Sept. 12, 2006
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THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette debuts Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium on Family Weekend in Easton. The Leopards won their first two games of the season on the road and opened their Patriot League schedule with a 31-0 win at Bucknell last Saturday. This weekend they begin a four-game stretch against opponents from the Ivy League as they host Penn in the Quakers' season opener. Lafayette is looking for its first 3-0 start to a season since 1988.
FIRST GAME IN THE NEW DIGS: Saturday's game marks the debut of Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium, key components of the transformation of Lafayette's varsity football facilities. The expanded name reflects the contributions of both Thomas Fisher, Class of 1888, who almost single-handedly raised the $445,500 required to build the original Fisher Field in 1926, and James R. Fisher '77, who is one of the three leading supporters of the renovation 80 years later.
The generosity of John T. (Jack) Bourger '71 will be recognized through the naming of the Bourger Varsity Football House, which will be constructed at the stadium's west end. That facility and a synthetic-turf practice area behind the north stands will be completed in 2007.
The F. M. Kirby Foundation, Inc. is the third major contributor to the stadium project. The Kirby family and foundation have been exceptionally supportive of a number of programs at Lafayette, including athletics. The Allan P. Kirby Sports Center, which opened in 2000, was made possible by their generosity.
LAFAYETTE RANKED NO. 22: Lafayette moved up three spots in this week's poll by The Sports Network, one week after earning its first national ranking in the regular season since 1988 when the Leopards debuted at No. 25. Lafayette has been ranked by both The Sports Network and ESPN/USA Today entering the I-AA Playoffs each of the last two seasons, but has not cracked the top 25 until after its victories over Lehigh in the final game of the regular season. The Leopards finished 2005 ranked 20th by ESPN/USA Today and 21st by The Sports Network, and were 19th in both polls following the 2004 campaign.
THE HEAD COACHES: Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is in his seventh season at the helm of the Leopards' football program, and his 20th year overall as a member of the coaching staff. Lafayette was 28-19 under Tavani from 2002-05, the best record over a similar stretch since 1923-26. Tavani was the Patriot League Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award in 2004 after leading Lafayette to the Patriot League championship. He was the running backs coach at Lafayette for the previous 13 seasons prior to being named head coach in December 1999, and enters with a career record of 34-36.
Al Bagnoli (CCSU '75) is seeking his 100th victory at Penn this weekend and has been patrolling the sidelines at Franklin Field for the last 14 years. The Quakers are 99-39 under Bagnoli's tutelage, and he owns a career record of 185-58 when his nine seasons at Union College are included. He has led Penn to three undefeated campaigns (1993, 1994 and 2003) and six Ivy League championships.
FLIPPING THROUGH THE HISTORY BOOKS: Lafayette ranks seventh among current NCAA Division I-AA institutions with 622 all-time victories and will play each of the top five this season. Yale (830 wins) is second in all-time wins among all college football programs, with Penn (781), Harvard (774), Princeton (763) and Fordham (723) completing the I-AA top five.
LOCK IT UP: The Lafayette defense hasn't allowed a point in the last six quarters, its longest consecutive scoreless streak in 22 years. Kutztown kicked a first-quarter field goal in a 16-3 loss on Sept. 22, 1984, and Columbia was shut out until the fourth quarter in a 23-14 setback the following week.
The 31-0 shutout at Bucknell was Lafayette's first in 53 Patriot League games, dating to a 38-0 win over Towson in 1997. The Leopards haven't allowed a point in the second half this season and had four second-half shutouts in the first six games last year.
In the win over Bucknell, the Leopards limited the nation's top rushing attack after week one (386 yards) to just 149 yards rushing and 218 yards of total offense. At Sacred Heart, the Pioneers ran all 18 of their fourth-quarter plays in their own territory as Lafayette closed the door.
PATRIOT PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Senior safety Bryan Kazimierowski and freshman Mark Leggiero were honored as the Patriot League Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for their roles on the Lafayette defense in the shutout at Bucknell. Kazimierowski had eight tackles, three pass breakups and a 61-yard fumble return, while Leggiero stepped into the Leopards' 3-4 defense at inside linebacker and made five tackles in the first extensive action of his career.
