Oct. 25, 2007
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EASTON, Pa. - GAME 8 • Oct. 27, 2007
LAFAYETTE vs. COLGATE
1:00 p.m.
Easton, Pa. - Fisher Stadium
Weather.com Extended Forecast: Rain, high of 70 degrees -- 90 percent chance of rain
Radio: WAEB-AM 790 - Dick Hammer, play-by-play (41st season) - Joe Craig, color analyst (1st season)
Television: Lafayette Sports Network/CSTV (RCN-4, WBPH-60) - Gary Laubach, play-by-play (11th season) - John Leone, color analyst (10th season) - Dan Mowdy, sideline reporter (7th season)
Satellite Coord.: None
Internet:
THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette (4-3,1-1) continues its Patriot League schedule on Saturday against Colgate (4-3,1-1) at Fisher Stadium. The two teams are currently tied for third in the Patriot League. The Leopards will be looking to recover after a 34-23 loss to Fordham last week in Easton while the Raiders won a non-conference game against Towson, 27-17.
PATRIOT GAMES: Lafayette and Colgate are both 1-1 in the Patriot League and will battle for sole claim of third place in the standings. The Leopards beat Georgetown 28-7 on Sept. 8 for their first Patriot League victory. They lost last weekend at home against Fordham, who is currently tied for first place in the standings with Holy Cross. Colgate also lost to Fordham, 34-31, in its Patriot League opener on Sept. 29. The Raiders beat Bucknell at home 28-24 on Oct. 6 to earn their current .500 standing.
DOMINANT DEFENSE: The Lafayette defense is ranked first in the country through the first eight weeks of the season. The Leopards are surrendering just 250 yards per game. Lafayette's rushing defense has allowed only 74 yards and 15 points per game (third and seventh nationally). Meanwhile, the passing defense checks in at 39th, surrendering 176 yards per game in the air.
Game By Game Opponent Rushing Yds. Passing Yds. Total Yds. Points Marist -14 100 86 10 at Georgetown 74 131 205 7 at Penn 103 121 224 7 Princeton 166 190 356 20 Columbia -13 193 180 0 Harvard 116 174 290 27 Fordham 85 323 408 34
THE SERIES: Colgate leads the series between the Leopards and the Raiders 36-10-4 in a rivalry that dates back to 1906. Lafayette beat the Raiders 27-10 last year in Hamilton, N.Y. Historically, Colgate holds the edge on games played in Easton, going 15-5-2 at Fisher Stadium.
FRIENDS, ANDY, COUNTRYMEN: Junior linebacker Andy Romans contributed 14 tackles and a fumble recovery to the defensive effort against the Rams. It was the fifth time this season Romans has recorded 10 or more tackles in a game. He made 17 tackles against Harvard, one shy of his career record against Holy Cross in 2006. He racked up 13 tackles vs. Columbia, including two sacks and three tackles for loss to earn him Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 8. A 2006 All-Patriot League selection, Romans leads the Leopards with 78 tackles (9.5 for a loss), three sacks and three fumble recoveries this season and is currently tied for thirteenth in the nation in tackles. He has a career total of 195 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE MORROW: Sophomore tailback DeAndre' Morrow remained consistent in his second start, leading the Leopards for the third time in rushing with 16 carries for 67 yards against Fordham. He got his first start against Harvard where he carried the ball 16 times for 52 yards and caught seven passes for 89 yards, including a 32-yard pass from quarterback Mike DiPaola. Morrow had a breakout game against Columbia with 19 rushes for 94 yards, after having sat out most of the season with a high-ankle sprain suffered during preseason. He also caught an 11-yard pass from Mike DiPaola.
PUNTING WARS: Senior punter David Yankovich out-punted his Fordham counterpart, Benjamin Dato, who is ranked fifth nationally. Both booted the ball six times, but Yankovich - who had 302 yards total, including a career-long 66-yard kick - out-kicked Dato by 50 yards, an average of eight yards a kick. Yankovich averaged a career-high 50.3 yards per kick and is now ranked 10th in the country in punting. He has 35 punts for 1,492 yards this season.
DOWN BUT NOT OUT: The Leopards have lost their first conference game of the season, but they are by no means down for the count. Lafayette has a perfect 8-0 record over the last four years after suffering their first conference loss. From 2004-2006, the team lost one league game and each time it went on to win the Patriot League championship. Two of those losses were to Colgate in 2004 and 2005, and one was to Holy Cross in 2006.
