Sept. 10, 2002

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Purchase Your Tickets To The Game!

LAFAYETTE vs. TOWSON
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2002 * 1:07 p.m. EDT
FISHER FIELD (13,750 / Natural Grass)
EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA
TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN 4 & WBPH 60) Live to more than 9.1 million viewers.

The Game

• Lafayette hosts Towson in the Patriot League opener for both teams and a rematch of the only Patriot League overtime game in 2001. Kickoff at Fisher Field is set for 1:07 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on television (Lafayette Sports Network - RCN-4 and WBPH-60), on radio (WEST-AM 1400, pre-game show starting at 12:30 p.m.), and on the internet (www.lafayette.edu).

• Before winning the season opener vs. Monmouth, Lafayette had won the season opener 76 times in 120 seasons of football. Of those 76 seasons that started with a victory, the Leopards finished the season with a .500 or better record 56 times. That includes 51 seasons with a winning record.

• The Leopards are 7-9 in Patriot League openers since the conference began play in 1986. That includes a mark of 4-5 in the nine PL openers played at Fisher Field.

• Lafayette has led the Patriot League in passing yardage each of the past two seasons, averaging 252.8 yards per game in 2000 and 265.1 yards per game in 2001. The Leopards picked up where they left off, passing for 297 yards in the victory over Monmouth

• Thanks to Circle Systems of Easton, the Leopards are wearing an American flag on the back of their helmets for the second straight season to honor those who died as a result of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The Series
(Seventh Meeting) Lafayette and Towson have met six times on the gridiron, dating back to the first encounter in the 1985 season. The two teams have met at Fisher Field three times, and the Tigers hold a 2-1 advantage. 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.)

The Head Coaches
The current era in the proud history of Lafayette football began on Dec. 11, 1999, when Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) was named the 27th head football coach in the history of the program. Now in his third season as head coach, Tavani had been a top member of Lafayette's coaching staff for the previous 13 seasons. Tavani has a career record of 5-17. Tavani is 0-2 vs. Towson as head coach of the Leopards.

Gordy Combs (Towson '72) is in his 11th season at Towson and as a collegiate head coach. His overall career record stands at 59-45. Combs is 3-2 vs. Lafayette and 1-1 vs. the Leopards at Lafayette's Fisher Field.

Bennett Earns PL Rookie Of The Week Honors
For his efforts in Lafayette's 30-29 season-opening victory over Monmouth, Leopard freshman LB Maurice Bennett (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week. Bennett recorded five tackles on special teams, two of which were made inside Monmouth's 20-yard line on kickoff coverage.

This Week's Game Captain - Martin Brecht '03
The Lafayette coaching staff is naming a game captain each week of the 2002 season. This student-athlete serves as a team captain the entire week of practice and at the game along with team captains Chris Partridge (Paramus, N.J./Paramus Catholic) and Chris Royle (Stockton, N.J./Hunterdon Central). Senior PK Martin Brecht (Jeannette, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic), who displayed tremendous poise in nailing the game-winning field goal vs. Monmouth -- twice, has been named the Lafayette-Towson game week captain.

Lafayette vs. the Patriot League
The Leopards have played 308 games all-time against the seven fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 150-142-16 (.513) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, the Leopards are 42-40-1 (.512) vs. member schools and have won league titles in 1988, 1992, and 1994. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:

Bucknell 41-32-6 Fordham 15-4-1 Holy Cross 9-7-0 Towson 2-4-0Colgate 9-32-4 Georgetown 3-2-0 Lehigh 71-61-5

Patriot League Openers . . .
Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, Lafayette is 7-9-0 (.438) in conference openers. The Leopards have opened their Patriot League schedules at Fisher Field nine times and are 4-5-0 (.429) in those contests.

Defense Slams The Door!
The Leopards' defense shut out Monmouth's offense in the second half of Lafayette's season-opening victory, as the Hawks managed their only touchdown of the third and fourth quarters on a fumble return. The last time a Lafayette defense shut out an opponent for a half was the Towson game last season when the Tigers were held scoreless for the first three quarters only to go on and earn an overtime victory.

100/200 Vision
In the combined careers of QB Marko Glavic (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) and Joe McCourt (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), there have been three contests in which Glavic threw for more than 200 yards and McCourt rushed for more than 100 yards. The Leopards are 2-1 in those contests (10/27/2001 vs. Colgate - 20-16 L; 11/10/2001 at Georgetown - 37-17 W; 9/7/2002 vs. Monmouth - 30-29 W).

Preseason All-America Honors For Royle
Senior center Chris Royle (Stockton, N.J./Hunterdon Central), an EXCEL Scholar at Lafayette, earned preseason All-America honors from two different sources. First, The Sports Network selected Royle to its All-America third team. A few days later, Lindy's chose Royle as a first-team All-American.