CODE RED: The Lafayette defense, assembled by coordinator John Loose, allowed just 10 touchdowns in 32 red zone opportunities by Patriot League opponents over the last two seasons (31.3 percent), and 33 in 72 chances overall (45.8 percent). The Leopards are the only team in the league to hold opponents below a 50 percent touchdown rate inside the 20-yard line over the last two years. ... THIS SEASON: Lafayette's opponents are 1-for-3 in the red zone - Sacred Heart was 1-of-2, and Bucknell was 0-for-1 last week.
NOBODY DOES IT BETTER: The Leopards' exceptional red zone defense concides with their performance in the scoring defense category. In 2005, Lafayette was ninth in the nation, allowing an average of 17.0 points per game, and was sixth at 15.5 points per game in the regular season. The Leopards have allowed more than 21 points only five times in their last 21 games, and only twice in the regular season last year. The top three scoring defenses in the Patriot League over the last two seasons - Lafayette (18.0 ppg), Lehigh (18.3) and Colgate (20.4). ... THIS SEASON: Lafayette is 10th in the nation, yielding only 7.0 points per game.
THE TURNOVER SCENARIO: Lafayette and Southeast Missouri State are the only two teams in I-AA football that haven't committed a turnover through their first two games. Head coach Frank Tavani's charges hadn't played consecutive games without turning the ball over in his 70-game tenure until the last two weeks.
LAYING THE HURT: Senior tailback Jonathan Hurt came up one yard shy of his fifth straight 100-yard game last week at Bucknell, running for 99 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in the Patriot League opener. He has multiple rushing touchdowns in eight games in his career and moved into a tie for sixth place in Lafayette's record book with 22 career rushing touchdowns.
Hurt was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career after running for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries at Sacred Heart. He also earned the honor last season with a career-high 149 yards and two touchdowns in a 14-7 win over Columbia. Hurt is 20th in the nation with 120.0 rushing yards per game and eighth with 12.0 points per game through the first two weeks of the season.
IT'S A TOUCHDOWN: Tailback Jonathan Hurt has scored a pair of touchdowns in each of the last five games and is averaging 142.7 all-purpose yards (114.7 yards per game rushing, 28.0 receiving) with 11 touchdowns (nine rushing, two receiving) over the last six games. (For a complete chart, please see the game notes.)
A MODEL OF EFFICIENCY: Senior quarterback Brad Maurer set a career-high with 325 yards of total offense against Bucknell, throwing for 252 yards and running for 73 more, including a 72-yard touchdown run for Lafayette's second score. The passing yardage is the second-highest total of Maurer's career, trailing only a 272-yard outing vs. Colgate last season. The touchdown sprint is the longest scoring play of his career, just edging a 71-yard TD jaunt at Fordham as a sophomore, and his third touchdown run of at least 60 yards (63 yards at Columbia, 2004). Maurer went over the 3,000-yard passing mark, moving into sixth place in career passing yardage, and exceeded the 1,000-yard rushing mark before negative yardage reduced his total to 992 yards.
Maurer is Lafayette's all-time leader and second in Patriot League history in both single-season (67.0, 2004) and career (61.4) completion percentage. Maurer was second in the Patriot League with a 125.5 pass efficiency rating last season and led the league with a 141.6 rating in league games on his way to second team All-PL honors. He also ranks in the top 10 in school history in completions (sixth, 267), passing yards (seventh, 3,159) and passing touchdowns (ninth, 16).
Maurer has started 25 career games and Lafayette is 13-3 when he goes the distance under center. He started all 11 regular season contests last season and was 6-1 when playing the entire game. Maurer started all 12 games a sophomore in 2004, sharing time in the first five contests before taking over as the full-time quarterback in a 35-14 win at Columbia.
THERE'S THAT MAN AGAIN: Sophomore wide receiver Shaun Adair had the first 100-yard receiving game of his career with four catches for 112 yards at Bucknell last Saturday. Adair hauled in passes of 38 and 48 yards, giving him 10 plays of more than 20 yards in his career. He is averaging 19.4 yards on 27 catches early in his second year, and has five catches for 133 yards and a touchdown this season.
Adair scored his fourth career touchdown at Sacred Heart, a 21-yard pass play late in the fourth quarter. Each of Adair's scores have covered more than 20 yards, with plays of 25 yards vs. Harvard, 36 yards at Holy Cross and 65 yards against Fordham. He averaged 22.0 yards on 13 catches through the first 10 games as a freshman, then finished the year with a career-high five catches for 57 yards at Lehigh and four catches for 49 yards at Appalachian State. Adair also handled kick return responsibilities at Sacred Heart and brought back three kicks for 76 yards (25.3 average).
