Sept. 13, 2005
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THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette is looking for its first 3-0 start since the 1988 Colonial League championship season as Fisher Field plays host to traditional Ivy League opponent Princeton. The Leopards started 2-0 a year ago before falling 35-18 in Princeton, and have consecutive 2-0 starts for the first time since 1992-93. The Tigers are opening their season with the Leopards for the second straight year.
THE SERIES: Princeton has given Lafayette more trouble than any other opponent in 124 years of football on College Hill. The two schools played 19 times before Lafayette registered its first victory, a 6-0 win in 1909. There have been two long hiatuses in the series, from 1919 until 1945 and 1953 to 1982. The Leopards have three wins in the last 11 meetings, dating back to 1982. The home team has won each of the last five games.
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 26-32.
Roger Hughes has a 19-30 record in five seasons at Princeton. The Tigers return 17 starters off a team that was 5-5 last season.
SEVEN IS ENOUGH: Lafayette's 7-0 win over Richmond last Saturday 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.
STAYING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND: This Saturday's game is the second in a nearly unprecedented stretch of home games for the Leopards. Lafayette will make just one bus trip, for an Oct. 1 date at Georgetown, until it hits the road for the final two games of the year. In the interim, Fisher Field will host 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.
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.
BUCHANAN BATTLE UPDATE: After opening the season with eight tackles, a sack and a forced fumble against Marist, middle linebacker Maurice Bennett turned in 10 tackles, half a sack, and deflected a pass in Lafayette's 7-0 shutout of Richmond. The sack came at the end of the Spiders' 16-play, 75-yard opening drive that finished with a missed field goal. Bennett has 288 career tackles, 20.5 TFL, 9.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in his career. He has started 26 of the 36 games he has played in his career at Lafayette.
THE LEOPARDS' LINEBACKERS: With seniors Maurice Bennett, Blake Costanzo and Dion Witherspoon lining up in the second level of the defense, Lafayette has the best linebacking corps in the Patriot League. Their talents were on full display at Marist, as each of the trio had at least one sack and they combined to make 28 tackles. In the home opener vs. Richmond, Witherspoon led the way with 11 tackles (1.5 TFL), Bennett made 10 stops including half a sack, and Costanzo had six tackles and an interception. They recorded 265 total tackles a year ago despite Witherspoon making just five starts, as he was playing behind two-year co-captain Wes Erbe.
THIS DEFENSE IS DEVASTATING: After shutting out Richmond last week, the Lafayette defense is ranked sixth in the nation in opponents scoring average at 10.5 points per game. Grambling opened the season last weekend with a 44-0 win over Alabama A&M to claim the top spot. San Diego, Princeton's opponent next weekend, has allowed just 3.0 points per game through two contests. The Leopards have held eight of their last nine opponents under 22 points, with the exception being the I-AA playoff game at Delaware which included a fumble return for a touchdown.
STANFORD'S SPECIALTY: Senior wide receiver Brandon Stanford didn't just catch the only touchdown pass of the game in Lafayette's 7-0 victory over Richmond, he also set up the play with a 23-yard punt return to give the Leopards the ball inside the 20. He has already surpassed his punt return yardage from 2004. After returning 20 punts for 114 yards last season, he has 139 yards on eight returns (17.4 avg.) and is ranked 10th in the nation in punt return average through two games this season (Stanford ranks fifth if a minimum of 2.5 returns per game is set). Stanford's 36-yard return against Marist was a career long and set up the Leopards' first touchdown.
BRINGIN' THE HURT: Junior tailback Jonathan Hurt was Lafayette's standout offensive performer in the opener against Marist despite not getting the start. Hurt just missed his first career 100-yard game, finishing with 97 yards and three scores on 13 carries. He was named the starter for the week two match-up with Richmond, and carried 21 times for 70 yards, including two rushes for 12 yards that set up the game's only touchdown and an eight-yard run with less than two minutes left that helped put the game away.
THE DRIVE FOR FIVE: Lafayette's 7-0 win over Richmond last week gave the Leopards four straight regular season victories dating back to Nov. 13, 2004 vs. Holy Cross, a feat that was last accomplished in the final three games of the 2002 season and the opening game of the 2003 campaign. The 1994 Patriot League championship team was the last Lafayette squad to win five straight games, as that group opened the season 0-6 against non-league opponents before sweeping the league slate. The Leopards won at Buffalo, 24-17, in the first game of the 1995 season to make it six in a row. That victory was Lafayette's last win over a scholarship school until last year's 21-16 victory at Richmond.
AN EVEN DOZEN: Lafayette is 12-5 in its last 17 games dating to the final three contests of the 2003 season. The last time the Leopards posted a dozen wins in 17 or fewer contests was 1991 through 1993, which includes the Lafayette's 1992 Patriot League championship team that went 8-3, the last three games of the previous season, and a pair of victories to open 1993.
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 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.