MAKING HISTORY: Wide receiver Shaun Adair is close to becoming part of Lafayette history. The junior has 84 receptions for 1,251 yards - just 113 yards away from becoming the 10th in all-time career yardage. He is also 15 catches shy of making the top ten for career pass receptions. Adair currently leads the team in receiving through seven games. The Morristown, N.J. native has 29 catches for 358 yards (12.3 yards per catch) with one touchdown. His 10 catches at Penn were a single-game career high.
BLOCKS FOR BRANDON: In the first quarter at Harvard, senior tailback Brandon Mitchell blocked Thomas Hull's punt at the 15-yard line, recovered it and returned it to the one-yard line. Lafayette's last blocked punt came Nov. 20, 2005, when Larry Johnson broke through Lehigh's punt protection in a 23-19 victory. Mitchell's effort led to Lafayette's first score on a one-yard run by junior fullback Joe Russo.
LAST CHANCE?: Trailing 20-17, Lafayette was driving the ball down the field for the potential game-winning score. Mike DiPaola completed a pass to DeAndre' Morrow for 32 yards to put Lafayette on the 50-yard line. Morrow then added 16 more yards on three carries to put the Leopards in a third-and-one situation within nine yards of the endzone. DiPaola's pass was picked off by Steve Williams and returned 91 yards for a touchdown to seal the Harvard victory, 27-17.
CATFIGHT WITH COLUMBIA: Lafayette redeemed itself after its bye week by defeating Columbia 29-0 on Oct. 6 at Fisher Stadium. Four different running backs contributed scores to put the Leopards ahead of the Lions. Fullback Matt Ferber scored his first collegiate touchdown on a four-yard run in the second quarter. Tailback Brandon Mitchell ran two yards into the endzone in the third quarter. Moments later fullback Joe Russo caught an eight-yard pass from quarterback Mike DiPaola. DeAndre' Morrow punctuated his 19-carry, 94-yard game by dashing 14 yards for the first score of his career.
The Leopards continued their streak of winning their first game after bye week when held on their home turf. It was the third time in head coach Frank Tavani's tenure that Lafayette has won after going into the bye week with a defeat. In addition to this year's victory against Columbia, the Leopards beat Bucknell, 33-20, in 2005 and Princeton, 28-13 in 2003.
PICKING ON THE LIONS: Senior cornerback Adrian Lawson stopped the Lions' from scoring in the third quarter when he intercepted a pass from Columbia quarterback Craig Hormann at the goal line and ran it back 40 yards. Junior Marvin Clecidor also picked off a Hormann pass for five yards in the third quarter.
TURNING A NEGATIVE INTO A POSITIVE: The stingy Lafayette defense came through in a big way vs. Columbia. The Leopards managed their first shutout since Sept, 9, 2006 at Bucknell and "gave up" -13 rushing yards, the second time this season that Lafayette defense has forced negative rushing yardage for a game. Lafayette "surrendered" -14 yards in the season-opener vs. Marist.
RUN D'URSO RUN: Anthony D'Urso broke the modern record for the longest run from the line of scrimmage vs. Princeton on Sept. 22 with his 89-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The previous modern record was 82 yards, set by Greg DeSanty against Gettysburg in 1975. George McCaa still holds the school's all-time record with his 102-yard rush against Swarthmore in 1909. D'Urso leads the team in rushing yardage (304) yards, despite missing two games due to injury.
OLIVER -- DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore free safety Nick Oliver made a career-high 12 tackles against Princeton, including 3.5 tackles for a loss of 24 yards en route to Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors (9/24). He also recorded the first sack of his collegiate career when he took down Princeton quarterback Bill Foran for a loss of eight yards.
BIG YARDS FROM A LITTLE GUY: Junior Maurice White put up 107 yards on 27 carries at Penn (9/15). White's previous career high was 87 yards against Georgetown in week two. He is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and 12.3 carries a game, but has been hampered by injuries, missing games against Columbia, Harvard and Fordham.
A SPECIAL KIND OF PLAYER: Junior Shaun Adair ranks fifth in the nation in punt return yardage. Adair has returned 17 punts for 256 yards for an average of 15.1 yards per return. In the season opener vs. Marist, Adair racked up 111 yards on three returns. Late in the first quarter versus Marist, Adair ran 78 yards for his first career punt return for touchdown (and the longest punt return of his career). He also added another return for 30 yards. The effort earned him Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week (9/3). At Georgetown, Adair returned four punts for 61 yards (15.3 yards per return). He returned five punts for 80 yards against Columbia (16.0 yards per return).