BIG PLAY RECEIVER: Fifth-year wide receiver Joe Ort will enter Lafayette's career chart for yards per reception with one more catch. Ort is averaging 16.3 yards on 49 receptions (797 yards, five TDs), which would place him eighth in the record book. He made three catches for 60 yards last week at Bucknell. Ort was sixth in the Patriot League with 51.3 yards receiving per game last season. He is the recipient of a medical redshirt after missing his freshman season in 2002 with a knee injury.
ON THE D LINE: The defensive line, projected to be Lafayette's strongest group on that side of the ball, lived up to its advance press in the season opener. The unit of ends Marvin Snipes and Keith Bloom and tackles Dan Liseno and Kyle Sprenkle combined for six solo and 15 assisted tackles, 6.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 3.0 sacks. The starting defensive line had 4.0 sacks all last season.
Snipes, a first team All-Patriot League choice in 2005 despite not recording a sack all season, registered his ninth career sack and seventh forced fumble on Lafayette's first defensive snap of the year. Sprenkle fell on the football for the Leopards, and by the end of the day had recorded a career-high 10 tackles, 3.0 TFL and a half sack. Bloom had 1.5 sacks (one solo, one assisted with Sprenkle) in his first game after missing his junior season due to injury.
Lafayette went to a three-down lineman alignment in the Patriot League opener against Bucknell's spread option attack, and the four regular starters combined for 12 tackles, 2.0 for a loss and a pair of forced fumbles (Bloom and Liseno).
THE LINEBACKERS: The Leopards went to a 3-4 defense last week against Bucknell's spread option offense, giving sophomore Brian Reddy the opportunity to make his first career start. The other three linebackers each made the first start of their careers at Sacred Heart, where sophomore Andy Romans led the defense with 11 tackles, senior Justin Stovall had a team-high with six solo stops (nine overall) and junior Mark Plumby made three tackles. Plumby led the linebackers with six tackles against the Bison, while freshman Mark Leggiero and sophomore Nigel Bryant, a converted defensive back, both made five stops.
The linebackers are replacing All-American Maurice Bennett, NFL rookie free agent Blake Costanzo and All-Patriot League selection Dion Witherspoon, who comprised the best set of linebackers in I-AA football in 2005 according to Matt Dougherty of The Sports Network. The trio combined for 888 tackles, 78 TFL and 39 sacks in their careers. The current crop of linebackers on the roster has 100 tackles following the season opener.
EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN: Senior offensive tackle Mike Saint Germain earned Preseason All-America mention from three national organizations. Saint Germain was named to the first team by Lindy's Preseason College Football Magazine, the second team by Don Hansen's Football Gazette, and the honorable mention team by The Sports Network, which also listed him as the No. 8 offensive tackle in I-AA football. A first team All-Patriot League selection, Saint Germain was the only Lafayette offensive lineman to start all 12 games at the same position, lining up at left tackle.
IN THE FRONT ROW: Saint Germain anchors an offensive line that has helped Lafayette run for 206.5 yards per game through the first two weeks, which ranks 21st in the nation. Fellow senior Ryan Nase, who started 10 games at right guard last season, is the center. The three remaining spots are filled by first-year starters - sophomore Leo Plenski at right guard, junior Jesse Padilla at right tackle, and junior Greg Lippert at left guard.
FEELING SOPHOMORIC: Four sophomores have earned starting positions in the Lafayette offense - wide receiver Shaun Adair, tight end Michael Conte, right guard Leo Plenski, and tight end Michael Conte - following the graduation of five senior starters from last year's team. Linebacker Andy Romans is the lone sophomore starter on the defense, while 10 other members of the class are listed in the two-deep.
THE TOUCHDOWN MAKER: Fifth-year senior wide receiver Archie Fisher enters 2006 with eight touchdowns on 31 career receptions, but will not make his season debut until at least mid-October after suffering a broken collarbone in Lafayette's scrimmage on Aug. 23. He rejoins the team for a medical redshirt year after missing all but two games of the 2004 season with a foot injury.
