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Nov. 8, 2005
THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette will hope history repeats itself this weekend in Worcester, Mass., as the Leopards enter Saturday's game at Holy Cross in a similar situation to the one that unfolded last season. They were 3-0 in the Patriot League before losing 22-19 to Colgate, which dampered championship hopes heading into their Nov. 13 match-up with the Crusaders. Lafayette took care of business with a 56-20 win, while Bucknell knocked off Colgate to set up a championship game with Lehigh the following week. This year, the Leopards are coming off an 18-15 setback to Colgate for their first loss in league action. Saturday's game will be produced by the Lafayette Sports Network and broadcast live nationally on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCENARIOS: Lafayette, Lehigh and Colgate all enter this weekend with 3-1 records in the Patriot League. Lehigh controls its own destiny towards an automatic playoff berth by virtue of its 50-34 win at Colgate -- wins in the final two games of the year, vs. Fordham and Lafayette, would give the Mountain Hawks the championship. Colgate would claim the automatic bid with a Lehigh loss and wins over Bucknell and Georgetown, while the Leopards must win their last two games and watch the scoreboard for a victory by either the Bison or the Hoyas over Colgate.
THE SERIES: Lafayette and Holy Cross will meet for the 20th time in a series that dates to the first year of Colonial League play. The Leopards were the first team to defeat the Crusaders in league play, earning a 28-20 win in 1988 on their way to a 5-0 record and the Colonial League championship. Lafayette owned a seven-year stretch in the mid-90s, and has won the last three meetings by an average score of 46.3-15.3.
THE HEAD COACHES: Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is in his sixth season at the helm of the Lafayette football program. He is the 27th head coach in the program's 124-year history. Tavani enters this weekend's contest with a career record of 30-35, and is 26-18 since 2002.
Tom Gilmore (Penn '86) is 8-12 in his second season at Holy Cross. The former defensive coordinator at Lehigh, Gilmore is in his first career head coaching stop.
CAREER NUMBERS: Junior quarterback Brad Maurer set career-highs with 272 yards and 35 attempts last Saturday against Colgate, and equaled his career-best with 19 completions that he set vs. Delaware in the I-AA playoffs last season. He set his previous career-high with 222 yards in the Leopards' 27-10 win over Fordham in week four. Maurer also moved into the top 10 on Lafayette's career passing yardage chart, supplanting George Hossenlopp '65. Maurer currently has 2,633 yards in his career, and will move into seventh place with 150 yards passing this weekend.
PROTECTING THE FOOTBALL: Junior Brad Maurer has thrown just six interceptions in his last 319 attempts dating to Lafayette's fifth game of the season, vs. Harvard, in 2004. Maurer has two stretches of 93 passes without an interception in his career. The latest streak ended in the first quarter vs. Bucknell after he had completed his first seven passes of the game for 93 yards. Earlier this season, Maurer had thrown two picks in his last 178 attempts before having his final two passes intercepted against Princeton.
BENNETT ON "BUCHANAN BATTLE", DRADDY TROPHY LISTS: Senior linebacker Maurice Bennett has earned a number of accolades, including placement on the watch list for the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in I-AA football. The final update to the list will be made on Nov. 21. An Economics and Business major, Bennett was also a semi-finalist for the 2005 Draddy Trophy, known as the "Academic Heisman", which goes to a student-athlete for his combined academic success, football performance and community leadership.
