Aug. 30, 2005
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THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette opens the 2005 season on the road at Marist, the third straight year that the Leopards have matched up with the Red Foxes in the season opener. Lafayette makes its first trip to Poughkeepsie in the history of the series.
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 three straight openers (48-7 over Marist in 2004, 49-0 over Marist in 2003 and 30-29 over Monmouth in 2002). Lafayette started 1-0 every season from 1985-1993, and the Leopards are 79-41-3 (.654) all-time in season-openers.
EARLY START: Lafayette's Sept. 3 opener is the earliest calendar date for a season-opening game in program history. The Leopards opened on Sept. 4 last season against Marist, a game which the Leopards won 48-7.
THE SERIES: Lafayette and Marist meet for just the fourth time today, with the Leopards having claimed wins in each of the first three get-togethers. The Leopards' 49-0 victory in the season opener in 2003 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 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 24-32.
Jim Parady has posted nine winning seasons in his 12 years as head coach at Marist. He enters his 13th campaign with a career record of 71-58-1, including 0-3 against 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 entering 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.
BENNETT ON "BUCHANAN BATTLE" LIST: Senior linebacker Maurice Bennett has earned a number of preseason accolades, including placement on the watch list for the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in I-AA football. A total of 16 players were named to the first list, released Aug. 24. Bennett joins Bucknell defensive end Sean Conover on the list. Both players gathered first-team All-Patriot League accolades in 2004 and second-team preseason All-American recognition from the Sports Network as well.
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.
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES OF FISHER FIELD: Lafayette will make seven appearances at Fisher Field in 2005, the second time in three years and just the third time since 1915 that the Leopards have played seven home games. Lafayette has played its home games at Fisher Field since 1926 and has played host to 381 games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field and has a 228-140-13 (.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.
GAINING RESPECT IN 2005: Lafayette checked in with the top spot among others receiving votes in the initial poll from The Sports Network, released Aug. 8. The ranking seems ideal for head coach Frank Tavani, who thrives on challenging his squad to earn respect each week. The Leopards garnered 268 points, just 25 behind Grambling State, which holds the 25th spot in the poll. Matt Doherty, Executive Director of I-AA Football for The Sports Network, listed Lafayette 25th in his preseason rankings in early July. Street and Smith's 2005 College Football Yearbook has the Leopards at No. 18 in the country.
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.
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.
HAVEN'T WE MET BEFORE?: 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. This is the fifth time in 124 years of football that Lafayette hasn't had any changes to the schedule in consecutive years, and head coach Frank Tavani hopes this year's repeat is met with better results. In 1959-61, the Leopards went 5-4 in consecutive years before falling to 2-6-1 in the last of the three seasons. In 1977-78, Lafayette went 5-6 and 4-7, respectively, while the 1986-87 editions of the Leopards were 6-5 and 4-7 against identical opponents.
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. On the gridiron, he was an All-Patriot Legue First Team selection.
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: The Leopards among the top-50 NCAA Division I-AA leaders in 2004:
Individual
Scoring - 20th, Joe McCourt (8.50 ppg.)
Rushing - 29th, Joe McCourt (99.42 ypg.)
Passing Efficiency - 35th, Brad Maurer (128.70 rating)
Kickoff Returns - 37th, Larry Johnson (23.15 yds.)
All-Purpose Yardage - 49th, Joe McCourt (116.08 ypg.)
Team
Scoring Defense - 18th (19.08 ppg.)
Rushing Offense - 21st (212.75 ypg.)
Turnover Margin - 28th (0.50)
Passing Efficiency - 33rd (128.66 rating)
Total Defense - 41st (332.83 ypg.)
Scoring Offense - 42nd (27.00 ppg.)
Rushing Defense - 43rd (138.75 ypg.)
Pass Defense - 50th (194.08 ypg.)
REPLACING McCOURT: Joe McCourt, the 2004 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, leaves 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.
NOW LINING UP AT TAILBACK . . : Senior Alfred Belton, junior Jonathan Hurt and sophomore Anthony D'Urso appear to be the top candidates to step into the sizeable shoes of Joe McCourt. If one of those players wins the starting job outright, they will inherit a position that has seen nine 1,000-yard seasons in Frank Tavani's 18 years on the coaching staff at Lafayette. Tavani, the former running backs coach and an All-American tailback himself at Lebanon Valley College, has mentored Tom Costello, Erik Marsh, Leonard Moore and McCourt 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.
. . AND UNDER CENTER: Last fall, the biggest question mark for the Lafayette offense was finding and developing a starting quarterback to replace record-setting gunslinger Marko Glavic. After playing the first half in the first five outings before giving way to then-junior Pat Davis, sophomore Brad Maurer went the distance in the final seven games and posted a 5-2 record. In that time, Maurer completed 86-of-125 (68.8 percent) of his passes for 886 yards and four touchdowns. He scored six rushing touchdowns as well, including runs of 63 and 71 yards. Maurer set the single-season record for completion percentage at 67.0 percent and accounted for 15 scores (six passing, nine rushing). After running for 627 yards in his first 11 games, he closed the season with a breakout game throwing the ball at Delaware, going 19-for-27 for 211 yards and a touchdown. Davis is the Leopards' backup quarterback and is in his fourth year as the long snapper on special teams.