TRACK STARS: Wide receivers Travis Hutson, a senior, and Shaun Adair, a sophomore, double as All-Patriot League performers for the Lafayette track team. Hutson won the 100 meters in 10.86 seconds at the PL outdoor championships last May and was third in the 55 meters in 6.60 seconds at the indoor championships. Adair placed second in the long jump (23-6 3/4) and fourth in the triple jump (46-2 3/4) at the outdoor championships and was fourth in the indoor long jump.
SAFETY FIRST: Lafayette has 56 games of starting experience at safety, as seniors Torian Johnson, Bryan Kazimierowski and Trey Martell have started all but one game at the two safety spots over the last two seasons.
• Johnson, a second team All-Patriot League selection last year, had his streak 30 consecutive starts snapped last week when he missed the game at Bucknell due to injury. He made his sixth career interception at Sacred Heart.
• Martell started 11 games at strong safety in 2005 and is Lafayette's leading returning tackler with 64 stops. He has 11 tackles through two games this season.
• Kazimierowski started in place of Johnson at Bucknell and had team-highs with eight tackles and three pass breakups. He also returned a fumble 80 yards for an apparent touchdown before a penalty for an illegal block negated the final 19 yards. He made eight starts at free safety in 2004 before missing all of four games and parts of several others with a hamstring injury last season.
• Junior Marcel Quarterman was the program's Rookie of the Year in 2004 and is a member of the special teams and nickel packages.
DOWN ON THE CORNER: While the Leopards are well-stocked at safety, they lost 58 starts at cornerback in the departed duo of Larry Johnson and Tye Murphy. Senior Chad Hunter, who had the only two starts by a Lafayette corner under his belt entering the season, has started each of the first two games. Junior Adrian Lawson made his first career start last week at Bucknell, and junior Ryan Williams was the other starter at Sacred Heart, while senior Jeriah Cohen saw extensive action in the second half.
IN THE KICKING GAME: Senior kicker Rick Ziska and junior punter David Yankovich are both returning starters for the Leopards. Ziska led the Patriot League with 1.0 field goals per game last season, making 11 of his 21 attempts, and 6-of-12 from beyond 40 yards. He closed the season making six of his last eight attempts over the final three games, including a 51-yard field goal at the end of the first half at Holy Cross, the longest field goal in the modern era at Lafayette. Ziska has made the longest field goal in the Patriot League in each of the last two seasons after hitting a 48-yard kick just before the end of the first half at Georgetown in 2004.
Yankovich is third in the Patriot League in punting this season, averaging 40.1 yards on eight punts, with a long of 53. He has forced two fair catches and has helped the Leopards yield just six punt return yards through the first two outings. He was third in the Patriot League in punting average last season, with 36.0 yards on 33 punts. Ziska handled most of the short field situations a year ago and dropped eight of his 28 punts inside the 20-yard line.
YOU'RE THE BEST: Departed senior quarterback Pat Davis was named the top long snapper in the nation by I-AA.org last fall. Davis was a four-year starter at long snapper and also led the Leopards' fourth-quarter comeback at Lehigh, driving his team 88 yards to the game-winning touchdown. Sophomore Leo Plenski has handled the long snapping duties in each of the first two games, and sophomore Michael Conte has also received consideration.
WHO'S RETURNING?: Larry Johnson and Brandon Stanford both finished their careers ranked third among active players in I-AA football kick and punt return yardage, respectively. Johnson had 2,225 career kick return yards and holds four of the top 10 spots on Lafayette's single season yardage list, including the record with 625 yards in 2004. Stanford set the Leopards' single season punt return yardage record with 438 yards last year and averaged 14.6 yards per return. He had 909 punt return yards in his career.
Sophomore wide receiver Shaun Adair returned three kicks for 76 yards in the season opener and averaged 23.8 yards on six returns last season. Sophomore tailback Tim Watson, who led Pennsylvania in kick returns as a high school senior and ran the 100 meters in 10.88 seconds, brought back one kick for 15 yards at Bucknell. Junior tailback Anthony D'Urso returned 10 kicks for 159 yards as an upman last year, and has been joined by sophomore tailback Maurice White at that position. Junior wide receiver Kyle Roeder is handling the punt returns.
THE CAPTAINS: The Leopards elected quarterback Brad Maurer, defensive lineman Marvin Snipes and linebacker Justin Stovall as their senior tri-captains for the 2006 season following spring practice in April. Maurer and Snipes were both starters on the 2004 and 2005 Patriot League championship teams and were All-Patriot League selections a year ago, while Stovall is in his first season as a starter after playing his first three years as a top backup linebacker and an integral member of the special teams.