BUCHANAN BATTLE UPDATE: Senior linebacker Maurice Bennett had 14 tackles, 3.0 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass break-up last week vs. Colgate as he continued his campaign for the Buchanan Award. He was recognized by the Patriot League, I-AA.org and the ECAC after recording a career-high 19 tackles (eight solo, 11 assists) and three sacks in Lafayette's 24-17 loss to Harvard on Oct. 15. Bennett has made at least 13 tackles in five games this season -- 13 against both Princeton and Fordham, 14 vs. Georgetown and Colgate, and 19 vs. Harvard. Bennett has 106 tackles (32 solo, 74 assists) to go with 13.0 tackles for a loss, 7.0 sacks, five pass break-ups and a forced fumble so far in 2005. He has 373 tackles, 32.0 TFL, 15.0 sacks and five forced fumbles in his career, and has started 33 of the 43 games in which he has played at Lafayette. Bennett has 23 career games with at least 10 stops, and the fifth-most total tackles in 2005 among the 16 players currently on the Buchanan watch list.
LOOK TO THE SKY: Lafayette averaged 120.7 yards passing and 234.3 yards rushing in league games game a year ago on its way to the Patriot League championship while relying on the legs of Offensive Player of the Year Joe McCourt and sophomore quarterback Brad Maurer. The Leopards have adjusted their attack this season, throwing for 261.5 yards per game through four league contests. Included in that total is a 358-yard outing against Bucknell two weeks ago, while Maurer threw for a career-high 272 yards last week vs. Colgate. Maurer set his previous career-best with 222 yards against Fordham, and threw for 194 yards at Georgetown the following week.
ALL STANFORD, ALL THE TIME: Brandon Stanford set a pair of career milestones last week vs. Colgate, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yardage and the 2,000-yard plateau in all-purpose yardage. The second-leading receiver in the Patriot League this year in both catches (43) and yardage (478), Stanford is averaging seven receptions for 87 yards in the last four games in which he has caught a pass (Lafayette threw for 56 yards on a rain-soaked afternoon against Columbia). Stanford has 94 career receptions for 1,022 yards and four scores, 70 yards and two touchdowns on eight rushing attempts, and 909 yards and a touchdown on 99 punt returns for a total of 2,001 all-purpose yards and seven scores on 201 touches.
RACK 'EM: Seniors Larry Johnson and Brandon Stanford rank second and fourth, respectively, on the NCAA Division I-AA active career leaderboards in kick return (Johnson) and punt return (Stanford) yardage. Johnson has 90 returns for 2,163 yards, and is ranked 14th in the nation with 26.1 yards per return this season. He holds four of the top 10 spots on Lafayette's single-season kick return yardage list. Stanford has returned 99 punts for 909 yards, and ranks 11th in the nation with an average of 14.6 yards per punt return in 2005. He holds Lafayette's single-season punt return yardage record with 29 returns for 438 yards. Both players have received Special Teams Player of the Week mention from the Patriot League this season -- Johnson returned five kicks for 144 yards, including a career-long of 72 yards, against Princeton, and Stanford had an 83-yard punt return for a score against Bucknell.
ORT COMES UP BIG: Senior Joe Ort caught the game-winning touchdown pass, a 40-yard toss from Brad Maurer, and finished with seven catches for 128 yards and two scores in Lafayette's 33-20 win over Bucknell. Ort had the Leopards' first 100-yard receiving day in two years with three catches for 117 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown, the previous time out against Harvard. The back-to-back 100-yard outings were the first for a Lafayette receiver since John Weyrauch strung together three games with at least 100 yards in 2002 (29 catches for 424 yards and four TDs). Archie Fisher was the last Leopard to catch a pair of touchdown passes in a game, hauling in scoring throws of 29 and 13 yards against Colgate in 2003. Ort is second on the team in both receptions and yards this season, with 24 catches for 415 yards, while appearing in seven games. He missed the Marist and Princeton games with a hamstring injury.