Leopard Injury Update
The current listing of Lafayette football injuries:
- Adam Bozick (Fr., DB) - out 4-6 weeks with a hip injury.
- Joel Cesare (Jr., WR) - out indefinitely with a pulled hamstring.
- Shane Davenport (Fr., FB) - out indefinitely with turf toe.
- Gus Ottoson (Fr., DL) - will have season-ending shoulder surgery after suffering injury in summer high school all-star game.
- Paul Ziska (So., DL) - out for the season with a separated shoulder.

Local Ties
Lafayette has two players on its current roster who are from Baltimore, Md., and both are freshmen. Blake McCoy (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall) is an offensive lineman, while Odakwei Mills (Baltimore, Md./Western Tech) is a linebacker.

Lafayette Returns Four Academic All-Americans
Seven Leopards, the most ever for a Lafayette football team, earned a spot on the 2001 Verizon District II Academic All-America squad. Of those seven, four return to the 2002 squad. The quartet includes senior DB Jamie Anzalone (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary), senior DL Matt Hinzpeter (Norwood, N.J./Northern Valley), senior DB Herb Kennedy (Troy, N.Y./Troy), and junior OL Curt Wilson (Northampton, Pa./Northampton).

Anzalone is a two-time honoree, having also earned a spot on the 2000 Verizon District II Academic All-America squad.

NCAA Division I-AA Leaders
Through games of Sept. 7, 2002, Lafayette junior FL John Weyrauch (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) is ranked second among NCAA Division I-AA leaders in receptions per game with an average of 11.00 and third among leaders in receiving yards per game with an average of 142.00. The Leopards among the top-30 NCAA Division I-AA leaders:

INDIVIDUAL    Receptions per game - John Weyrauch (11.00 avg.) - 2nd    Receiving yards per game - John Weyrauch (142.00 avg.) - 3rd    Field goals per game - Martin Brecht (3.00 avg.) - 3rd    Rushing - Joe McCourt (143.00 avg.) - 6th    Total offense - Marko Glavic (296.00 avg.) - 6th    Scoring - Martin Brecht & Joe McCourt (14.00 avg.) - T14th    Passing efficiency - Marko Glavic (152.27 rating) - 16th    All-purpose runners - Joe McCourt (157.00 avg.) - 23rd    Punt returns - Brandon Stanford (13.50 avg.) - 28thTEAM    Passing offense - 10th (297.00 avg.)    Total offense - 13th (465.00 avg.)    Punt returns - 28th (13.50 avg.)

Air Canada
Lafayette junior QB Marko Glavic (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) entered his junior season with a reputation for big numbers through the air. With six 200-yard and three 300-yard passing performances in the Leopards' 2001 season and a 297-yard effort in the Leopards' season-opening win vs. Monmouth, Glavic now has 17 career 200-yard games in just 19 career starts. He has recorded three 300-yard games and his career-high is 329 yards at Holy Cross in 2001.

Glavic Climbing The Charts
Leopard QB Marko Glavic (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary Catholic) is the fifth all-time leader in career passing yards at Lafayette with 4,721 career yards. In his 21 career games, Glavic has completed 55.8 percent of his passes (392-of-703) and thrown 22 touchdowns.

Glavic is just the fourth Lafayette QB to throw for more than 2,000 yards in a single season, joining former Leopard greats Frank Baur '90, Tom Kirchoff '93 and Frank Novak '84. In just 10 games last season, he recorded the third best single season passing yardage total with 2,460 yards.

On This Date
The Leopards have played four games in the history of the program on September 14, and are 3-1 in those contests. The ledger:

Year Result Opponent1974 L, 14-7 at Army1985 W, 20-7 at New Hampshire1991 W, 42-21 Buffalo1996 W, 29-17 Millersville

Geography For $100 Alex . . .
The Leopards' 2002 roster is one of the most geographically diverse in the history of Lafayette football. There are 14 different states represented and two student-athletes hail from Ontario, Canada. A total of 37 players are home-grown Pennsylvania products, while New Jersey is second on the list with 24. Maryland comes in third with eight, and the surprise is at number four as seven Leopards hail from sunny Florida.

2002 Team Captains
The 2002 Lafayette football team captains, as chosen by their teammates and coaching staff, are senior linebacker Chris Partridge (Paramus, N.J./Paramus Catholic) and senior center Chris Royle (Stockton, N.J./Hunterdon Central).

Leopard Cubs
There are 18 freshmen and sophomores among the 44 spots on Lafayette's season-opening offensive and defensive two-deep. Of those 18 freshmen and sophomores, seven are in the starting lineup.