LAFAYETTE vs. THE IVY LEAGUE: Lafayette has played 221 games all-time against the eight members of the Ivy League, and are 62-148-11 (.305) in those contests:
Brown: 3-8-0
Columbia: 25-11-2
Cornell: 8-14-2
Dartmouth: 2-6-0
Harvard: 2-8-0
Penn: 18-60-4
Princeton: 4-35-3
Yale: 0-6-0
LAFAYETTE vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Leopards have played 327 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 165-146-16 (.529) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, Lafayette is 61-48-1 (.559) vs. member schools and has won league titles in 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004 and 2005. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:
Bucknell: 46-32-6
Colgate: 9-36-4
Fordham: 17-6-1
Georgetown: 6-3-0
Holy Cross: 13-7-0
Lehigh: 74-62-5
BACK-TO-BACK PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Lafayette has won a share of two straight Patriot League championships, in 2004 and 2005, and is 10-2 in the league in that time. In both seasons, the Leopards started 3-0 before falling by three points to Colgate, then rebounded to beat Holy Cross before facing Lehigh in the nation's most-played college football rivalry. In 2004, Lafayette beat the Mountain Hawks 24-10 at Fisher Field, while last season, the Leopards came back from a 19-10 fourth-quarter deficit to win 23-19 at Lehigh's Goodman Stadium. Pat Davis '06 led a pair of scoring drives in the final 10 minutes, including an 88-yard march with 2:04 to go that ended with a 37-yard touchdown pass to tailback Jonathan Hurt on fourth-and-10 with 38 seconds remaining.
LAFAYETTE IN THE I-AA PLAYOFFS: Lafayette is one of eight Division I-AA schools to appear in the 16-team playoff field in each of the last two seasons, joining Furman, Georgia Southern, Eastern Washington, Montana, Hampton, New Hampshire and Southern Illinois.
Last season, the Leopards battled eventual national champion Appalachian State in the first round in Boone, N.C. and entered the fourth quarter tied at 20-all after leading 17-10 at halftime. The Mountaineers pulled out a 34-23 victory and went on to win the I-AA championship, 21-16 over Northern Iowa. In 2004, Lafayette led defending national champion Delaware 14-13 in the final quarter before a Blue Hen touchdown, then drove inside the 20 looking for the tying score when a fumble return for a touchdown produced the final 28-14 margin.
PATRIOT PRESEASON POLL: For the second straight year, Lafayette has been slotted second in the Patriot League Football Preseason Poll, as voted by the league's coaches and sports information directors. And for the second straight year, the Leopards received three first place votes and 61 points and finished seven points behind the team they shared the Patriot League championship with the previous season. Colgate was the first choice, receiving eight first place votes and 68 points. Lehigh gathered the final three first place votes and had 57 points. Holy Cross was predicted to repeat its fourth-place finish from last year with Fordham following in fifth. Bucknell and Georgetown round out the list.
RETURNING ALL-LEAGUERS: Lafayette returns four All-Patriot League selections from last season, including Preseason All-Americans Mike Saint Germain (offensive tackle) and Marvin Snipes (defensive end). Senior quarterback Brad Maurer and senior free safety Torian Johnson were both named to the second team and give the Leopards the second-most returning All-PL players behind co-champion Colgate.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS: Senior quarterback Brad Maurer has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II team as a sophomore and junior, and is a strong candidate to earn Academic All-District honors for three straight seasons. A Neuroscience major and Spanish minor with a 3.55 cumulative GPA, Maurer will also have the opportunity to become the fourth Lafayette student-athlete in the last six seasons to be named Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Stephen Bono '05 is the last Lafayette player to earn mention on the Academic All-District list three times and was the 2004 PL Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining Stewart Kupfer '02 in 2001 and Maurice Bennett '06 in 2005. Lafayette has 22 Academic All-District selections in Frank Tavani's six seasons as head coach.
FOOL ME ONCE . . : Lafayette extended its school-record streak of victories following a loss to 10 games with its win at Sacred Heart in the season opener. Moreover, the Leopards have won those 10 games by an average of 20.1 points per game, with all but one contest (21-16 win at Richmond, 9/25/04) decided by less than 10 points. The previous best was seven straight wins following a loss, from 1885-88, and again from 1898-1902.