NCAA DIVISION I-AA LEADERS: The Leopards among the top-50 NCAA Division I-AA leaders in 2005:
Individual
Punt Returns - Brandon Stanford, 11th (14.60 ypr)
Kickoff Returns - Larry Johnson, 14th (26.11 ypr)
Team
Scoring Defense - 6th (14.44 ppg)
Punt Returns - 11th (14.60 ypr)
Total Defense - 12th (284.56 ypg)
Pass Efficiency Defense - 12th (102.13 rating)
Pass Defense - 15th (159.78 ypg)
Kickoff Returns - 24th (21.52 ypr)
Rushing Defense - 30th (124.78 ypg)
Passing Offense - 43rd (210.89 ypg)
NO SOUP FOR YOU: Lafayette's defense, ranked sixth nationally in scoring average at 14.4 ppg this season, has been remarkably stingy in the last two seasons. The Leopards haven't allowed more than 24 offensive points in a game in their last 16 outings (Delaware used a fumble return for a touchdown to score 28 points in the I-AA playoffs), and have given up an average of 16.4 points in their last 21 games.
THE LEOPARDS' LINEBACKERS: Seniors Maurice Bennett, Blake Costanzo and Dion Witherspoon are Lafayette's top three tacklers this season. Bennett, the middle linebacker, leads Lafayette with 106 tackles, 13.0 TFL and 7.0 sacks this season and is both an All-American and Buchanan Award candidate. Witherspoon is second with 84 stops and has 12.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including 4.0 sacks. Costanzo has filled the stat sheet, with 60 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Bennett was a first-team All-Patriot League selection and Costanzo was named to the second team a year ago. The trio recorded 265 total tackles a year ago despite Witherspoon making just five starts, as he was playing behind two-year co-captain Wes Erbe.
LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Leopards have played 324 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 162-146-16 (.526) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, the Leopards are 57-48-1 (.542) vs. member schools and have won league titles in 1988, 1992, 1994 and 2004.
GET WELL, GET WELL SOON, WE WANT YOU TO GET WELL (NOT YET, THOUGH): Of Lafayette's first 10 opponents, two opened their season with the Leopards, and seven more were coming off losses in their previous game. Only Georgetown, with a 10-7 win over Stony Brook, has entered its match-up with Lafayette coming off a victory. That trend continues this week as Holy Cross is coming off a bye week following a 24-20 loss at Fordham. Lafayette's opponents have combined for a 42-44 record this season -- 17-22 before playing the Leopards, 3-6 against the Leopards, and 23-16 after playing the 'Pards.
A WIN-WIN SITUATION: The 2005 Lafayette football schedule features the same 11 regular-season opponents that the Leopards played on the way to last year's Patriot League championship. Lafayette has followed the same road this season, repeating its wins and losses through the first nine games. The Leopards closed 2004 with wins over Holy Cross and Lehigh, their final two opponents this year.
PLAYING THE CLOSE ONES: Lafayette has played six games decided by seven points or less this season, and is 3-3 in those contests, with wins over Richmond (7-0), Georgetown (12-7) and Columbia (14-7) and losses to Princeton (23-21), Harvard (24-17) and Colgate (18-15). The 2005 Leopards are the fourth team in school history to play six games that came down to one score. Lafayette was 3-3 in close games in 2002, 3-3 in 1978, and 3-3-1 in a nine-game schedule in 1942.
PLAYING CENTER FIELD: Junior defensive back Torian Johnson has three interceptions this season, and all five of his career interceptions have been returned for at least 16 yards. His 34-yard interception return vs. Colgate in the second quarter set up the Leopards' first touchdown and gave Lafayette a 7-3 halftime lead. In the opener at Marist, Johnson picked off a pass late in the third quarter returned the ball 36 yards, and he had a 16-yard return after an interception at a similar point in the game against Princeton. Last season at Richmond, Johnson had a 46-yard interception return on the first play of the fourth quarter that led to a 22-yard go-ahead touchdown run by Jonathan Hurt. He also had a 20-yard return against Columbia.
