Aug. 31, 2004

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette raises the curtain on the 2004 season at home against Marist, the fourth time in five seasons that the Leopards have opened the season at Fisher Field. This is also the second straight year the Leopards and Red Foxes have met at Fisher Field on the Saturday before Labor Day. SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS: A win over Marist would give Lafayette its longest win streak in season-openers in over a decade. The Leopards have won two straight openers, 49-0 over Marist in 2003 and 30-29 over Monmouth in 2002. Lafayette started 1-0 every season from 1985-1993. The Leopards are 78-41-3 (.652) all-time in season-openers, including 34-12 (.739) in season-openers played at home. Additionally, Lafayette is 85-34-3 (.709) all-time in home openers. EARLY START: Lafayette's Sept. 4 opener is the earliest calendar date for a season-opening game in program history. The Leopards have twice opened on Sept. 6 and are 1-1 on that date, including last season's 49-0 win over Marist. THE SERIES: Lafayette and Marist meet for just the third time today, with the Leopards having claimed wins in both of the first two get-togethers. Last season's win was the 600th in the storied history of Lafayette football. The teams first played in 1999, with Lafayette winning 38-13 at Fisher Field. the head coaches: Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is in his fifth season at the helm of the Lafayette football program. He is the 27th head coach in the program's 123-year history. Tavani enters this weekend's contest with a career record of 16-28. Jim Parady has posted nine winning seasons in his 11 years as head coach at Marist. He enters his 12th campaign with a career-record of 64-46-1, including 0-2 in two trips to Lafayette. THE CAPTAINS: Senior linebacker Wes Erbe and senior offensive guard Stephen Bono were elected co-captains by their teammates during spring practice. Both are entering their fourth seasons as starters at their respective positions. Erbe, who also served as a co-captain in 2003, is just the fourth player in Lafayette history to be named a captain in two different seasons. The last was Ryan Priest in 1985-86. FAMILIAR FACES: This weekend marks the 13th time Lafayette has opened at home against the same opponent in at least two consecutive seasons. Kutztown was the last opponent to visit Fisher Field in consecutive openers, making the trip to Easton each year from 1986-1990. In the 12 previous occasions, Lafayette is 31-3-1 overall.

Years   Opponent    Results1899-1901   Ursinus 34-0 W; 34-0 W; 40-0 W1902-03 Gallaudet   23-0 W; 36-0 W1904-09 Wyoming Seminary    35-0 W; 23-0 W; 34-0 W; 22-0 W; 10-0 W; 23-0 W1910-11 Bloomsburg  31-0 W; 53-0 W1912-13 Muhlenberg  20-3 W; 7-7 T1919-21 Muhlenberg  13-0 W; 20-0 W; 48-0 W1923-26 Muhlenberg  20-0 W; 13-0 W; 20-14 W; 35-0 W1933-34 Muhlenberg  20-0 W; 19-0 W1939-40 Ursinus 33-0 W; 20-0 W1946-47 Muhlenberg  32-20 L; 38-0 L1980-81 Central Conn. St.   14-3 L; 51-0 W1986-90 Kutztown    17-6 W; 29-17 W; 54-7 W; 44-14 W; 32-16 W

RCN YOUTH DAY: Today is RCN Youth Day at Fisher Field. Lafayette's Sports Marketing Club joins RCN in hosting the event. In addition to free admission to today's game, all youth can take part in activities starting at 11:30 a.m. that will include a moon bounce, super slide, speed pitch, climbing wall, temporary tattoos, and special guest appearances. THE FRIENDLY CONFINES OF Fisher Field: Lafayette will make just four appearances at Fisher Field in 2004, only the second time since the Leopards adopted a 10-game schedule in 1968 that Fisher Field has hosted fewer than five contests. Since 1926, the Leopards have played their home games at Fisher Field. The venue is in its 79th season, having played host to 377 games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field and has a 225-139-13 (.614) overall record. McCOURT'S MILESTONES: It goes without saying that senior tailback Joe McCourt will be the focal point of the Leopards' offense this season. Coming off his second-straight 