Sept. 4, 2001
Audio from Lafayette's weekly media luncheon:
- Lafayette Coach Frank Tavani
- Towson Coach Gordy Combs
- Senior Co-captain Jim Brown
- Senior Co-captain Barret Diefenderfer
Complete Release in PDF Format
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LAFAYETTE vs. TOWSON
Saturday, Sept. 8, 2001
1 p.m. EDT
Minnegan Stadium (5,000/Art. Surface)
Towson, Md.
TV: None
The Game
- The Lafayette football team opens its 120th season of college football and year two of the Frank Tavani era as it takes on Towson this Saturday at the Tigers' Minnegan Stadium. The game will serve as both teams' Patriot League opener. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on radio only via the Lafayette Sports Network's flagship station, WEST-AM 1400, and on the internet right here at www.GoLeopards.com.
- The Leopards open the season with a Patriot League opponent for the fourth time in five seasons, having opened with Towson each of the past two years. The Tigers won both of those contests, 35-7 in 1999 and 42-20 last season.
- Lafayette is 76-40-3 (.651) all-time in season openers and 7-8-0 (.467) in Patriot League openers.
- Saturday's game is Towson's second of the young season as the Tigers opened at Albany (14-10 loss) on Sept. 1.
- The Lafayette game is the first of three straight home games for Towson, and is the linchpin of festivities celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Tigers' Division III national championship team.
- This week's game marks the opener of a tough stretch for the Leopards as three of the first four contests will be played away from the friendly confines of Fisher Field.
The Series
(Sixth Meeting) Lafayette and Towson have met five times on the gridiron, dating back to the first encounter in the 1985 season. The two teams have met in Towson, Md. twice, with the Leopards winning the first and the Tigers taking the most recent. The largest margin of victory in the series was a 38-0 Lafayette win in Easton during the 1997 season. (Please see page 3 for a complete game recap and statistics of the most recent meeting in the series.)
Media Information
- "weather.com" forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 77? and a low of 59?.
- Radio: WEST (1400 AM ), 66th Season, - Dick Hammer, play-by-play - Scott Morse, color analyst
- Television: none
- Internet: Live audio can be accessed by logging on to www.lafayette.edu
- "Lafayette Sports Weekly": Half-hour radio show airs every Thursday at 7 p.m. EST from September through March and features head coach Frank Tavani as a regular guest during the season. Tune in to WEST (1400 AM) or listen to the live audio webcast at www.lafayette.edu
- Weekly Media Luncheons: Head coach Frank Tavani and at least two members of the team will address the media at noon each Tuesday during the season. Members of the media are invited to join Coach Tavani at Larry Holmes' Ringside Restaurant in downtown Easton.
- Quotes: Written excerpts and digital audio files from the weekly Lafayette football media luncheon will be available by 5:00 p.m. each Tuesday. They can be obtained by calling Lafayette's Office of Athletic Communications or by logging on to the Lafayette Athletics Web site at www.lafayette.edu.
- Interviews: All interview requests for Head Coach Frank Tavani and members of the team should be submitted to Lafayette's Office of Athletic Communications. No player interviews will be granted on game day until after the game.
The Head Coaches
The newest era in the proud history of Lafayette football began on Dec. 11, 1999, when Frank Tavani was named the 27th head football coach in the history of the program. Tavani, who is in his second season at the helm of the Leopards, had been a top member of the College's coaching staff for the past 13 seasons, serving most recently as associate head coach since 1994. Tavani enters Saturday's contest with a record of 2-9 (.182). This is his first visit to Towson's Minnegan Stadium as head coach of the Leopards.
Gordy Combs (Towson '72) is in his 10th season at Towson and as a collegiate head coach. His overall career record stands at 55-39-0 (.585). Combs is 2-2 vs. Lafayette and 1-1 vs. the Leopards at Towson's Minnegan Stadium.
