Nov. 11, 2003

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The Story Line: With a winning season still sitting out on the horizon as an achievable goal, the Leopards (4-5, 1-4) make their second trip of the season to Massachusetts. Lafayette is coming off a 35-17 win over a third-place Bucknell squad on Senior Day at Fisher Field. The win snapped a three-game losing streak with all three wins coming against nationally-ranked opponents. Lafayette looks for its second straight Patriot League win, facing Holy Cross (1-9, 1-4). Holy Cross goes into Saturday's game coming off a 49-28 loss to Fordham. Ari Confessor continued to rack up yardage and touchdowns, reeling in six catches for 115 yards and two receiving touchdowns while also running for another TD.

GLAVIC BREAKING MORE RECORDS: Having broken nearly all of Lafayette's single-season and career passing records, senior QB Marko Glavic is taking on the Patriot League record book. His 206 total yards made him the Patriot League's all-time leader in total yards, surpassing Colgate's Ryan Vena '00 who had 9,435 total yards. Glavic currently has 9,357 passing yards and 226 yards rushing for 9,583 yards of total offense. Additionally, Glavic needs 313 yards passing over his final two games to become the league's all-time leading passer, a mark he already holds at Lafayette.

CAREER DAY FOR MCCOURT: Junior tailback Joe McCourt turned in a dominating performance on the ground against Bucknell. McCourt ran for a career-high 209 yards on 34 carries and crossed into the end zone for a personal-best four touchdowns. The 209-yard performance topped his previous best of 203 yards set against Holy Cross on Nov. 16. McCourt also made three catches for 25 yards against Bucknell and continues to lead the team in receptions with 39.

THE SERIES (18th Meeting): Lafayette and Holy Cross meet for the 18st time on Saturday, with the first encounter dating back just 17 years to the 1986 season. Last year's contest in Easton ended in a 42-14 Lafayette win. The two teams have split the last four meetings, with the Leopards going 2-1 in the Frank Tavani era. (See p. 3 for a game recap and statistics from the most recent meeting and p. 100 for all meetings.)

The Head Coaches: Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is now in his fourth season at the head of the Lafayette program and he holds a career record of 15-27. In 2002, Tavani led Lafayette to a 7-5 campaign and the second best turnaround in the nation following a 2-8 record in 2001. Tavani took over the Leopard coaching reins on Dec. 11, 1999 when he was named the 27th head coach in the proud history of the Lafayette football program. Dan Allen (Hanover '78) is in his eighth season as Holy Cross' head coach and 14th as a collegiate head coach. He is 26-61 during his time with the Crusaders and 61-95 in his career. FOR A LOSS: Senior DE Casey McKeen leads the conference in tackles for loss. He has stopped opposing running backs 11 times for an average of 1.50 per game.

Glavic RE-WRITING THE RECORD BOOKS: In 41 career games, senior QB Marko Glavic has become Lafayette's all-time leading passer. The Pickering, Ontario native has thrown for 9,357 yards while completing 56.1 percent (775-1381) of his passes. Glavic has tossed 60 career touchdowns, three short of eclipsing Frank Baur's school record.

HAVING A SEASON...OR THREE: With his 392-yard passing game against Fordham, senior QB Marko Glavic became just the third Lafayette quarterback to throw for 2000+ yards in three straight seasons, joining Frank Baur '90 and Tom Kirchoff '93.

Lafayette vs. The Patriot League: The Leopards have played 320 games all-time against the seven fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 156-148-16 (.513) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, the Leopards are 48-46-1 (.511) vs. member schools and have won league titles in 1988, 1992, and 1994. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:

Bucknell: 43-32-6 Fordham: 15-6-1 Holy Cross: 10-7-0 Towson: 3-5-0 Colgate: 9-34-4 Georgetown: 4-3-0 Lehigh: 72-61-5

THREE IN TOP FIVE: Lafayette has three players among the top five in the Patriot League in tackles. Maurice Bennett leads the team and is third in the Patriot League with 10.0 tackles per game followed by Blake Costanzo in fourth with 9.9 tackles per game and Wes Erbe in fifth with 9.5 tackles per game.

EXPECTORANT EXPECTATIONS: Like a human expectorant, Wes Erbe has forced Lafayette opponents to cough up the ball five times this season for an average 0.55 forced fumbles per game, a mark that ranks him second in the nation.