UNDER CENTER: Senior Michael DiPaola emerged as the frontrunner at the quarterback position coming out of preseason and has served as the starting QB through the first seven weeks. In the opener, he cemented his position with an efficient performance vs. Marist, going 10-for-16 for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Since then he has gone 101-for-181 for 1,030 yards and five touchdowns. At Penn, DiPaola drove the Leopards 54 yards in 12 plays before Davis Rodriguez put the game away with the game-winning field goal. Battling the Crimson, he threw career highs of 23-for-40 for 266 yards, including a 32-yard pass to DeAndre' Morrow in the fourth quarter, and one TD. He also had a career high in interceptions, throwing four picks. DiPaola threw 16-for-34 for 166 yards and one touchdown and one interception against Fordham.
Backup quarterback Rob Curley saw time in the season-opener against Marist and in the second half against Georgetown when DiPaola battled severe leg cramps. He went 5-for-10 for 45 yards in those two games combined. Curley stepped in with six minutes remaining in the game against Fordham and threw 11-for-12 for 107 yards, including an 11-yard pass to senior Kevin Logan for Curley's first career touchdown.
Head coach Frank Tavani will continue to get Curley and Josh Jones some quality game reps when opportunities arise, hoping to avoid the situation the coaching staff found itself in this year, with no returning quarterback possessing any significant game experience. DiPaola, Curley and Jones have been asked to take over for the graduated Brad Maurer, who was at the helm of three Patriot League titles and left the school as the Lafayette leader in career completion percentage (60.7%).
DIPAOLA ON THE GROUND: Michael DiPaola used his legs to propel the Leopards in the fourth quarter at Penn on Sept. 15. He finished the game with nine carries for 14 yards and rushed three times for 19 yards and picked up a pair of first downs on the Leopards' game-winning drive. He showed his skills on the ground again vs. Princeton by scrambling for 27 yards in the second half to put the team on the Princeton 10 and set Adam Gill up for a touchdown. DiPaola was the second leading rusher against Fordham, where he had 13 carries for 38 yards, including a 19-yard scramble that gave the Leopards a crucial first down at the start of the third quarter.
ON THE RETURN: The return game has been a strong suit for the Leopards this season thanks mostly to the efforts of junior wideout Shaun Adair. Adair ranked ninth in the nation in punt return yardage in 2006, reeling off 14.4 yards per return. This season, Adair has already returned one punt 78 yards for a touchdown and currently ranks fifth in the nation in punt return yardage (15.1). On kick-offs, Adair has shown his abilities throughout his career when the ball is kicked his way. Adair returned a 90-yard kick for touchdown vs. Georgetown (11/11/06) last season.
STARTING FIRST...FINISHING ???: Lafayette has been picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll as selected by the conference's head coaches and Sports Information Directors. The Leopards edged the other team in the Lehigh Valley by one point (63-62), with Lafayette receiving six first-place votes and Lehigh five. The last time Lafayette was selected to win the league title was 1995, and the last time the preseason pick won the title outright was 2001 (Lehigh).
QUARTERMAN'S PICK SIX: Senior free safety Marcel Quarterman's interception return for a touchdown at Georgetown was the first of his career and the first for Lafayette since Oct. 29, 2005 (Tye Murphy vs. Bucknell). Quarterman has four career interceptions, two of which have come in conference play vs. Georgetown.
LIGHT IT UP: Lafayette's season-opening win over Marist marked the first home night game in 126 seasons of Lafayette football. The historic game, which was the first of three home night games scheduled for 2007, was followed by fireworks. Making history at night is not a new feat for Leopard football as Lafayette and Washington and Jefferson played in the first indoor night college football game on Oct. 25, 1930. A crowd of 17,000 witnessed the historic game at the Atlantic City Auditorium.
THE DRIVE FOR FOUR: Lafayette has won three straight Patriot League titles. Lafayette shared the title with Lehigh in 2004 and 2006, and with Colgate in 2005. The Leopards have won six PL championships in the 22-year history of the league (1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006).
IN GOOD COMPANY: Lafayette has made three straight appearances in the NCAA Playoffs. Lafayette is one of six programs to appear in the 16-team playoff field in each of the last three seasons, joining Furman, Montana, Hampton, New Hampshire and Southern Illinois.
Last season, Lafayette faced No. 3 Massachusetts and trailed just 21-14 at halftime before Massachusetts pulled away for a 35-14 decision.