The Leopards' "turn of the century" teams went 46 games without consecutive losses. The other streaks are 1920-24 (38), 1885-88 (34), 1904-07 (34) and 1908-11 (30), until hitting the current streak of 28 games which began Nov. 8, 2003 with a 35-17 win over Bucknell.
EZ PASS: The Leopards ran the ball 44 times for 190 yards while completing only two of eight passes at Sacred Heart. That ratio, of both runs to pass attempts and pass completions, is the lowest by a Lafayette team in the last 25 years. Lafayette was 3-of-12 while running the ball 46 times in a 3-0 loss at Columbia in 1996 for its lowest completion total in that stretch, and threw the ball just 10 times (seven completions) to go with 48 rushing plays in the 14-13 win at Bucknell in 2004.
SEASON OPENING SUCCESS: Lafayette has won five straight season openers after its win at Sacred Heart on Sept. 2. The Leopards' longest recent streak is nine straight victories to start the year from 1985-1993. Lafayette began its most recent run with a 30-29 win over Monmouth in 2002, then defeated Marist in the opener in each of the last three seasons, including a 40-21 win a year ago.
Blake Costanzo UPDATE: Former Lafayette linebacker Blake Costanzo '06 has rejoined the program as a volunteer linebackers and special teams coach. Costanzo was cut by the New York Jets on Sept. 2, a day after he broke his hand on special teams in the Jets' come-from-behind win over the Eagles in their preseason finale. He signed a three-year undrafted rookie free agent contract following the 2006 NFL Draft. Costanzo will undergo surgery and then will pursue opportunities with the Jets, either on their practice squad or in NFL Europe. He was a two-time All-Patriot League performer for the Leopards and finished his career with 307 tackles, 30.5 tackles for a loss and 18 sacks.
HISTORIC FISHER FIELD: Fisher Field, now dubbed Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium, has hosted the College's home football games since 1926. The facilty has undergone a $23 million transformation that will give Lafayette one of the premier I-AA football venues in the nation. New spectator seating has been built throughout the venue, including chairback seating in select areas, and additional visitors seating has been added for a maximum capacity of 13,132 fans. A state-of-the-art in-fill synthetic surface, lights, a press box and a 19-by-35 foot video matrix board will be installed, and improved restroom and vending areas will also be included. The construction of a football varsity house, which will include a locker room, offices and team meeting rooms, as well as sports medicine and strength and conditioning areas, is expected to be completed by spring 2007.
Now entering its 80th season, Fisher Field at Fisher Stadium has been host to 388 Lafayette football games with the Leopards enjoying an overall record of 232 wins, 143 losses, and 13 ties for a winning percentage of 61.5%. Of the previous 79 seasons, Lafayette has produced 12 undefeated home seasons with the most recent being the 1992 Patriot League champion Leopards that went a perfect 5-0-- the first undefeated home season for Lafayette at Fisher Field since 1970. During the 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons, Lafayette won 10 straight home games--tying the Fisher Field school record for consecutive wins first set by the 1926 and 1927 squads in the first 10 games ever played in the stadium.
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).
THE LAFAYETTE-LEHIGH RIVALRY: Lafayette and Lehigh will meet on the gridiron for the 142nd time on Nov. 18 at Fisher Field, continuing the most-played rivalry in all of college football. The Leopards won the first game 50-0 in 1884 and the schools met twice per season through 1901. They met three times in 1891 and did not play in 1896, the only disruption in the series. They also met twice in 1943 and 1944. Lafayette leads the all-time series 74-62-5 (.543) and is 39-22-5 (.629) when the game is played in Easton. The Leopards have won three of the last four meetings, including a 24-10 win in 2004 and a 23-19 win last season. Both victories gave Lafayette a share of the Patriot League championship.
LAFAYETTE FOOTBALL, 125 YEARS OF TRADITION: Since fielding its first college football team in the fall of 1882, Lafayette has had a proud, colorful gridiron tradition on the way to a total of 622 victories. Lafayette ranked 33rd among all college football teams in all-time wins entering the 2006 season, posting its first win in 1883 (25-0 vs. Rutgers), and accumulated 100 victories by 1900, 200 by 1915 and 300 by 1934.
A HISTORY OF CHAMPIONS: 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 five Patriot League championships -- 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004 and 2005 -- and made their first two postseason appearances 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.
