Nov. 7, 2007

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

GAME 10 • Nov. 10, 2007

LAFAYETTE vs. HOLY CROSS

12:08 p.m.

Worcester, Mass. - Fitton Field

Weather.com Extended Forecast: Rain/Snow showers, high of 42 degrees -- 30 percent chance of rain

Radio: WGPA-AM Sunny 1100 - Dick Hammer, play-by-play (41st season) - Phil LaBella, color analyst

Television: Lafayette Sports Network (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.: AMC 15/Transponder 6 (KU band) Uplink frequency -- 14120 V Downlink frequency -- 11820 H Satellite windown -- 1130 TO 1530 - 30 Aprox

Internet: Live audio and video webcast on www.GoLeopards.com

THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette (5-4, 2-2) travels to Worcester, Mass. on Saturday to face Holy Cross (6-3, 3-1). The Crusaders, who are tied for second in the league with Colgate, will be looking for a victory to help them try to make a run at sharing the Patriot League title with Fordham. Lafayette, which had to share last year's title as a result of a loss to Holy Cross, will be looking for revenge and will be riding high off its 34-7 victory over Bucknell on Nov. 3. Holy Cross lost a close game to Fordham, 24-21, in the Bronx last week.

CURLEY IN COMMAND: Against Bucknell, sophomore Rob Curley continued to flourish in his new role as Lafayette's starting QB, where he went 13-for-20 for 161 yards and one score. His 49-yard throw to Shaun Adair for a touchdown in the second quarter gave the Leopards' their second lead of the game, 14-7, which they never relinquished.

Curley started his first game two weeks ago against Colgate. The Cinnaminson, N.J. native took over for senior Mike DiPaola who had started the first seven games of the season. Curley was 15-for-26 for 174 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions. Curley turned a quarterback sneak into a 49-yard gain and a rushing touchdown when he bounced out around the tackle and took it to the endzone. He stepped in two weeks ago against Fordham with six minutes remaining and was 11-for-12 for 107 yards, including an 11-yard TD pass to Kevin Logan for Curley's first career touchdown. Curley also saw time in the season opener against Marist and in the second half against Georgetown.

A PERFECT TEN: Junior wide receiver Shaun Adair broke into the top 10 on Lafayette's career receiving yards list. His four catches for 77 yards against Bucknell gave him 1,379 career yards, passing Bob Donofrio (1968-70) who tallied 1,364 yards in his career. The Morristown, N.J. native's 93 catches are just six shy of making the top 10 for career receptions.

Adair currently leads the team in receiving through nine games. He has 38 catches for 486 yards (12.8 yards per catch) with four touchdowns. He pulled in a 49-yard pass from Rob Curley against Bucknell to give the Leopards a 14-7 edge in the second quarter, a lead which they never relinquished. His 10 catches at Penn (9/15) were a career high.

DOMINANT DEFENSE: The Lafayette defense is ranked fourth in the country after having spent eight weeks at No. 1. The Leopards are allowing 262.4 yards per game, the fewest in the Patriot League. Lafayette's rushing defense has allowed only 91 yards and 16.4 points per game (fifth and 12th nationally). Meanwhile, the passing defense checks in at 24th, surrendering 171 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 Colgate 237 174 306 36 Bucknell 66 90 156 7

THE HEAD COACHES: Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is in his eighth season at the helm of the Leopard football program and his 21st year overall as a member of the Lafayette coaching staff. He is the 27th head coach in the program's 126-year history. He was the running backs coach at Lafayette for the previous 13 seasons prior to being named head coach in December 1999.

Tavani was the 2004 Patriot League Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year Award in that year.

Tavani has guided Lafayette to three straight Patriot League titles and enters this weekend's contest with a career record of 43-46. Tavani is 16-5 in Patriot League games over the last four years (including 2007), and in that span the Leopards are 9-1 after suffering their first conference setback.

Tom Gilmore (Pennsylvania '86) is in his fourth season at Holy Cross and has a 21-20 record with the Crusaders. In 2006, Gilmore was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year after posting a 7-4 record and finishing one game out of first place in the conference (4-2). He moved to Worcester after serving as the defensive coordinator at Lehigh for four seasons. During his time with the Mountain Hawks the team went 39-9 and had two undefeated seasons that led to two Patriot League championships and trips to the NCAA I-AA playoffs.

THE SERIES: The Leopards and the Crusaders have battled every year since their first meeting in 1986, with Lafayette leading the series 13-8. Holy Cross won 38-28 in Easton last year, but Leopard seniors remember 2004, when Lafayette defeated the Crusaders by the largest margin of victory for either team in the series, 56-20. The teams are dead even when playing in Worcester, winning five games apiece.