WIN NUMBER 600: Lafayette's season-opening win over Marist was the program's 600th win in the school's 123 seasons. Lafayette's all-time record stands at 603-517-39. Lafayette is just the second Patriot League school to reach 600 wins (joining Fordham) and the 32nd in the NCAA I-A and I-AA ranks.

INJURY UPDATE: The current listing of Lafayette football injuries (11/7): - Adam Allen (Sr., DL) - Probable, ankle - Shane Davenport (So., FB) - Out, back - Romar Drake (So., WR) - Out, knee - Brendon Green (Jr., FB) - Doubtful, shoulder - Joe Markham (Fr., WR) - Doubtful, elbow - Kevin Moss (Sr., OL) -- Out, Illness - John-Frank Stubits (Jr., LB) - Probable, shoulder - Chad Walker (So., TE) - Out indefinitely; knee - Curt Wilson (Sr. C) - Out indefinitely; knee

RUSHING TOWARD THE TOP: Junior TB Joe McCourt's powerful legs keep churning out rushing yards. With 209 yards against Bucknell, McCourt became just the third Lafayette running back ever to gain over 3,00 yards. He moved into third spot on the all-time rushing chart formerly occupied by Ryan Priest '86. McCourt needs 356 yards to ascend to the second spot held by Leonard Moore '99 who has 3,419 career rushing yards.

THE ATTACK OF THE CENTURY: Lafayette junior tailback Joe McCourt and senior wide receiver John Weyrauch have both made a habit of breaking the 100-yard mark in receiving yards and rushing yards, respectively. McCourt has hit the century mark in rushing yardage 15 times in his career, including twice as a freshman, eight times as a sophomore and five times this season with 122 yards at Towson, 108 vs. Princeton, 103 at Harvard, 123 vs. Fordham and 209 vs. Bucknell. McCourt recorded his first career 200-yard game in the Leopards' 42-13 win over Holy Cross in 2002, rushing for 203 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries. It was Lafayette's first 200-yard rushing performance since Erik Marsh '95 ran for 214 against Lehigh on Nov. 19, 1994. He has since rushed for 209 yards vs. Bucknell on Nov. 8, 2003. Weyrauch has had at least 100 receiving yards 11 times in his career, and eclipsed the mark again with seven catches for 130 yards in the Leopards win over Columbia (Oct. 11).

GLAVIC NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK (10/13): Marko Glavic was selected as The Sports Network's I-AA Offensive Player of the Week following a 41-27 win over Columbia on Oct. 11. Glavic was involved in six touchdowns, throwing four, running for one and catching another. Glavic become just the fifth player in conference history to throw for more than 8,000 career yards and his 453 yards ranks him in the league's top 10 in single-game passing and total offense performances. Not surprisingly, Glavic was also selected as the Patriot League and ECAC Player of the Week.

ON THIS DATE: Lafayette has played 15 previous games on Nov. 15, holding a 6-9 record while being outscored 292-263. Lafayette has played Holy Cross once on Nov. 15, winning a 34-23 decision in 1997.

RECORD-BREAKING CONNECTION: Lafayette's 41-27 win over Columbia on Oct. 11 was a record-breaking one. QB Marko Glavic threw for a school-record 453 yards, breaking the previous single-game record by 53 yards. On the receiving end, Jeremy Burkes reeled in eight catches for a school-record 234 yards. Burkes caught three of Glavic's four touchdown passes.

Behind the Offense: Lafayette sports a potent offense guided by three key components: The Arm: Marko Glavic is in his fourth season as the starting quarterback. Glavic has led the Patriot League in passing yards each of his first three seasons and ranks second this season. In 2002, Glavic earned All-Patriot League Second-Team honors after completing 221 passes for a single-season record of 2,670 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Hands: John Weyrauch earned second-team All-League honors in 2002 after catching 63 passes for 910 yards and eight touchdowns. Like Glavic, Weyrauch is on pace to etch his name at the top of the career offensive lists at Lafayette. He needs 78 yards in receiving to become the school's all-time leading receiver. Weyrauch reeled in over 800 yards in his sophomore and junior seasons. The Legs: In two-plus seasons, Joe McCourt has established himself as one of the top rushers in Lafayette history. The junior ranks third all-time in career rushing yards with 3,064 yards. In 2002, he became the ninth Lafayette player to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season. This season he is averaging 104.4 yards per game.