HURT JOINS THE 1,000-YARD CLUB: Junior tailback Jonathan Hurt surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in career rushing vs. Colgate, as he ran for 83 yards on 20 carries to give him 620 yards for the season. Hurt entered 2005 with 384 career rushing yards (365 in 2004). He also had 65 yards receiving on three catches against the Raiders for 148 all-purpose yards. Hurt ran for a career-high 149 yards and scored both of Lafayette's touchdowns in the Leopards' 14-7 win over Columbia to earn Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week honors. It was his third multi-touchdown game of the season, as he found the end zone three times against both Marist and Fordham. His previous career-high was a 13-carry, 97-yard performance at Marist in the season opener.
SCORING QUICKLY: After scoring just one of its 42 touchdowns on the first play of a drive a year ago, five of Lafayette's 23 touchdowns have come on the first play this season. Four of those five scoring plays have covered at least 23 yards, including an 83-yard pass from Pat Davis to Joe Ort and a 25-yard toss to Shaun Adair against Harvard, a 65-yard strike from Brad Maurer to Adair vs. Fordham, and a 23-yard catch by Chad Walker on a pass from Davis vs. Princeton.
IN THE KICKING GAME: Junior Rick Ziska is 5-for-13 on field goals this season, with eight of his attempts coming from beyond 40 yards. He has also assumed some of the punting duties for the Leopards and has dropped eight of his 28 punts inside the 20-yard line. Sophomore David Yankovich has punted 23 times for an average of 36.4 yards per kick, and ranks third in the Patriot League in that category in his first year of action.
SEASON DEDICATION: The Lafayette football program has dedicated the 2005 season in memory of Tom Norton '59, a member of the faculty in the sociology department for 37 years and a long-time supporter of Leopard football. Norton passed away on June 24, 2005 at the age of 68. Head coach Frank Tavani is dedicating the season in Norton's memory to thank him for his love and unwavering support of Lafayette football, and to promote the scholarship fund that has been established in his honor.
RIGHTING THE SHIP: After back-to-back two-win seasons in 2000 and 2001, Lafayette has won 20 games over the past three years, the most for the program over a three-year span since 1981-83. Lafayette is 12-8 in Patriot League play in that time, putting together its best league run since a 10-5 record from 1994-96.
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES OF FISHER FIELD: Lafayette made seven appearances at Fisher Field in 2005, the second time in three years and just the third time since 1915 that the Leopards played seven home games. Lafayette has played its home games at Fisher Field since 1926 and has played host to 388 games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field and has a 232-143-13 (.615) overall record.
THE 2004 LEOPARDS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS: Lafayette's Patriot League championship season in 2004 vaulted the Leopards into the top 25 in the final two polls of the year after spending nearly two months in the Others Receiving Votes section. The Leopards were annointed with the No. 24 ranking by ESPN/USA Today and No. 25 by The Sports Network following their 24-10 victory over Lehigh on Nov. 20 that sent Lafayette to the postseason for the first time in school history. Despite the 28-14 loss to Delaware in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, both publications ranked Lafayette 19th in their final poll.
THAT'S ONE FAST FRESHMAN: Wide receiver Shaun Adair didn't crack the two-deep until week four against Fordham, but is Lafayette's third-leading receiver in terms of yardage. He has 12 catches for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His signature play was a 65-yard touchdown catch against Fordham, and he also had an 18-yard reception against the Rams to earn Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors. Adair also had a 25-yard touchdown catch against Harvard. Adair was a high school teammate of freshman linebacker Brian Reddy and junior offensive lineman Mike Saint Germain at Morristown (NJ) and won Morris County championships in the long jump, triple jump and 110m hurdles while anchoring the winning 4x400m relay team. Adair also won the long jump at the New Jersey Meet of Champions with a leap of 23-9 which ranked 38th in the country and would have won the Patriot League outdoor championship a year ago, while the distance of 45-1 1/4 in the triple jump would have placed third behind gold medal winner Jeff Sejour (48-4), who is a defensive back for the Leopards.
