Aug. 10, 2004

EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - The 2004 Lafayette football season officially got underway on Tuesday, with 96 players, including 25 freshmen, reporting to campus for preseason drills. "We're excited about the players returning and the opening of practice tomorrow," said fifth-year head coach Frank Tavani. "I'm very enthusiastic about our senior leadership. I think, as a whole, we have great leadership in the senior class that is going to help guide us through the season, and we get to see that leadership displayed on the field tomorrow." The freshmen reported Tuesday morning and underwent physicals and weight room testing. Returning players reported throughout the afternoon, with the first full team meeting scheduled for Tuesday night. Weight room testing and positional meetings are scheduled for Wednesday morning, with the first official practice slated for 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The Leopards will practice in helmets only the first two days, with a series of gassers built into Wednesday's practice to test the team's conditioning level. Team and positional meetings will be held Wednesday night, with the same meeting and practice schedule to be followed through Sunday. The Leopards return 34 lettermen from last season's 5-6 squad, including senior tailback Joe McCourt and the linebacking corps of senior Wes Erbe and juniors Maurice Bennett and Blake Costanzo. Erbe and senior offensive guard Stephen Bono were elected co-captains by their teammates during spring practice. The offense, however, must deal with the loss of quarterback Marko Glavic and four of the top five receivers from last season. 2004 LAFAYETTE FOOTBALL OUTLOOK On the surface, 2004 has all the makings of a rebuilding year for the Lafayette football program. Graduation Day last spring found an outstanding nucleus of football talent sporting caps and gowns and, following last season's seven-game home slate, the Leopards will play just four of their 11 contests in 2004 at Fisher Field. A deeper analysis of the 2004 squad provides a more promising outlook. Joe McCourt returns to the backfield eyeing a third-straight 1,000-yard rushing season, and he will be running behind a line that contains a pair of wily veterans in Joe Ungrady and Stephen Bono and several underclassmen that were thrown into the fire in 2003. An outstanding linebacking corps of Wes Erbe, Maurice Bennett and Blake Costanzo are back to anchor the defense, while a young but athletic secondary brings plenty of big-play potential. Lafayette's special teams units will again be solid, with steady Mike Davis entering his third season as the Leopards' punter and placekicker Rick Ziska back to form following an injury-shortened freshman campaign. Larry Johnson and Brandon Stanford are proven threats as kickoff and punt returners. Combined with 25 incoming freshmen expected to report for preseason camp, fifth-year head coach Frank Tavani and his staff have plenty of reason for optimism entering 2004. The program has adopted "Pride, Purpose, Passion" as its theme for the 2004 season. For the Leopards, the slogan represents the necessary ingredients for a successful campaign. Adopted during spring practice, the slogan has been present at every off-season workout as the team prepares for the upcoming season. Tavani is stressing the importance of approaching each game on the 2004 schedule as a separate goal and accomplishing one goal at a time, with the "Pride, Purpose, Passion" moniker serving as the primary motivator for each of the 11 goals. ON OFFENSE Given the graduation of starters at every other skill position, there is no secret that the Leopard offense in 2004 will run through senior tailback Joe McCourt. McCourt led the team in rushing for the third consecutive season in 2003, piling up 1,157 yards and 15 touchdowns to move into third place on Lafayette's all-time rushing list. He enters his senior campaign less than 200 yards from second place and 1,553 yards behind Erik Marsh '94, who holds both Lafayette and Patriot League all-time records for career rushing yards. As if carrying the ball 245 times wasn't enough, McCourt also led the Leopards in receptions in 2003, catching 52 balls for 444 yards and two scores. Twice last season he caught at least 10 passes in a game: 11 for 74 yards at No. 22 Harvard and 10 for 78 yards in the season finale at Lehigh. McCourt will run behind an offensive line that returns a pair of three-year starters, as well as four other players who saw significant action in 2003. The biggest loss up front is four-year starter and three-year All-Patriot League honoree Kevin Moss.

Stephen Bono, a four-year starter at right guard, will share the captain's duties with Wes Erbe.