In 2005, the Leopards earned the program's first at-large bid and battled eventual national champion Appalachian State in the first round in Boone, N.C. Lafayette entered the fourth quarter tied at 20-20 after leading 17-10 at halftime, before the Mountaineers pulled out a 34-23 victory. Appalachian State 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.
LAFAYETTE vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Leopards have played 334 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 170-148-16 (.533) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, Lafayette is 66-50-1 (.570) vs. member schools and has won league titles in 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:
Bucknell: 46-32-6 Fordham: 18-7-1 Holy Cross: 13-8-0
Colgate: 10-36-4 Georgetown: 8-3-0 Lehigh: 75-62-5
EARLY OPENER: The Sept. 1 season opener was the earliest start date in program history. The Leopards opened in early October until the turn of the 20th century, in late September until 1970, and traditionally began the season on the second Saturday in September until 2002. Since 2002, Lafayette has opened on Sept. 7, 6, 4, 2 and 13.
MISSING THE HURT?: It remains to be seen what impact the loss of tailback Jon Hurt will have on the Lafayette running game. Hurt, the 2006 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, left the school sixth in career rushing yards (2,534) and third in career rushing touchdowns (33). During Patriot League play, Hurt ran for 124.5 yards per game, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, and scored 12 touchdowns in six PL contests. Junior Maurice White was the heir apparent at tailback after appearing in 12 games in 2006 while carrying the ball 45 times for 282 yards and four touchdowns. This season, with White often injured, Anthony D'Urso, DeAndre' Morrow and Brandon Mitchell have tossed their proverbial hats in the ring.
ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE RETURNERS: Lafayette placed 14 players on 2006 All-Patriot League teams and five of those players return in 2007. Seniors Greg Lippert and Jesse Padilla return to anchor the offensive line after second-team selections. Defensively, senior tackle Kyle Sprenkle, senior corner back Adrian Lawson and junior inside linebacker Andy Romans return to the starting lineup. Romans was the only sophomore to earn All-Patriot League honors on defense.
AN OFFENSIVE HISTORY: In 2006, Jon Hurt became the sixth Lafayette player to be named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year in the 22-year history of the conference. Joe McCourt (2004), Phil Yarberough (2000), Erik Marsh (1992, 1993), Tom Costello (1989) and Frank Baur (1988) are the others. Marsh is Lafayette's and the Patriot League's all-time leading rusher with 4,834 yards while McCourt ranks second at Lafayette in career rushing (4,474) and Hurt ranks sixth (2,534).
LAFAYETTE'S 2006 SEASON AT A GLANCE: The Leopards opened the 2006 season with wins at Sacred Heart (25-14) and Bucknell (31-0), entering The Sports Network poll at No. 25 after the season opener, and moved up to No. 22 the next week on the strength of their consecutive appearances in the I-AA Playoffs. Lafayette then fell on hard times, losing three straight games in which it held the lead or had possession with a chance to go ahead in the fourth quarter, before the bye week on Oct. 7. Then No. 15 Harvard dealt the Leopards a 24-7 defeat the next week, and Holy Cross made it five straight setbacks with a 38-28 win at Fisher Stadium after the Leopards held a 21-7 advantage.
Things turned around at Colgate against a team that owned 10 straight victories against the Leopards. The Leopards trailed 7-0 entering the second quarter when Jonathan Hurt went 64 yards with a screen pass for a touchdown, and he later had an 80-yard run to extend the lead. Lafayette's final drive erased nearly nine minutes off the clock and sealed a 27-10 victory. The Leopards then rolled off wins at Fordham (31-24) and vs. Georgetown (45-14) to set up the 142nd meeting with Lehigh which secured the Patriot League championship. The season wrapped up with a 35-14 road loss to No. 3 UMass in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs on Nov. 25.
JOE FULLBACK: Junior Joe Russo served as one of the top fullbacks in the league last season. Russo averaged 5.0 yards per carry (27-134) with five touchdowns in 2006 and also caught 14 passes for 76 yards, including a four-yard touchdown catch against Lehigh (11/18). Russo's breakout game was a five-carry, 49-yard performance once Hurt left the field due to injury at Fordham (11/4/06), as he scored on runs of nine and 32 yards on his first two touches. He also scored on a pair of three-yard runs vs. Yale (9/30/06). This season, Russo has 20 carries for 96 yards (4.8 yards per carry) in seven games while leading the way for a rushing offense that is averaging 168 yards per game. Russo has also caught 10 passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns, his most recent being a four-yard pass from Mike DiPaola against Columbia (10/6).