1,000-yard rushing season, McCourt enters his final year with 3,281 rushing yards, third all-time at Lafayette and seventh all-time in the Patriot League. McCourt must average 142 yards per game this sesaon to catch Marsh. He is second in career rushing touchdowns with 34, just one behind Erik Marsh '95 for the school record. After hauling in a team-high 52 passes in 2003, McCourt sits sixth in career receptions with 114. Finally, McCourt has accounted for 224 career points (37 touchdowns, 1 two-point conversion), leaving him 31 points behind kicker Jason McLaughlin '95 for the school scoring record. Righting the Ship: After back-to-back two-win seasons in 2000 and 2001, Lafayette has won 12 games over the past two years, the most for the program since the 1992-93 campaigns, which saw the Leopards win 13 contests and a Patriot League championship in 1992. Lafayette's seven Patriot League wins over the past two years are the most in a two-year span since 1994-95. THE IRON CURTAIN: Lafayette returns its entire linebacking corps from 2003 in senior Wes Erbe and juniors Maurice Bennett and Blake Costanzo. The trio started all 11 games together a year ago, accounting for 306 tackles between them. Bennett led the team and ranked second in the Patriot League with 108 total tackles, while Erbe was fourth in the league with 104 stops. Erbe also forced five fumbles, tied for second-most nationally. Costanzo was tied for seventh in the Patriot League in total tackles, collecting 94. The group accounted for 12 sackes and 24 tackles for loss. NOW UNDER CENTER...: At the end of preseason camp, head coach Frank Tavani named sophomore Brad Maurer as the starting quarterback for the season-opener against Marist. Maurer will be the first Leopard other than Marko Glavic to start a game under center since Chad Ritchie took the opening snap against Harvard on Sept. 30, 2000. Maurer, the Ohio High School Division II Offensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2002, had been battling junior Pat Davis since spring practice for the job. Both Maurer and Davis, a two-year letterman as the Leopards' long-snapper, are expected to see significant playing time early in the season. ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT SELECTIONS: Lafayette has remained a mainstay on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, with the school being represented by 19 student-athletes during Frank Tavani's first four seasons as head coach. In 2003, offensive linemen Stephen Bono and Curt Wilson were selected to the Academic All-District II Team. Bono, a civil engineering major, was named to first team for the second straight season. Wilson, who received his degree in mechanical engineering last spring, was a three-time Academic All-District II selection, earning first-team accolades as a senior and second-team honors as a sophomore and junior in 2001 and 2002, respectively. HANGIN' A HUNDRED ON 'EM: Senior tailback Joe McCourt has turned in 16, 100-yard rushing games in his career, including a pair of 200-yard performances. He eclipsed the century mark twice as a freshman, eight times as a sophomore and six times as a junior. Lafayette is 9-7 over the past three seasons when McCourt rushes for at least 100 yards. MORE McCOURT: Joe McCourt is the lone All-Patriot League honoree returning for the Leopards this season. The 2001 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, McCourt garnered All-Patriot League Second-Team honors in 2003. LAFAYETTE vs. the MAAC: Lafayette has played just five games against the five current football-playing members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, sporting a 2-3 record in those contests. Duquesne 0-3 La Salle 0-0 St. Peter's 0-0 Iona 0-0 Marist 2-0 ROAD WARRIORS: Lafayette's seven-game road schedule, after having having seven at home in 2003, has been the subject of much discussion during the offseason. Towson, which would have served as a home contest in 2004, departed the Patriot League at the conclusion of the 2003 season. The Leopards agreed to a home-and-home deal with Richmond, with the