Five Academic All-Americans Return to the Fold
Five Leopards, the most ever for a Lafayette football team, earned a spot on the 2000 Verizon District II Academic All-America squad. The quintet of Leopards, which led the Patriot League and consisted exclusively of underclassmen, included first-team honorees Kenya Allen (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) and Stewart Kupfer (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth-Whitemarsh). Earning a nod on the second team were Jamie Anzalone (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary), Herb Kennedy (Troy, N.Y./Troy), and Chad Ritchie (Winchester, Va./John Handley).
In addition, a record total of 10 Leopards earned a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, which requires a minimum 3.20 grade point average and a varsity letter to qualify.
Local Ties
Lafayette has five players with ties to the state of Maryland, including three from De Matha High School. The Leopard Marylanders include seniors Nick Boccagno (Burke, Va./De Matha), Matt Bourdon (Jacksonville, Fla./De Matha), and Adam Holt (College Park, Md./De Matha), as well as sophomore Trey Weaver (Poolesville, Md./Poolesville) and freshman Mike Davis (St. Leonard, Md./Maurice J. McDonough).
2001 Team Captains
The 2001 Lafayette football team captains, as chosen by their teammates and coaching staff, are senior defensive lineman Barret Diefenderfer (Great Falls, Va./The Landon School) and senior offensive lineman Jim Brown (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg).
Iron Leopards
As a team, Lafayette had its strongest off-season in recent history, literally. More than 30 Leopards remained around campus throughout the summer to strength train in preparation for the 2001 season.
The Touchdown May-ker Returns
Senior receiver Andrew May (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Ketcham), who established a new Lafayette record with his 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the Leopards' win over Holy Cross last season, scored a touchdown nearly 20 percent of the time he touched the football. The art major officially touched the ball 39 times, making 25 pass receptions for 482 yards, one rush for 11 yards, and 13 kickoff returns for 334 yards. Of those 39 "touches," seven resulted in touchdowns.
Crossing The Line
Several Leopards changed sides of the ball during the 2001 preseason, most notably co-captain Jim Brown (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg). A defensive lineman for his first three seasons, Brown quickly agreed to the move in order to help the team because of the rash of injuries that has affected the Leopards' offensive line. Also changing positions were Stephen Bono (Upper Saddle River, N.J./Northern Highlands Regional), from DL to OL, Brian Carstens (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell), from DL to OL, Josh Keister (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater Raritan), from DL to OL, and Matt Kulp (Lititz, Pa./Manheim Central), from FB to LB.
Air Canada
Lafayette quarterback Marko Glavic (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) returns following a freshman campaign that saw him earn Patriot League, ECAC, and USATODAY.com Rookie of the Year honors. The seventh Lafayette player to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, Glavic completed 159-of-297 passes for 1,964 yards and 12 touchdowns.
For Openers . . .
In 119 seasons of Lafayette College football, the Leopards are 76-40-3 (.651) in season openers, including a record of 44-28-3 (.607) in season openers played on the road.
Patriot League Openers . . .
Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, Lafayette is 7-8-0 (.467) in conference openers. The Leopards have opened their Patriot League schedules on the road six times and are 3-3-0 (.500) in those contests. Lafayette has won six of its last 10 Patriot League openers.
Leopards Dominate the TV Airwaves ... Again!
The 2001 Lafayette College football season will see a Patriot League-best nine contests hit the television air waves via the Lafayette Sports Network. The Lafayette Sports Network, the most expansive television package in the Patriot League three years running, can be seen by more than 5.2 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, central New Jersey, New York City, and Boston. Locally, the telecasts are aired on RCN TV-4 and WBPH-TV 60, and can be seen on RCN Cable channels 4 and 60, Service Electric Cable channel 51, Suburban Cable channel 17, Blue Ridge Cable channel 5, and broadcast channel 60. Renowned local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach handles all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the fifth season. In his fourth full season of football broadcasts is John Leone, Lafayette's Director of Alumni Affairs, who provides color analysis.
National Recruiting Effort
Lafayette's first full year-round national recruiting effort yielded a strong Class of 2005 that featured 24 quality student-athletes from 10 different states. Six of those Leopards in this season's recruiting class are from the state of Florida.
