April 22, 2006
EASTON, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) - The Lafayette football team closed its spring practice schedule with the annual Maroon-White game on Saturday morning at the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex. Head coach Frank Tavani ran the two-time defending Patriot League champions through a series of scripted situational drills before moving to a more traditional live scrimmage.
The defense, wearing white, was impressive throughout, building a lead of as many as 12 points (22-10) using a modified scoring system that allowed the unit to pick up two points for a stop, including a missed field goal, and four points for a caused turnover. The Maroon offense scored touchdowns on its final three plays, however, to make the final score 31-22.
Rising junior quarterback Mike DiPaola threw three touchdown passes, all coming in red zone situations. He found wide receiver James Dixon for a 21-yard scoring play early in the game, then hit tight end Brendan Willard for a five-yard touchdown and fullback Chris Williams for a 15-yard score late in the day. Freshman Robert Curley added the finishing touches with a 15-yard pass to tight end Kevin Ganascioli.
Both defensive units were particularly sharp in the scrimmage portion of the game, as the White squad did not allow a scoring drive of longer than 25 yards and forced more three-and-outs than first downs allowed.
Quarterback Brad Maurer, defensive end Marvin Snipes and linebacker Justin Stovall were announced as captains for the 2006 season before the game. Following the day's action, the Leopards received their 2005 Patriot League championship rings in a ceremony in Kamine Gym, which was preceded by a lunch for Lafayette parents and fans.
"My thoughts on spring games have always been to get out injury free and unscathed, and to get to the post-game picnic, so we accomplished both those things today," said Tavani, who is entering his seventh season as head coach and 20th year on the coaching staff at Lafayette.
"We saw a lot of good things out there despite the weather conditions that made things difficult for the offense," Tavani continued. "For the last three weeks we've been practicing on a field that's similar to concrete, and then we got rain today that wreaked some havoc, but overall I was very pleased with our progress this spring."
Maurer and tailback Jonathan Hurt played sparingly for the second straight spring game, allowing a number of players to get a chance to produce in the offensive backfield.
"Mike DiPaola is a solid quarterback, he was a winner in high school and now he's getting a better command of our offense after running everybody else's on the scout team for two years," Tavani said. "Rob Curley has also shown us something with an excellent arm, and has 15 practices under his belt heading into his freshman season after enrolling this semester from the Kent School."
A quartet of players competing for time at tailback showed flashes of brilliance this spring, according to Tavani, who has liked the progress of Brandon Mitchell, Tim Watson and Maurice White in addition to the work put in by the incumbent back-up, Anthony D'Urso. Joe Russo and Williams spent time at fullback, with Brendan Willard and Michael Conte joining Ganascioli at tight end.
"At wide receiver, we're looking forward to Shaun Adair stepping up to the next level after an excellent freshman season, and joining Joe Ort and Archie Fisher (a pair of fifth-year medical redshirt receivers) who bring size and experience," Tavani mentioned. "We also feel very good about our situation with James Dixon, Duaeno Dorsey, Kevin Logan and Kyle Roeder, who are all juniors, along with Travis Hutson who continues to get better."
Knee injuries sustained by projected starters Josh Lupini and Jesse Padilla this spring forced the coaching staff to reshuffle the deck up front. Ryan Nase moved to center on Saturday, with Joe Moore and Jack Thomson lining up at guard and Mike Saint Germain and Leo Plenski holding down the tackle spots.
"Ultimately you'd like to get it down to two groups of five and get some continuity, but we weren't able to do that with the injury situation," Tavani explained. "With that said, we have seen our team strength improve, especially on both the offensive and defensive lines."
A dominating effort by the front four on the line on Saturday is an encouraging sign for a defensive unit that is graduating three All-Patriot League linebackers.
"Last year at this time I thought our linebackers were as good as any group that we've had here, and they certainly didn't disappoint. I think we have that same potential with Marvin Snipes, Daniel Liseno, Kyle Sprenkle and Keith Bloom up front this season," Tavani said.
After nearly a month of spring drills, it appears that two of the three starting linebacker positions are set, with Justin Stovall in the middle and Andy Romans on the weak side. Tavani expects a number of players to compete for the strong side spot in the fall, including junior Mark Plumby, sophomore Brian Reddy and freshman Spencer Brown.
Reddy suffered a dislocated elbow midway through spring practice but is expected to complete rehab when the preseason schedule begins in August. Brown enrolled for classes at Lafayette in January and comes to College Hill from the Naval Academy Prep School.
In the secondary, Tavani singled out sophomore Marvin Clecidor as the player who had the best spring at corner. Jeriah Cohen also worked with the first team at cornerback on Saturday, with Torian Johnson and Trey Martell playing the safeties.
"Adrian Lawson has undergone shoulder surgery to have that corrected and will be ready to go in the fall," Tavani explained. "Ryan Williams has also played well and Chad Hunter is our most experienced guy at corner, so we feel good about our depth there."
"At safety, Bryan Kazimierowski, Marcel Quarterman and Nigel Bryant are also very capable of contributing. We utilize a lot of different personnel groups back there, so everybody will have a chance to step up," Tavani said.
All three of Lafayette's kickers got work in less than ideal conditions on Saturday, with former soccer player Jordan Cullinane joining Matthew Korn and the incumbent Rick Ziska. David Yankovich handled most of the punting chores, and Plenski was the long snapper for much of Saturday's session.
The Leopards will reconvene in early August to begin preparations in earnest for their Patriot League title defense. The season begins on Sept. 2 at Sacred Heart, with the first game at newly renovated Fisher Field scheduled for Sept. 16 versus Penn.