The Captains: For the first time since 1993, Lafayette has four team captains: two on offense and two on defense. Senior quarterback Marko Glavic and senior wide receiver John Weyrauch represent the offense. On the other side of the ball, junior linebackers Wes Erbe and John-Frank Stubits fill the role of captains. All four captains were selected in a vote by their teammates during preseason camp.

NO. 3 LOOKING TO MOVE TO NO. 1: Senior wide receiver John Weyrauch continues to ascend the all-time receiving charts and he is nearing the top as his career winds down. Weyrauch has two games remaining to make eight catches for 78 to become the all-time leading receiver in terms of receptions, receiving yards. With 18 career touchdown receptions, Weyrauch needs two more to leave Lafayette as the career leader in that statistical category, looking to pass Phil Ng who has 19.

Air Canada: Marko Glavic's first three seasons at Lafayette have shown his ability to put up big numbers through the air. Glavic posted six 200-yard and three 300-yard passing performances in the Leopards' 2001 season and threw for more than 200 yards seven times in 2002. This season, Glavic has thrown for 200+ yards three times and has reached 300+ yards three times. Glavic now has 26 career 200+yard games in 38 career starts. He has recorded five 300-yard games in his career and he threw for a new career high vs. Columbia on Oct. 11, with 453 yards. That mark topped his previous best of 329 yards at Holy Cross in 2001.

NCAA Division I-AA Leaders (Through games of Nov. 1): INDIVIDUAL Forced fumbles - Wes Erbe (4 forced, 0.5 per game) - 2nd Points Responsible For - Marko Glavic (16.5 points per game) - 5th Passing - Marko Glavic (21.0 completions per game) - 9th Total Offense - Marko Glavic (266.5 yards per game) - 12th Solo Tackles - Blake Costanzo (6.0 per game) - 24th Tackles for loss - Casey McKeen (1.5 per game) - 29th Kickoff Returns - Larry Johnson (25.3 yards per return) - 31st All-Purpose Running - Joe McCourt (131.25 yards per game) - 32nd Passing Efficiency- Marko Glavic (130.3 rating) - 37th Rushing- Joe McCourt (91.4 yards per game) - 39th Scoring - Joe McCourt (7.0 points per game) - 46th TEAM Passing Offense - 13th (266.3 yards per game) Fumbles Lost - 13th (6) Total Offense - 30th (395.6 yards per game) Passing Efficiency -31st (133.74 rating) Scoring Offense - 39th (28.6 points per game) Turnovers Lost - 48th (18)

LOCAL TIES: Three Lafayette players, who hail from Central Pennsylvania, will be facing a hometown team this weekend: Mathew Jackson, Senior FB (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas) Justin Lauver, Sophomore TB (Winfield, Pa./Selinsgrove) Michael O'Connor, Senior QB (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg)

LEOPARD CUBS: Since taking over the Lafayette program, Frank Tavani has made recruiting his number one priority. The student-athletes he has brought to campus have shown an ability to contribute in their first two seasons because of their talent level rather than out of necessity. This season, 19 of the 44 spots on Lafayette's current offensive and defensive two-deep are occupied by freshmen or sophomores. Of those 19, six are penciled in to the starting lineup with five of them on defense.

Verizon Academic All-District Selections: Lafayette's football team has distinguished itself in the classroom in recent seasons. The Leopards have had 29 Verizon Academic All-District selections over the past seven seasons and 17 in three seasons under Frank Tavani. Lafayette, Princeton and Duquesne each had a total of five players on the first and second teams in 2002. Junior Steve Bono is the only returning Academic All-District II First Team selection, while seniors Curt Wilson and Mike O'Connor both return following Academic All-District Second Team honors.

All-League Returnees: Lafayette has three All-League players returning to the fold. Senior offensive tackle Kevin Moss was an All-Patriot League First Team performer in 2002 following a second-team nod in 2001. Senior quarterback Marko Glavic and junior tailback Joe McCourt both garnered All-Patriot League Second Team spots in 2002.

