EASTON, Pa. (Interstat) — Dean DeNobile passed for 316 yards and five touchdowns and the Lafayette offense exploded for 27 points in the second quarter to turn a close game into a rout, defeating Bucknell 62-24 in a nonconference football game Saturday at Fisher Stadium.

The Leopards, who improved to 4-2, saw their offense ignite after a sluggish first quarter, scoring on four consecutive second-quarter possessions to build a commanding 34-10 halftime lead. The 62 points are the most scored by Lafayette in the modern era of the program.

DeNobile, a quarterback from Upper Saddle River, N.J., was surgical, completing 26 of 34 passes. He spread the wealth, connecting with Elijah Steward on two scoring strikes. Steward, from Galloway, N.J., finished with six receptions for 116 yards.

The ground game was equally potent for the Leopards. Ethan Weber of Bedford, Pa., rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries, including a 67-yard scoring run in the third quarter. Jakyre Henley of King William, Va., added a 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass, finishing with 107 rushing yards on five attempts.

Bucknell, which also moved to 4-2, kept the game competitive early. The Bison answered Lafayette’s opening touchdown with a 35-yard scoring pass from Christopher Dietrich to TJ Cadden early in the second quarter to tie the game at 7.

Cadden, from Phoenixville, Pa., was a bright spot for the Bison, hauling in five passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

After Cadden’s first score, the floodgates opened. DeNobile needed just three plays to respond, finding Henley for a 20-yard touchdown to reclaim the lead. Following a Bucknell field goal, the Lafayette quarterback engineered two quick scoring drives before halftime, both ending with touchdown passes to Steward from 34 and 10 yards out to blow the game open.

Any hope of a Bucknell comeback was extinguished quickly in the second half. Lafayette scored on its first possession of the third quarter, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from DeNobile to tight end Ethan Hosak of Macungie, Pa. Weber’s long touchdown run on the next Lafayette possession pushed the lead to 48-10.

Dietrich, a quarterback from Sparta, N.J., found Cadden for a second touchdown pass late in the third quarter and the Bison added another score on an 11-yard blocked punt return by Sam Milligan. Dietrich finished 19 of 32 for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

Lafayette added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter, a 4-yard pass from DeNobile to Matthew Scerbo and Henley’s 70-yard run, to cement the lopsided victory.

The result defied the pregame projections, as Interstat’s game simulator had projected a much closer final score of Lafayette 29, Bucknell 22. Bucknell had been installed as an 8-point underdog, and the combined score of 86 points easily surpassed the over/under line of 63.5.

Bucknell looks to rebound next Saturday when it travels to face Cornell. Lafayette faces a formidable road test the same day, visiting Oregon State.