper Nick Covino takes over for departed Dylan Aguilera, a low-profile but necessary changeover that lets John Troxell keep the rest of this operation almost entirely intact.

Kente Edwards Carries the Load

Lafayette's ceiling rides on Kente Edwards, who ran for 1,454 yards and 20 touchdowns behind an offense that will lean on him even harder while Jason Penza settles in at quarterback after throwing just 40 yards a year ago. With Ethan Weber also back to spell him, the ground game has to be the engine that keeps a green passing attack from having to win games on its own.

Troxell's Road Cover Machine

Lafayette bettors made money by fading the home crowd and riding the bus: John Troxell's team covered at an 83% clip on the road (5-1) while home games were a coin-flip proposition at 60%. That gap held even in conference play, where Lafayette went 4-1-1 against the number behind a 5-1 league record. The market never adjusted to how much better this group traveled than it hosted, and until oddsmakers catch up, road underdog and road favorite tickets on Lafayette remain the play.