THE CAPTAINS: Senior linebacker Maurice Bennett and senior fullback David Nelson were elected co-captains by their teammates during spring practice. Bennett (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) has made 227 tackles in the last two years, and is in his third season as the starting middle linebacker. Nelson (Dover, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) played in 11 games, starting twice, as a junior and totaled 170 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
BUSHELS OF POINTS: Lafayette scored on consecutive plays in back-to-back weeks, against Princeton and Fordham. The Leopards put the ball in the end zone on the final two plays against Princeton, on a three-yard run by Alfred Belton and a 23-yard pass from Pat Davis to Chad Walker. The second score was set up by a 72-yard kick return by Larry Johnson. Against Fordham, Lafayette scored on three straight offensive plays within a span of 3:15 early in the second quarter. Jonathan Hurt had a 22-yard touchdown run, Brad Maurer hit Shaun Adair for a 65-yard score, and Blake Costanzo's interception gave the offense the ball at the Fordham seven-yard line. Hurt scored on the next play to give the Leopards a 20-10 advantage.
PATRIOT PRESEASON POLL: The Patriot League's head coaches and sports information directors slotted Lafayette second, just behind Lehigh, in the preseason poll released at the league's media day on Aug. 2. The Leopards received three first place votes and 61 total points, while the Mountain Hawks garnered top billing on eight ballots and had 68 points. Colgate, Fordham and Bucknell were grouped closely in the third through fifth spots, with Holy Cross outpointing Georgetown for sixth.
ALL-PL PLAYERS: Lafayette placed seven players on the 2004 All-Patriot League team, and three return for the 2005 season. Linebackers Maurice Bennett (first team) and Blake Costanzo (second team) represented the Leopards on the defensive side of the ball, while offensive lineman Drew Buettner was a second-team selection. Buettner is back for a fifth year after receiving a medical redshirt for his sophomore season, which he missed with a knee injury.
PRESEASON HONORS FROM I-AA.org: A league-leading nine Leopards earned preseason recognition on I-AA.org's All-Patriot League team, including six of the 11 returning defensive players with starting experience. Senior linebackers Maurice Bennett and Blake Costanzo, along with junior defensive lineman Marvin Snipes, were named to the first team. Linemen Andrew Brown and Daniel Liseno are joined by defensive back Torian Johnson on the second team. Offensive lineman Drew Buettner is the only representative on the first-team offense, while quarterback Brad Maurer and wide receiver Archie Fisher are on the second team.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT SELECTIONS: Lafayette has remained a mainstay on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, with the school being represented by 20 student-athletes during Frank Tavani's first five seasons as head coach. In 2004, quarterback Brad Maurer and offensive lineman Stephen Bono earned spots on the Academic All-District II squad. Maurer, who started all 12 games under center as a sophomore, is a neuroscience major. Bono was named to the first team for the third straight season. The 2004 Patriot League Football Scholar Athlete of the Year, Bono was a recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. On the gridiron, he was an All-Patriot Legue First Team selection.
REPLACING McCOURT: Joe McCourt, the 2004 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, left the Leopards as the school's second all-time leading rusher and with a legacy as one of the most dependable backs in Lafayette and Patriot League history. McCourt, who was a three-time 1,000-yard rusher, finished his career wtih 4,474 yard and 50 touchdowns on the ground. He is the all-time leading scorer in both Lafayette and Patriot League history with 326 points, and is also the fourth-leading receiver with 139 catches for 1,135 yards.
COACH 'EM UP: Head coach Frank Tavani, the former running backs coach at Lafayette, has seen nine 1,000-yard seasons in his 18 years on the coaching staff. An All-American tailback himself at Lebanon Valley College, Tavani has mentored Erik Marsh, Joe McCourt, Leonard Moore and Tom Costello to 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The quartet has an exclusive hold on the top four spots in the school record book for career rushing yards.
DEFENSIVE NOTES VS. COLUMBIA: The Lafayette defense limited Columbia to five first downs and 82 yards of total offense, including six rushing yards on 23 attempts, on Oct. 8 on a muddy track at Fisher Field. The Lions had 21 yards on 21 rushing plays that didn't result in a sack.