Iron Leopards
As a team, Lafayette had its strongest off-season ever, literally. After having more than 30 Leopards remain around campus during the 2001 off-season, a record total of 45 stayed in the Easton area throughout the summer to strength train in preparation for the 2002 season.

Close Calls
Four of Lafayette's six Patriot League losses in 2001 were decided by 10 points or less. Those four contests included an overtime contest at Towson, a one-point game vs. Bucknell, a four-point contest vs. Colgate and a 10-point loss at Holy Cross.

Solid Protection
Lafayette's offensive line, coached by associate head coach Bob Heffner, led the Patriot League in sacks allowed with just 11 in the 2001 season. The Leopards also led the conference in passing yardage with an average of 265.1 yards per game.

The Leopards allowed three sacks vs. Monmouth, but did throw for nearly 300 yards in their season-opening victory.

Leopards Dominate the TV Airwaves ... Again!
The 2002 Lafayette College football season will see a record nine contests hit the television air waves via the Lafayette Sports Network to the entire Lehigh Valley and beyond. The Lafayette Sports Network, the most expansive television package in the Patriot League five years running, can be seen by more than 9.1 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 sixth season. In his fifth full season of football broadcasts is John Leone, Lafayette's Director of Alumni Affairs, who provides color analysis. In his second season of handling sideline reports on the Leopards is Dan Mowdy.

Another Rookie Of The Year Award?
Lafayette freshman TB Joe McCourt (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) became the eighth Lafayette football player to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors in 2001, joining Tom Costello (1988), Art Dennis (1990), Erik Marsh (1991), Shawn McHale (1994), Leonard Moore (1995), Kenya Allen (1998), and teammate Marko Glavic (2000).

McCourt finished fifth in the league in rushing with an average of 73.1 yards per game in 2001, earning three rookie of the week accolades from the conference for his 160-yard rushing performance vs. Colgate, his three-touchdown effort at Holy Cross and his career-high 184 rushing yards at Georgetown. McCourt has started the last nine games for Lafayette and led the Leopards in rushing with an average of 5.0 yards per carry, totaling 731 yards and six touchdowns on 146 carries. Also a solid threat as a receiver and on special teams, he caught 22 passes for 167 yards and returned 19 kickoffs for 325 yards.

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 364 Lafayette football games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field. The Leopards are 217-134-13 (.632) overall at Fisher Field.

Weekly Radio Shows
Lafayette Sports Weekly, a comprehensive half-hour radio show, airs 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.

Lafayette Sports Night, a weekly one-hour radio show, airs each Tuesday from late August through May on The Sports Monster 1230 AM, the Lehigh Valley's ESPN Radio affiliate, and online at www.lafayette.edu. Sports Director Tom Fallon hosts a broad-based show from 5-6 p.m. and head football coach Frank Tavani is a regular guest during the season.

Local Flavor - 10 Lehigh Valley Leopards
The 2002 Lafayette College football team boasts 10 members from the Lehigh Valley. Consistently a prominent recruiter of top talent in the Lehigh Valley, Lafayette brought in two local freshmen this past recruiting year. The Lehigh Valley Leopards:
90 Tauren Barker (Fr./DL/Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall)
5 Vince Boyer (Sr./SE/Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area)
98 Pat Brown (Jr./DL/Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic)
7 Joel Cesare (Jr./WR/Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall)
46 Greg Gibbs (So./DL/Allentown, Pa./Salisbury)
34 Bill Stocker (Sr./DB/Easton, Pa./Wilson)
78 Robert Stroble (Fr./OL/Easton, Pa./Easton)
18 John-Frank Stubits (So./LB/Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth)
29 Dave Walters (So./TB/Easton, Pa./Freedom/Wyoming Seminary)
62 Curt Wilson (Jr./OL/Northampton, Pa./Northampton)

All-Time Record
The Leopards are in their 121st football season, having played 1,139 games. Lafayette boasts an impressive all-time record of 593-507-39 (.555) 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 578.

In Overtime Games ...
Lafayette has now played five overtime games and is 1-4 in those contests. After winning the first overtime affair in 1995 over Fordham (24-21 on 11/11/95), the Leopards have lost their last four OT games.

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.

Lafayette's Football Inventors
Two primary elements of the game of football -- the helmet and the huddle -- were invented by former members of the Lafayette football program. George "The Rose" Barclay from the class of 1898, one of Lafayette's all-time great running backs, invented the helmet when the "threat of cultivating cauliflower ears" led him to piece three thick leather straps around his head for the 1896 game against Penn. Former Lafayette coach Herb McCracken (1924-35; 59-40-6) devised the first huddle system during the 1924 season after learning the Pennsylvania football team had stolen Lafayette's signals. Lafayette became the first team to huddle before each play and this system was immediately adopted by other teams.