Nov. 22, 2004

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) -

Head coach Frank Tavani

First off, I want to thank everyone, especially our players and our staff. We have tremendous young men and you just couldn't imagine how much heart and chemistry they have, and I think that was the key to this whole season in a nutshell. Some people may think that we're just saying, hey this is great, but contrary to popular belief I wasn't lighting my hair on fire and I wasn't out all night on Saturday night. I did sleep for about four hours and then you realize there are a lot of decisions to be made and you keep moving on. I couldn't be prouder or happier for this to happen, because of a great staff and great young men who refused to lose and refused to listen to everybody else. I should thank the media, they just can't stop helping me but one of the articles on Saturday morning, we had copies on the tables for the kids at breakfast saying that we didn't have anybody besides McCourt. Just keep throwing gas on that fire and then bring those birds into the Leopards' den. Five years ago people questioned that we could compete with these people and should we even be in the Patriot League, and all of those questions. For all of those naysayers out there, I hope you enjoyed it.

on playing in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs:
We have a tremendous opportunity. For the first time in the history of our school, we go to the playoffs and play the defending national champion. We talked about it when we went through our normal Sunday routine and then went up to the gathering. There's nothing better than a short road trip, a great road trip, to a beautiful place to play against the defending national champion. How much better does it get? Last year I remember watching them play on national television in the semifinals at their place, against Wofford of all schools, and then watching the national title game. If somebody had told any of us now, then, that we would be playing against Delaware at Delaware the first round the following year? You would have had them committed. This is a dream come true, a dream come true.

on this year's Delaware team:
I've seen very little of them, but from what I've seen they're very fast. We were watching it and I said, is this on fast forward, and they said no, it's natural speed. Obviously you're talking about the premier program in I-AA and we're going down there to play them.

Somebody had us being able to finish second in the SEC by comparable scoring or something like that, with Richmond and N.C. State, but I think anybody's beatable in football. Again, right there it was on the screen yesterday. We're just these little squirrels trying to gather some nuts and they're saying well that's a blowout and they won't be able to keep up with them. That's the kind of stuff that's been happening all year long, and I hope they keep doing it since we thrive on that.

Junior linebacker Maurice Bennett on playing Delaware:
I had some dealings with some A-10 schools down there. I remember Delaware and Villanova alike both told me I couldn't play on this level, and boy were they wrong. We've got something to prove and I'm a member of this little family now, so the whole team's going down with something to prove and we feel like we're able to play with anybody in the country, especially the way our offense is playing with Brad Maurer running the ball. He's like a white Michael Vick out there. I know if I was playing middle linebacker against him I would not want to chase him around. With their team speed, they can have fun running into McCourt too. We're certainly not afraid of any Blue Hens or any Mountain Hawks or anything like that. We're just going to have fun.

Sophomore quarterback Brad Maurer on playing in the national playoffs:
To go to the playoffs in my first year as a starter is a dream-come-true situation. I'm not really concerned about who we're playing or where we're playing, but I'm just excited that we're still playing at this point of the season, in the postseason. The bottom line for me is that I want to keep this team together as long as possible.

Coach Tavani on Delaware's philosophy:
It's not the offense they ran before he was there, but it's more spread now and it's similar to a lot of the things that we do. Now this year, from some of the film we've seen, they go to a little more two-back especially in short yardage and at the goal line. They'll come at you both ways, running and throwing, so we have to defend it all.

Defensively we're familiar, since Dave Cohen was on Dave Clawson's staff at Fordham, and we've had a chance to see some of their packages. I don't think it's going to come down to secrets at this point in the season.

Bennett on the third-quarter fake punt:
The players bother Coach Hachmann every week to run that play. Every week we have some sort of fake in and it seems like we never run it. On Saturdays it's up to the coaches and against Lehigh we're not going to hold anything back. We had some success and the players weren't surprised, we like to take some chances.

Bennett on learning throughout the season:
You take a little from each game, whether it's a win or a loss. We've been in situations against Bucknell, Colgate and Richmond and against the Mountain Hawks. We know that if you come out, play hard, block and tackle that you'll be in the game.

Coach Tavani on his halftime rituals:
Halftime the week before was more interesting than on Saturday. Honestly I had so much confidence that we drove down there. There was a tipped ball and they made a play and that happens. I saw what I wanted to see in that drive. We were pounding their people and their guys kept getting off the ground slower and slower, and I knew we were getting the ball to start the second half and they would have to face us again. I felt that we were just starting to play with our confidence. I kid you not, we get in there and eat our Fig Newtons and pears and bananas and we're like new men. I have so much confidence that we're a good second half team and we would go out and get it done. You guys are laughing but we're in there eating them, including me.

Coach Tavani on playing over Thanksgiving weekend:
In this business, your family gets in the car and does what they normally do, and you stay behind and do what you have to do. That was one of the things I thought of Saturday night through Sunday morning, and I talked with some people about it. Some coaches send their kids home for the day and then get them back on Friday. We talked with some of the seniors, and they'd rather stay. Joel Miner said what better family is there to have Thanksgiving dinner with than this family. Classes are over Tuesday so we'll have some extra film time. On the holiday we'll have a brunch, then watch the Easton-Phillipsburg game and enjoy two undefeated high school teams going at it at our place, and Bobby Stroble will hope that everybody's rooting for Easton. We'll practice in the afternoon, have Thanksgiving dinner here on Thursday night and then on Friday morning have brunch, get on the bus and get down there and practice and do our normal routine. We love it so much, we can't wait to get out there in those all-white uniforms. There won't be any uniform changes this week though.

Bennett: The entire team has been looking forward to not going home for Thanksgiving for some time now. Nobody would want to go home in this situation. We would much rather be here eating Farinon turkey than going home. Everybody wants to be here with this family and this is once-in-a-lifetime experience. You've only got four years of college and who knows if we'll be back in the playoffs next year.

Maurer: I could go home anytime but I can't go play at Delaware Stadium in the playoffs. This is a great opportunity, Thanksgiving comes every year but this might only come once.