In the Air and On the Ground: In the combined careers of QB Marko Glavic and TB Joe McCourt , there have been eight contests in which Glavic has thrown for more than 200 yards and McCourt has rushed for more than 100 yards. The Leopards are 4-4 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; 10/12/02 at Columbia: 28-21 W; 10/19/02 vs. Georgetown: 35-17 W; 10/26/02 at Fordham: 33-26 L; 11/2/02 at Colgate: 31-24 L; 10/18/03 at Harvard 34-27 L).

A Summer Commitment: As a team, Lafayette had its strongest off-season ever, literally. Forty-eight members of the team remained in the Easton area to participate in summer weightlifting and stamina and agility training. More than 30 Leopards remained around campus during the 2001 off-season and 45 stayed in the Easton area in 2002.

Preseason All-America Honors For McCourt, Moss: Junior running back Joe McCourt and senior offensive tackle Kevin Moss have been selected as preseason All-Americans by I-AA.org. McCourt, selected to the second-team offense, enters the 2003 season as the eighth all-time leading rusher in Lafayette history. McCourt was also named second-team preseason All-America by Football Gazette. Moss, a third-team offensive selection, is a three-year starter at left tackle. He is a two-time All-Patriot League honoree and was a third-team All-America selection by Football Gazette last season.

At Home in Fisher Field: The 2003 Lafayette schedule features seven home games, the most for the program since the 1915 season. Since 1926, the Leopards have played their home games at Fisher Field. The venue is in its 77th season, having played host to 376 games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field and have a 224-139-13 (.615) overall record.

Lafayette Leads Nation In Televised Games In Division I-AA: The Lafayette football program will lead the nation among Division I-AA teams in 2003 with the most nationally-televised games as the Lafayette Sports Network will broadcast the Leopards' entire schedule on Empire Sports Network, DIRECTV and DISH Network. Regionally, the Lafayette Sports Network can be seen by more than 9.1 million viewers on RCN-TV 4 and WBPH-TV 60 in Eastern Pennsylvania - including all of Philadelphia - and Western New Jersey. The Lafayette Sports Network, which begins its fourth season of national telecasts via DIRECTV and DISH Network, has reached an agreement with Empire Sports Network to air all 11 Lafayette football games in 2003 to its potential audience of more than 17.5 million viewers in Upstate and Western New York as well as more than 40 million potential viewers on DIRECTV (channel 626) and at least 19.5 million possible viewers on DISH Network (channel 432). Each of Lafayette football's road contests - Sept. 13 at Towson, Oct. 18 at Harvard, Nov. 15 at Holy Cross and Nov. 22 at Lehigh - will be shown Saturdays on Empire Sports Network, DIRECTV and DISH Network, while 10 of the 11 games will be replayed in prime time at 7 p.m. each Tuesday following the game. Local television sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the seventh straight season. John Leone, Lafayette's Director of Alumni Affairs, will provide color analysis for the sixth straight season. Reporting from the Leopards' sidelines will be Dan Mowdy for the third season.

Preseason Picks: Lafayette was picked to finish fourth in the preseason Patriot League coaches' and sports information directors' poll. In 2002, Lafayette was tabbed to finish seventh and finished in third place.

The Geographic Breakdown: The Leopards' 2003 roster is one of the most geographically diverse in the history of Lafayette football. There are 12 different states represented and two student-athletes hail from Ontario, Canada. A total of 30 players are home-grown Pennsylvania products, while New Jersey is second on the list with 19 and Florida comes in with 13.

Leopards of the Lehigh Valley: The 2003 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 two local freshmen this past recruiting year. The Lehigh Valley Leopards:

In Overtime Games: Lafayette has 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 (11/18/95 at Lehigh - 37-30, 10/18/97 at Cornell - 41-34, 10/3/98 at Dartmouth - 13-10, 9/8/01 at Towson - 16-13).

Don't Change The Channel: Lafayette has had some nail biters in the past two seasons (2001, 2002), having 10 contests decided by 10 points or less since the start of the 2001 season. Unfortunately, the Leopards are 3-7 in those games, with the victories coming over Monmouth (30-29), at Columbia (28-21) and vs. Lehigh (14-7). Both of Lafayette's Patriot League losses in 2002 were by seven-point deficits.

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.