Lafayette's top rushing and total defense performances in the past 25 years:
9-6-2003 vs. Marist (W 49-0): 91 yards (50 rush, 41 pass), seven 1st downs
11-10-2001 at Georgetown (W 37-17): 25 rushes, -24 yards (seven sacks for -55 yards)
10-30-1999 vs. Marist (W 38-13): 92 yards (46 rush, 46 pass), nine 1st downs
9-14-1996 vs. Millersville (W 29-17): 32 rushes, 7 yards
10-23-1993 vs. Fordham (W 27-12): 24 rushes, 3 yards
9-10-1983 vs. East Stroudsburg (W 20-14): 18 rushes, -22 yards
11-14-1981 at U.S.M.M.A. (W 49-13): 29 rushes, -23 yards
In 1996, Columbia hosted Lafayette in a driving rain storm with winds of up to 40 mph. That game, which Columbia won 3-0 on a fourth-quarter field goal, featured 194 yards of total offense and 11 first downs (Lions 61-96 rushing, 2-of-7 for 22 yards passing and six first downs -- Leopards 46-60 rushing, 3-of-12 for 16 yards passing and five first downs).
STAYING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND: The Leopards' trip to Georgetown on Oct. 1 was Lafayette's only road trip between the season opener at Marist on Sept. 3 and the week 10 match-up at Holy Cross on Nov. 12. In the interim, Fisher Field hosted seven games over nine weeks (one away game and a bye week), something that has happened just twice in the college's 124-year history of football -- Lafayette was home for seven of the first eight games in 1904, and eight of its nine contests in 1910.
SEVEN IS ENOUGH: Lafayette's 7-0 win over Richmond on Sept. 10 was the Leopards' first win by that margin since 1968, when they won two games by a 7-0 score. Lafayette defeated Hofstra on Oct. 5, and then shut out Kings Point on Nov. 9. The 1967 season finale at Lehigh was a 6-0 victory for Lafayette.
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).
LAFAYETTE LEADS NATION IN TELEVISED GAMES IN I-AA: The 2005 Lafayette College football season will see a Patriot League-best 11 contests hit the television air waves via the Lafayette Sports Network. This is the third straight year that the entire season will be televised and the ninth year that LSN has been in existence. The Lafayette Sports Network, recently named one of the best university-run sports networks in the country by Broadcast & Cable Magazine, has annually produced the most expansive and highest quality television package in the Patriot League. LSN telecasts can be seen by more than 9.8 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, all of Philadelphia, and the Pocono region. LSN telecasts can also be viewed in central New Jersey, New York City and Boston via the RCN cable systems. In the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia and Pocono areas, the telecasts air on RCN-4 and WBPH-TV 60. Nationally, the telecasts will be picked up for the sixth straight year by various DIRECTV outlets, available to more than 60 million viewers. CSTV (DIRECTV Channel 610, DISH Network Channel 152) will continue as a major LSN partner, airing select telecasts to a national audience of more than 65 million households. CSTV carried the Lafayette-Princeton game live on Sept. 17, while the 141st meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh will be broadcast to a national audience on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 9 a.m. The Lafayette Sports Network has announced a partnership with Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh (DIRECTV Channel 628, DISH Network Channel 128), which will replay the LSN telecast of each weekend's game on Mondays at noon. The Nov. 12 match-up at Holy Cross will be aired live at 12:30 p.m. from Worcester, Mass.
Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the ninth straight season. John Leone, Lafayette's Associate Director of Major Gifts, has provided color analysis for all but the first year on the air. In his fifth year as a member of the announcing crew is RCN's Dan Mowdy, who will handle analysis on the Leopards from the sidelines.
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 four Patriot League championships - 1988, 1992, 1994 and 2004 - and made their first postseason appearance last season in the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs.
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.