QUALITY DEPTH AT RECEIVER: The return of senior Archie Fisher, who missed all but two games a year ago with hamstring and foot injuries, bolsters a veteran group that displayed remarkable balance in the passing game in 2004, as Lafayette had nine different players catch a touchdown pass a year ago. Brandon Stanford led his teammates in both receptions (33) and yards (299), while scoring two rushing touchdowns on just six carries. Joe Ort and tight end Chad Walker, along with junior Travis Hutson, all had at least 15 catches last season. Fisher, meanwhile, counts seven touchdowns among his 22 career receptions.
COMING UP WITH THE CLUTCH STOP: While the Lafayette defense gave up yardage at times a year ago, it still finished second in the league in points allowed (19.1 ppg.) and held half of its opponents to 16 points or fewer by virtue of its play inside the 20-yard line. The Leopards allowed just five red zone touchdowns in 14 opportunities in league action, and kept their opponents out of the end zone on 18 of 37 red zone possessions for the season.
BIG PLAY BOOKENDS: Senior defensive end Andrew Brown, a native of Windsor, Ontario, was a playmaker on the line as a junior. He scored a pair of touchdowns, on a two-yard interception return for the go-ahead points in the fourth quarter at Georgetown, and on a fumble recovery in the end zone against Fordham. Brown made 61 tackles, including 2.5 sacks, forced two fumbles, recovered three, and made a pair of interceptions. On the other end of the line of scrimmage, junior Marvin Snipes led the Leopards with six sacks, 12.5 tackles for a loss and three forced fumbles. Senior Chris Brungo and junior Daniel Liseno lead a group of interior linemen who will rotate at defensive tackle.
TACKLING MACHINES: A pair of seniors, Maurice Bennett and Blake Costanzo, will be three-year starters at linebacker for the Leopards. Bennett tied for the Patriot League lead with 119 tackles as a junior and was a first-team all-league selection, while Costanzo was named to the second team after posting 93 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. Fellow senior Dion Witherspoon started five games last season and finished with 53 tackles, including a pair of double-digit games.
MURPHY'S LAW: Twin brothers Taj and Tye Murphy, from Columbia, Md., will both play integral roles in the Lafayette secondary as seniors. Tye started all 12 games at cornerback last season, finishing with 44 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception. Taj is listed at free safety on this week's two-deep, and started the final three games of the 2003 season at strong safety.
LJ AT DB/KR: Senior Larry Johnson, named Lafayette's most outstanding defensive back last year after starting every game at corner for the second straight season, also handles kick return duties for the Leopards. Johnson holds school records in both kick return yardage (625 in 2004) and average per return (27.5 in 2003). All told, the Waldorf, Md. native has 1,667 career kick return yards for an average of 23.5 yards per touch. He also has 151 tackles, a pair of interceptions and 17 pass breakups.
DAVIS DOES IT ALL: Senior quarterback Pat Davis, who played in each of the first five games last season and led the Leopards on their game-winning drive in a 21-16 upset victory at Richmond, also doubles as the long-snapper on both special teams units. The Leopards haven't had a punt blocked in his three years as the specialist. Davis will be breaking in a new punter this season, as sophomore David Yankovich will handle the chores after the graduation of three-year starter and 2004 second-team All-Patriot League performer Mike Davis.
ZISKA THE KICKER: Junior placekicker Rick Ziska made 7-of-12 field goals, including 3-for-4 from beyond 40 yards, in 2004. His third career make, a 48-yarder, came just before halftime at Georgetown in the second game of the season and was the second-longest field at Lafayette in the modern era. He also hit 37-of-38 extra point attempts to lead the Patriot League by percentage points in that category.
FROM THE DESK OF MATT BAYLY, DIRECTOR OF SPORTS MEDICINE:
The current listing of Lafayette football injuries (8/30):
PROBABLE: Jr. DB Jeriah Cohen (groin), So. WR James Dixon (shoulder), Jr. DB Chad Hunter (shoulder), So. WR Kevin Logan (shins), Sr. WR Joe Ort (hamstring), Fr. LB Anthony Scriveri (hip flexor)
DOUBTFUL: So. DL Luke Schade (back)
OUT: Jr. DL Keith Bloom (eye), 3-5 weeks; Jr. TE Craig Bloom (foot), 3-5 weeks; Sr. FB Shane Davenport (hamstring), Sr. WR Archie Fisher (hamstring), So. TE Ben Hoover (hand), 5-7 weeks; Jr. DB Bryan Kazimierowski (hamstring), So. DB Ryan Williams (shoulder)
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) will continue as a major LSN partner, airing select telecasts to a national audience of more than 65 million households. CSTV will carry the Lafayette-Princeton game live at 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 17, while the 141st meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh will be broadcast to a national audience on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 9:00 a.m.
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 Director of Alumni Affairs, 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.
LAFAYETTE ALL-ACCESS: Lafayette fans may take advantage of a great new feature offered through GoLeopards.com, the official athletics website and a partner with CollegeSports.com. All 11 regular-season games on the Leopards' schedule will be available through Lafayette All-Access, which streams the Lafayette Sports Network telecast of the game to your computer. In all, more than 50 Lafayette athletic contests will be provided. Sign up before the Sept. 3 football opener against Marist and get the first month for just $4.95. The regular rate is $6.95 per month, or order the entire athletic year for significant savings ($39.95 annually). If you want to see great college football from across the country (600 games total), buy the entire package from CSTV.com for $59.95.
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.