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 Leopards garnered 268 points, just 25 behind Grambling State, which held the 25th spot in the poll. Two weeks into the 2005 season, the Leopards have slipped to the fourth "others receiving votes" spot in the poll. Massachusetts (333 points) is No. 25, followed by South Carolina State (317), Grambling State (276), Wofford (224) and Lafayette (211). Lafayette gained 85 points from the previous week but still slid one spot in the rankings. Matt Dougherty, 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.
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.
NCAA DIVISION I-AA LEADERS:
The Leopards among the top-50 NCAA Division I-AA leaders in 2005:
Individual
Punt Returns - Brandon Stanford, 10th (17.38 avg.)
Passing Efficiency - Brad Maurer, 29th (137.18 rating)
Field Goals - Rick Ziska, T-29th (1.00 fg)
Scoring - Jonathan Hurt, T-33rd (9.00 ppg)
Interceptions - Blake Costanzo and Torian Johnson, T-43rd (0.50 int)
Rushing - Jonathan Hurt, 44th (83.5 ypg)
Team
Scoring Defense - 6th (10.50 ppg)
Punt Returns - 16th (17.38 avg.)
Total Defense - 19th (252.0 ypg)
Pass Efficiency Defense - 21st (92.39 rating)
Pass Defense - 24th (146.0 ypg)
Rushing Offense - 31st (183.5 ypg)
Rushing Defense - 37th (106.0 ypg)
Passing Efficiency - 37th (135.64 rating)
Turnover Margin - 49th (0.0)
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.
NOW LINING UP AT TAILBACK . . : Junior Jonathan Hurt has established himself as the starter at tailback after each of the top three backs received significant playing time in the season opener. Hurt, senior Alfred Belton and sophomore Anthony D'Urso helped the Leopards roll up 263 rushing yards against Marist, while Hurt had 21 carries for 70 yards in week two vs. Richmond. He inherits 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. Maurer set the single-season record for completion percentage at 67.0 percent and accounted for 15 scores (six passing, nine rushing). . . IN 2005: Maurer was knocked out of last week's game with Richmond on Lafayette's fourth offensive play with a hip pointer, but returned on the second play of the second quarter and went the rest of the way. He finished with 163 yards on 16-of-25 passing, and his four-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stanford was the game's only score. Davis came on to play one series in relief of Maurer and converted a pair of third downs, going 3-for-7 for 32 yards. Maurer completed 12-of-17 passes (70.6 percent) for 111 yards and a touchdown in the Leopards' season opener against Marist, and ran seven times for 63 yards.
QUALITY DEPTH AT RECEIVER: Senior Brandon Stanford and sophomore Kyle Roeder have started each of the first two games of the season at wide receiver. Stanford had six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown against Richmond, and senior Joe Ort made four receptions for 51 yards in his first action of the year. Seniors Chad Walker (tight end) and David Nelson (fullback) are also integral to the passing game and both have six receptions on the season. Ten different players have already caught a pass as the Leopards have three touchdowns and no interceptions in 51 attempts.
PLAYING CENTER FIELD: Junior defensive back Torian Johnson made perhaps the biggest play of the game in Lafayette's opener against Marist, intercepting a pass in the middle of the field with just over a minute left in the third quarter with the Leopards holding onto a 20-14 lead. Johnson returned the football 36 yards, and a personal foul after the play set the Leopards up at the Marist 11. 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 after picking off a pass at Columbia.
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 1,719 career kick return yards for an average of 23.5 yards per touch. He also has 167 tackles, a pair of interceptions and 18 pass breakups. He leads the team this season with 13 solo tackles.
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 is breaking in a new punter this season, as sophomore David Yankovich is handling 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 hit a pair of 42-yard field goals against Marist to ensure that the Leopards never trailed in the opener. The first kick gave Lafayette a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, while the second pushed Lafayette's edge to 20-14 and answered a Marist touchdown drive. 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.
JUST DROP IT IN THERE: Ziska's collegiate punting debut against Richmond received high praise, as he dropped three of his four kicks inside the 20-yard line. Sophomore David Yankovich punted the ball four times as well, and head coach Frank Tavani has confidence in both of his kickers. Yankovich, in his first season as the primary punter, has a very strong right leg and handles the chores when the Leopards are deep in their own territory. Ziska, the Leopards' No. 1 placekicker, has come on in punting situations when the ball is around midfield.
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. Nelson was the Leopards' leading receiver in the week one win over Marist, with three catches for 41 yards.
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.
FROM THE DESK OF MATT BAYLY, DIRECTOR OF SPORTS MEDICINE . . The current listing of Lafayette football injuries (9/13):
PROBABLE: So. WR James Dixon (shoulder), Jr. DB Bryan Kazimierowski (hamstring), Jr. DL Marvin Snipes (shoulder)
DOUBTFUL: Jr. LB Justin Stovall (ankle)
OUT: Jr. DL Keith Bloom (eye), 2-4 weeks; Jr. TE Craig Bloom (foot), 2-4 weeks; Sr. FB Shane Davenport (hamstring); So. TE Ben Hoover (hand), 6-8 weeks; So. DB Ryan Williams (shoulder)
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.
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 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. 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).
LAFAYETTE LEADS NATION IN TELEVISED GAMES IN DIVISION 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 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.