On This Date
The Leopards have played just three games in their history on September 8, and are 2-1 in those contests. All three games were season openers. The ledger:
Year Result Opponent Site1979 W, 41-6 Gettysburg Gettysburg, Pa.1984 L, 31-10 Rhode Island Kingston, R.I.1990 W, 32-16 Kutztown Easton, Pa.
Lafayette vs. the Patriot League
The Leopards have played 297 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 147-134-16 (.522) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, the Leopards are 41-34-1 (.546) vs. member schools and have won league titles in 1988, 1992, and 1994. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:
Bucknell 41-31-6 Fordham 15-3-1 Lehigh 71-60-5Colgate 9-31-4 Holy Cross 9-6-0 Towson 2-3-0
Lafayette vs. the Ivy League
The Leopards have played 202 games against the eight members of the Ivy League, and are 56-139-7 (.294) in those contests. Lafayette vs. the members of the Ivy League:
Brown 3-8-0 Cornell 8-14-2 Harvard 2-4-0 Princeton 3-32-3Columbia 20-11-2 Dartmouth 2-6-0 Pennsylvania 18-58-0 Yale 0-6-0
Home Sweet Home
Erected in 1926, Lafayette College's Fisher Field is in its 76th season as the home of the Leopards, having played host to 358 Lafayette football games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field. The Leopards are 215-131-13 (.619) overall at Fisher Field.
All-Time Record
The Leopards are in their 120th football season, having played 1,128 games. Lafayette boasts an impressive all-time record of 590-499-39 (.540) and ranks 32nd on the nation's all-time victories list. Lafayette leads the Patriot League in all-time wins, with Lehigh the closest at 565.
A History of Championships
The Lafayette football program has claimed three national championships -- 1896, 1921 and 1926 -- and recorded five undefeated seasons -- 1896 (11-0-1), 1921 (9-0-0), 1926 (9-0-0), 1937(8-0-0) and 1940 (9-0-0). Of recent note, the Leopards have won Patriot League championships in 1988, 1992 and 1994.
Local Flavor - Nine Lehigh Valley Leopards
The 2000 Lafayette College football team boasts nine members from the Lehigh Valley. Consistently a prominent recruiter of top talent in the Lehigh Valley, Lafayette brought in three local freshmen this past recruiting year. The Lehigh Valley Leopards:
5, Vince Boyer (Jr./SE/Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area)
98, Pat Brown (So./DL/Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic)
7, Joel Cesare (So./WR/Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall)
46, Greg Gibbs (Fr./LB/Allentown, Pa./Salisbury)
18, John-Frank Stubits (Fr./DB/Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth)
29, Dave Walters (Fr./TB/Easton, Pa./Freedom/Wyoming Seminary)
4, Scott Warden (Sr./FB/Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks West)
9, Jeff Werrell (Sr./SE/Allentown, Pa./Salisbury)
62, Curt Wilson (So./OL/Northampton, Pa./Northampton)
Weekly Radio Show
Lafayette Sports Weekly, a comprehensive half-hour radio show will air live each Thursday at 7 p.m. from September through March on the Lafayette Sports Network's flagship radio station, WEST AM Stereo 1400, and online at www.lafayette.edu. WEST-AM sports director Dick Hammer will be joined each week by either Gary Laubach or John Leone, Lafayette Sports Network's television commentators, for an exciting half-hour exclusively devoted to Lafayette sports. Head football coach Frank Tavani will be a featured guest during the football season, while head men's basketball coach Fran O'Hanlon and head women's basketball coach Tammy Smith will be regulars during their teams' winter campaigns.
Leopard Injury Update
The current listing of Lafayette football injuries:
- Joel Cesare - out 1-3 weeks (appendicitis).
- Collin Crotty - doubtful (mononucleosis).
- Casey McKeen - doubtful (mononucleosis).
- Ryan Moloney - out for the season (cervical injury).
- Paul Stack - out for the season (knee surgery).