100 YARD CLUB: Sophomore Matt Ferber became the newest member of the club on Saturday when he carried the ball 26 times for 102 yards. His longest run came at the end of the first half after Samuel Leland recovered a fumble at Bucknell's 49-yard line and Ferber advanced the ball 16 yards for a first down. He is the third tailback to reach 100 yards in a single game this season: junior Maurice White ran for 107 yards while visiting Penn and senior Anthony D'Urso rolled up 114 yards against Princeton.

SENIOR MOMENTS: Head coach Frank Tavani made sure that each of his 20 seniors got a moment on the field during the Class of 2008's final home game against Bucknell (with the exception of Marcel Quarterman who sustained an injury during the previous week's game). Big contributions from the veterans on Saturday included Brandon Mitchell's 11 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns, Adrian Lawson's two interceptions and Mark Plumby's five tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery.

BACK IN BLACK: Lafayette donned their infamous black uniforms for their final home contest. The Leopards have never lost in black and save the color for special occasions. They wore black to beat Lehigh in 2004 and again in 2006 to win the Patriot League title. Fordham was also victim to the black jerseys in 2005. The only other time they've paired black jerseys with black pants was in what has been dubbed "the mud bowl" against Columbia in 2005, a 14-7 victory.

ROMANS ON "D": Junior linebacker Andy Romans continues to lead the Leopards' defense with 98 tackles (11 for a loss), three sacks and three fumble recoveries this season and is currently ranked 16th in the nation in tackles. He contributed four tackles in one half against Bucknell, sitting out the second half with a tweaked hamstring. Romans had 16 tackles vs. Colgate including one for a loss and a forced fumble. For his efforts, he was recognized as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. He also made 17 tackles against Harvard, one shy of his career best against Holy Cross in 2006. Romans 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 has tallied double-figure tackles six times this season. He has 211 tackles and 4.5 sacks in his career.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL: With 1:37 left in the game and Lafayette trailing by eight to Colgate, Tim Watson returned a kickoff 27 yards to put the Leopards on their own 40-yard line. Sophomore QB Rob Curley drove the ball 53 yards before throwing a seven-yard touchdown strike to Shaun Adair to put the Leopards within two. The seven play, 60-yard drive took just 48 seconds and put the Leopards in position to tie the game with a two-point conversion. Curley was sacked on the two-point conversion and Colgate returned an onsides kick for a touchdown to secure the win.

PICK AND ROLL: Senior free safety Marcel Quarterman intercepted a pass from Alex Relph in the waning minutes of the first half vs. Colgate and ran it back 40 yards to the Colgate 12. The pick set up the Leopards to score when Rob Curley threw an 11-yard pass to Shaun Adair. The interception was Quarterman's second of the season - he ran his first pick 34 yards back for a touchdown in week two against Georgetown.

ON THE RETURN: Junior Shaun Adair ranks third in the nation in punt return yardage. Adair has returned 19 punts for 266 yards for an average of 14 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). 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.

HI, MY NAME IS: The offense had a new look when it took the field against Colgate. Most notably, sophomore Rob Curley got the nod at quarterback. Senior tailback Brandon Mitchell also had his first career start after logging substantial minutes in the past few weeks. Senior left guard Greg Lippert returned to the lineup after sitting out the previous three weeks with an injury, which allowed Ryan Hart-Predmore to return to his usual spot at right guard. D.J. Brown lined up at center for the first time. He spent time at right guard the previous three weeks. Joe Moore took over at right tackle as Leo Plenski missed the game due to injury.

PUNTING WARS: Senior punter David Yankovich out-punted his Fordham counterpart, Benjamin Dato, who was ranked fifth nationally when the two teams met (10/20). 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. Yankovich averaged a career-high 50.3 yards per kick and is now ranked 18th in the country in punting.

PREVIOUSLY UNDER CENTER: Senior Michael DiPaola emerged as the frontrunner at the quarterback position coming out of preseason and 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 was 16-for-34 for 166 yards and one touchdown and one interception against Fordham. DiPaola took the field for the final nine minutes against Bucknell and went 2-for-2 for 20 yards. He also ran for 13 yards on two carries.

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. Morrow missed the Colgate game due to an ankle injury, but was back for Bucknell to contribute three carries for 22 yards and two catches for 35 yards.

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 the last three games due to injury. He returned for part of the Bucknell game to rush six times for 14 yards.

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. 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.

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.

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.

JOE FULLBACK: Junior Joe Russo was 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).

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 335 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 171-148-16 (.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: 47-32-6 Fordham: 18-7-1 Holy Cross: 13-8-0 Colgate: 10-37-4 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.

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 Massachusetts in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs on Nov. 25.

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. 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 399 Lafayette football games with the Leopards enjoying an overall record of 237-149-13 for a winning percentage of .609. 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 630 victories (626-536-39). 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.