Spiders tentatively slated to visit Easton on Sept. 10, 2005. HOMETOWN HEROES: The 2004 Lafayette roster features five players from the Lehigh Valley: - 90 Tauren Barker (Jr. / DL / Whitehall, Pa. / Whitehall) - 14 Michael Bernhard (Fr. / QB/Allentown, Pa. / William Allen) - 5 Matt Potter (So. / DB / Bethlehem, Pa. / Nazareth) - 78 Robert Stroble (Jr. / OL / Easton, Pa. / Easton Area) - 18 John-Frank Stubits (Sr. / TE / Nazareth, Pa. / Nazareth) LOCAL CONNECTON: One Leopard will be playing an opponent from his hometown's backyard this weekend. Junior defensive back Jeff Sejour, who also competes in Lafayette's track and field program, hails from Spring Valley, N.Y. Sejour joined the football program as a walk-on during spring practice. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League: The Leopards have played 314 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 154-144-16 (.516) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, the Leopards are 49-47-1 (.516) 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: 11-7-0 Colgate: 9-34-4 Georgetown: 4-3-0 Lehigh: 72-62-5 AND WE GO TO...OVERTIME: 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). NCAA DIVISION I-AA LEADERS: In 2003, Lafayette achieved national rankings in several key statistical categories. Linebacker Wes Erbe ranked fifth in the nation in forced fumbles per game with .45 while forcing five fumbles, tied for the second-most nationally. The Leopards among the top-50 NCAA Division I-AA leaders in 2003: Individual Forced Fumbles - Wes Erbe (.45 avg.) - 5th Passing - Mark Glavic (20.82 cpg) - 9th Kickoff Returns - Larry Johnson (27.52 avg.) - 9th Scoring - Joe McCourt (9.45 avg.) - 10th Points Responsible For - Marko Glavic (14.18 ppg) - 15th Joe McCourt (10.00 ppg) - 49th Total Offense - Marko Glavic (256.3 avg.) - 19th All-purpose Yards - Joe McCourt (145.55 avg.) - 23rd Rushing - Joe McCourt (105.18 avg.) - 25th Passing Efficiency - Marko Glavic (127.0 rating) - 44th Team Fumbles Lost - 8th (7 lost) Passing Offense - 17th (254.1 ypg.) Total Offense - 27th (404.91 ypg.) Kickoff Returns - 32nd (21.19 avg.) Fumbles Recovered - 33rd (15 rec.) Turnovers Lost -38th (23 lost) Passing Efficiency - 42nd (129.32 avg.) Scoring Offense - 44th (28.64 ppg.) Scoring Defense - 44th (22.6 ppg.) INJURY UPDATE: The current listing of Lafayette football injuries (8/31): - Tauren Barker (Jr., DL) - Out indefinitely, illness - Brian Carstens (Sr., DL) - Out, ankle - Brandon Carter (So., TB) - Possible, neck - Wes Erbe (Sr., LB) - Possible, ankle - Anthony Jones (Sr., TE) - Out, foot - Quindel Ladson (Fr., LB) - Out, knee - Josh Lupini (Fr., OL) - Out, knee - Trey Martell (So., DB) - Probable, hamstring - Ryan Nase (So., OL) - Out, knee - Gus Ottoson (Jr., DL) - Out for season, back - Mike Saint Germain (So., OL) - Probable, hamstring - Nick Snyder (Jr., DL) - Out for season, knee - James Sommers (Sr., WR) - Out, wrist - Bob Szuhany (Jr., OL) - Possible, hamstring - Paul Ziska (Sr., DL) - Out for season, back Lafayette Leads Nation In Televised Games In Division I-AA: The Lafayette football program leads the nation among Division I-AA teams in 2004 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 fifth 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 2004 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). Empire Sports Network will broadcast seven games live in 2004 - six of the seven road games and the 140th meeting of Lafayette-Lehigh. The one road contest that will not be live, Oct. 9 at Columbia, will be shown that same day in tape-delay. Empire will also broadcast the Leopards' first three home contests in tape-delay the Tuesday following the game at 7 p.m. Local television sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the eighth straight season. John Leone, Lafayette's Director of Alumni Affairs, will provide color analysis for the seventh straight season. Reporting from the Leopards' sidelines will be Dan Mowdy for the fourth season. 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 "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.