RUN THE BALL, STOP THE RUN (2006 EDITION): Lafayette led the Patriot League in rushing defense in league games by a significant margin, allowing 109.2 yards per game on the ground, with Lehigh a distant second at 148.3. The Leopards trailed Bucknell's spread option offense by fewer than three yards per game in rushing offense (214.7 to 217.5). LAFAYETTE RUSHING OPPONENTS' RUNNING GAME Rush Yards Avg. TD Rush Yards Avg. TD Bucknell 44 223 5.1 4 41 149 3.6 0 Holy Cross 38 265 7.0 4 31 56 1.8 1 Colgate 34 212 6.2 2 39 142 3.6 1 Fordham 44 163 3.7 2 34 75 2.2 0 Georgetown 36 206 5.7 5 42 130 3.1 1 Lehigh 41 223 5.4 4 30 107 3.6 2 Totals (avg.) 39.5 214.7 5.4 21 36.2 109.2 3.0 4
IN THE FRONT ROW: Lafayette placed three of its five starting offensive linemen on the All-Patriot League team in 2006. Two of those players, senior Greg Lippert (LG) and Jesse Padilla (LT) were named to the second-team in their first seasons as starters. Sophomores Michael Wojcik and Ryan Hart-Predmore are in their first years as starters at center and right guard, respectively. Junior Leo Plenski holds down the right tackle spot and also handles long snapping duties. He started six of the first seven weeks in 2006. Junior D.J. Brown started the final five games of the season in 2006 and is a key reserve. Brown has started the last two games with the injury to Lippert.
THE LINEBACKERS: Senior Mark Plumby, junior Andy Romans and sophomore Mark Leggiero give Lafayette a formidable linebacking corps. Romans, an All-Patriot League selection in 2006, led the team and was fourth in the Patriot League in tackles. Plumby was third on the team in tackles after starting all 12 games. Leggiero saw action in 12 games in 2006, starting vs. Penn in place of an injured Romans. He collected Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors after making five tackles against Bucknell once Romans left with an injury.
DOWN ON THE CORNER: Second-Team All-Patriot League performer Adrian Lawson started every game but the season opener at corner in 2006. The senior from Hyattsville, Md. made 37 tackles, 5.0 TFL and recorded six pass break-ups. Marvin Clecidor earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 30, 2006 following the Colgate game after recording the first interception, forced fumble and sack of his career. Clecidor started the last seven games on the other side of Lawson. THE CAPTAINS: The Leopards elected seniors free safety Marcel Quarterman and defensive tackle Kyle Sprenkle as their captains for the 2007 season. It's the first time during Frank Tavani's head coaching tenure that an offensive player was not a team captain. Sprenkle (Thomasville, Pa.) is in his third year as a starter on the defensive line and collected All-Patriot League honors in 2006. Quarterman, a Philadelphia native, is in his second season as a starter.
GOING THE DISTANCE: Lafayette had at least one scoring drive of more than 80 yards in nine of its 12 games in 2006, and 13 drives of that length in all: Lehigh (80), Georgetown (80, 88 and 90), Fordham (80), Colgate (80 and 81), Holy Cross (82), Yale (82), Penn (82 and 99), Bucknell (88) and Sacred Heart (81). This year the Leopards have had three scoring drives of 80 or more yards. In the season-opener against Marist, Maurice White scored on a two-yard run that capped off an 80-yard drive. Anthony D'Urso ran 89 yards to score a touchdown against Princeton, a scoring drive that was two plays and 95 yards. Last week against Fordham, Adam Gill caught a 24-yard pass in the endzone to capitalize on a 12-play, 80-yard drive.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS: Lafayette has won three straight and four of the last six Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. Brad Maurer '07 won the award in 2006, following linebacker Maurice Bennett '05, Stephen Bono '04 and tight end Stewart Kupfer '02. Maurer was also a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II selection and was one of 23 Academic All-District selections in Frank Tavani's eight seasons as head coach.
THE LAFAYETTE-LEHIGH RIVALRY: Lafayette and Lehigh met on the gridiron for the 142nd time on Nov. 18, 2006 at Fisher Stadium, 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 75-62-5 (.546) and is 40-22-5 (.634) when the game is played in Easton. The Leopards have won four of the last five meetings, and have won three straight for the first time since 1953-55.
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).