Seniors Joe Ungrady (tackle) and Stephen Bono (guard) return to anchor the right side of the offensive line. Ungrady and Bono have been mainstays on the offensive front since their freshman seasons and have missed only one start between them the past two years. Junior Robert Stroble is expected to earn the nod at center. Stroble appeared in seven games last season, starting four of the last five games when Curt Wilson went down with an injury. Senior Drew Buettner (tackle) and junior Bob Szuhany (guard) are penciled in on the left side of the line, with 2003 starter Mike Lewandos also figuring to be in the mix. Junior David Nelson will also help clear holes from the fullback spot. Nelson carried the ball 13 times and caught three passes in 2003, including a two-yard scoring toss in the win over Bucknell. Senior Brendon Green will also see action at fullback. The tight end position is up for grabs following the graduation of four-year letterman Tim Walsh. Junior Chad Walker, who caught a pair of touchdown passes in 2003, is the front-runner, while former linebacker John-Frank Stubits will also be taking snaps from the tight end spot during the spring. Without a doubt the most intriguing position battle is at quarterback. Four-year starter Marko Glavic is gone, and with him so is nearly every school passing record. A pair of returners - junior Pat Davis and sophomore Brad Maurer - seem to be the leading candidates to fill the void, while incoming freshmen Michael Bernhard and Michael DiPaola will be looking to catch the coaching staff's eye during preseason drills. Davis has served as the Leopards' long-snapper the past two seasons and completed his only career pass attempt last season for six yards. Maurer, who honed his skills on the junior varsity squad in 2003, was the Ohio High School Division III Player of the Year as a senior in 2002. Bernhard and DiPaola both bring impressive credentials to College Hill. Bernhard threw for 5,200 yards and 46 touchdowns during his career at William Allen High School, while DiPaola rolled up 3,200 career yards and was a three-year letterman in football basketball and baseball at Bergenfield (N.J.) High School. Another question mark surrounding the offense is to whom the new quarterback will throw the ball. After McCourt, Lafayette's next four leading receivers have all graduated, including Walsh and the school's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, John Weyrauch. Archie Fisher and Brandon Stanford expect to step into the starting lineup, but the coaching staff will be seeking depth behind the pair of juniors. Fisher hauled in three touchdown passes in 2003, including two in a second-half comeback attempt against No. 12 Colgate. Stanford snagged 17 passes for 245 yards a year ago, including career highs of seven receptions for 93 yards against No. 24 Fordham. Among the candidates to work into the rotation behind Fisher and Stanford are senior James Sommers, junior Justin Lauver, sophomore Joe Ort and a quartet of talented freshmen. ON DEFENSE Just as McCourt will be the workhorse on offense, Lafayette's linebacking corps will be the heart-and-soul of the defense. Senior Wes Erbe (104 tackles) and juniors Maurice Bennett (108) and Blake Costanzo (94) combined to make 306 stops in 2003. Bennett and Erbe ranked second and fourth, respectively, in total tackles in the Patriot League last season. The trio started all 11 games together in 2003 and will be relied upon heavily to support a defensive front that graduated tackles Adam Allen and Pat Brown and end Casey McKeen.

Maurice Bennett returns after collecting a team-high 108 tackles as a sophomore in 2003.

Sophomore Marvin Snipes and junior Stephen McFarlane are penciled in as the starting ends. Snipes was named the team's Rookie of the Year by the coaching staff after appearing in nine games, starting three, in 2003. He collected 13 tackles, including a pair of sacks, broke up two passes and forced a pair of fumbles. McFarlane finished the season strong, earning his first career start at Holy Cross. Junior Chris Brungo has made the move from end to tackle and is expected to be joined by sophomore Dan Liseno on the interior of the defensive front. Brungo was in on 16 tackles, including two sacks, in 2003, while Liseno appeared in eight games, starting one, and tallied 13 tackles. The secondary contains three familiar faces, with two playing a new position. Juniors Alfred Belton, a starter in eight games at strong safety, and Larry Johnson, a starter in all 11 on the corner, have swapped spots. Johnson made 52 tackles, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass in 2003, while Belton was in on 24 stops. Sophomore Torian Johnson returns to the free safety position where he started the final five games as a freshman. He made 30 tackles and recovered a fumble at Holy Cross. Junior Tye Murphy, who earned his first varsity letter in 2003, is penciled in as the probable starter at the other corner. ON SPECIAL TEAMS Senior Mike Davis returns for his third season as the Leopards' punter. Davis averaged 37.1 yards on 40 kicks in 2003, dropping 10 inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

Larry Johnson is back as the Leopards' primary return man. He set a Lafayette record, averaging 27.5 yards on 21 kickoff returns in 2003.

Sophomore Rick Ziska will likely handle the place kicking duties. After connecting on all five of his point-after attempts in the season-opener against Marist, Ziska suffered a leg injury that sidelined him for the majority of the season. Stanford and Larry Johnson will again be the Leopards' top two return men. Johnson led the Patriot League, ranking ninth nationally, and set a new Lafayette record for kickoff return average in 2003, averaging 27.5 yards on 21 returns a year ago. He ripped off returns of 57 yards against Princeton and a career-long 62 yards at Holy Cross. Stanford handled 25 punts in 2003, averaging 7.0 yards per return, and averaged 14.2 yards on five kickoff returns. THE SCHEDULE For only the second time since Lafayette went to a 10-game schedule in 1968, the Leopards will make only four appearances at Fisher Field. Marist serves as the season-opener at home for the second straight year on Sept. 4. The Leopards then embark on a challenging stretch that sees them play seven road games in nine weeks. Lafayette opens Patriot League play at Georgetown on Sept. 11, then visits Princeton and Richmond for non-league contests the next two weekends. A Homecoming date with Harvard is set for Oct. 2, followed by four more road games: at Columbia and league games at Bucknell, Fordham and Colgate. A bye week gives the Leopards a respite prior to the trip to 2003 national runner-up Colgate. Lafayette closes with a pair of home games at Fisher Field. Holy Cross makes the trip to Easton on Nov. 13, while the 140th edition of the Lafayette - Lehigh rivalry will kickoff at 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 20.