HISTORIC FISHER STADIUM: Fisher Stadium has hosted the College's home football games since 1926. The facility has undergone a $23 million transformation that gives Lafayette one of the premier FCS football venues in the nation. New spectator seating has been built, 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 board were installed, and improved restroom and vending areas were also included. The Bourger Varsity Football House includes a locker room, offices and team meeting rooms, as well as sports medicine and strength and conditioning areas. Now in its 81st season, Fisher Stadium has been host to 396 Lafayette football games with the Leopards enjoying an overall record of 236-147-13 for a winning percentage of .612. Of the previous 80 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 Stadium since 1970. During the 1991, 1992 and 1993 seasons, Lafayette won 10 straight home games--tying the Fisher Stadium school record for consecutive wins first set 1926 and 1927 in the first 10 games ever played in the stadium.
MEMORABLE DRIVES: Lafayette's 15-play, 81-yard drive in the fourth quarter against Colgate on Oct. 28, 2006 chewed up nearly nine minutes (8:36) as the Leopards sat on a 24-10 lead, and Rick Ziska's 25-yard field goal put the game away. That drive joins "The Drive" among the most memorable in Frank Tavani's tenure as head coach. Here are some of the others:
Opponent Plays-Yards Time Run/Pass 1st Downs 3rd 4th 2006 at Colgate 15-81 8:36 14/1 6 0 1 2006 at Sacred Heart 15-81 7:44 14/1 6 2 1 2005 at Lehigh 11-88 1:26 1/10 4 2 1 2005 vs. Bucknell 7-83 2:27 3/4 3 1 0 2004 vs. Lehigh 18-80 7:15 11/7 6 2 1 2002 vs. Lehigh 19-74 9:01 16/3 6 2 2 2000 vs. Princeton 6-80 0:45
LAFAYETTE FOOTBALL, 126 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 626 victories (626-534-39). Lafayette ranks 34th among all college football teams in all-time wins entering the 2007 season, posting its first win in 1883 (25-0 vs. Rutgers). Lafayette 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.
LAFAYETTE LEADS NATION IN TELEVISED GAMES IN FCS: All 11 games of Lafayette's 2007 football season will be televised live via the Lafayette Sports Network. This is the fifth straight year that the entire slate will be televised and the 11th season that the Lafayette Sports Network has been in existence.
LSN, named one of the best college or university-run sports networks in the country by Broadcast and Cable Magazine, has annually produced the most expansive television package in the Patriot League. LSN telecasts can be seen by approximately 10 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, all of Philadelphia, and the Pocono region. The Lafayette Sports Network 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-60. Nationally, the telecasts will be picked up for the eighth straight year by various DIRECTV and DISH Network outlets, available to a combined audience of more than 60 million viewers. CSTV will continue as a major LSN partner, airing the Harvard, Holy Cross and Lehigh road telecasts to a national audience of more than 65 million households. Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh (DIRECTV Channel 628, DISH Network Channel 428) will carry seven of the Leopards games.
As an element of Lafayette's multi-media agreement with CSTV, all LSN telecasts will be streamed live on the internet and available worldwide through www.GoLeopards.com. Lafayette was the first of CSTV.com's partners to make live video streaming available to fans everywhere when the 2000 Lafayette-Lehigh game aired live on GoLeopards.com. Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the 11th straight season. John Leone, who has been in the booth with Laubach for all but the first season of LSN, will again provide color analysis. RCN's Dan Mowdy is in his seventh season as part of the Lafayette Sports Network and will report from the sidelines.
LAFAYETTE ALL-ACCESS: Lafayette fans may take advantage of a great feature offered through www.GoLeopards.com, the official athletics website and a partner with CSTV Online. 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. Log onto to www.GoLeopards.com for more information.
LAFAYETTE ON THE RADIO: The Lafayette Sports Network entered into an agreement with WAEB-AM 790 and WSAN-AM 1470 of Clear Channel Communications and WGPA AM-1100 to broadcast 2007 Lafayette football. The deal places Lafayette on the top two rated AM stations in the Lehigh Valley.
WAEB-AM 790, the top-rated AM station in the Lehigh Valley, will carry the Leopards' first four games of the season while WGPA-AM 1100, the second-rated AM station, will begin its coverage with the Oct. 13 game at Harvard and will broadcast five of the last six games of the regular season.
Veteran broadcaster Dick Hammer will begin his 41st season as the Leopards' play-by-play man and will be joined in the booth at home games by Joe Craig, long-time football analyst and former coach.
