Sept. 21, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

MATCH-UP: The second game of Lafayette's four-game Ivy League slate puts the Leopards on a quick bus ride to Princeton Stadium on Saturday. Lafayette is 0-2, coming off a 19-14 setback against defending Ivy League champion Penn. The Lafayette offense never really got things moving against the Quakers, managing just 168 yards of total offense and only 19 on the ground. Princeton enters at 0-1, having lost to Lehigh (35-22) in its season opener. The Tigers, who were 4-6 in 2009, have a new head coach, Bob Surace.

THE SITUATION...AT QB: The quarterback situation is back to what it was during the preseason and entering week one. Junior Ryan O'Neil will be the Leopards' signal caller. O'Neil, who was knocked from the game in the fourth quarter of Leopards' season opener, was not expected to play at Penn. Senior QB Marc Quilling started the game and finished 4-of-13 for 55 yards with three interceptions. Frank Tavani called on O'Neil late in the fourth quarter to spark the Leopards, and O'Neil responded with eight completions for 94 yards and one INT in two possessions.

PHILLIPS TAKES IT TO THE HOUSE: Senior NT Mike Phillips had a standout game at Penn. He intercepted the first pass of his career and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown and also recovered a fumble to give the Leopards the ball back for one last offensive drive. He also finished with six solo tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Head coach Frank Tavani has said that special teams need to be a focus for the Leopards in 2010. They did not disappoint at Penn. Junior LB Ben Eaton blocked a Penn punt in the end zone and special teams' game captain Kyni Scott recovered it for a touchdown. The last time Lafayette blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown was Oct. 18, 2008 when Andy Romans '09 ran it back 15 yards for a TD in a win at nationally ranked Liberty.

OH...AND 2: Lafayette's 0-2 start puts into perspective the Leopards' success over the last eight seasons. During that time (2002-2009 inclusive), the Leopards were 14-2 in their first 16 games. The last time Lafayette started a season 0-2 was 2001, Frank Tavani's second season.

CLOSE, BUT NO W: Lafayette's two losses have come by a combined total of nine points. In both games, Lafayette has held a halftime lead.

YOUNG LEOPARDS: A quick look at the Leopards' depth chart shows how inexperienced the Leopards' team is. On both sides of the ball, seven players are in their first seasons as full-time starters.

WINNING NUMBERS: Lafayette football has been a consistent Patriot League contender in recent seasons. The Leopards are 33-18 since 2002 which was a breakthrough year for head coach Frank Tavani's Leopards after he took over the program in 2000 (7-5, 5-2). Since 2000, Lafayette has been at least two games above .500 in six of eight seasons.

THE MARK OF SUCCESS: Senior WR Mark Layton is moving up the all-time receiving lists at Lafayette. Layton has 99 career receptions, tying him for 11th all-time at Lafayette while needing five catches to advance to 10th place occupied by Craig Roubinek '94 with 104 catches. Layton has 1186 career receiving yards, needing to rack up 320 more yards to move into 10th place. Layton reeled in a career-best 11 catches (for 92 yards) against Georgetown and was one short of tying John Weyrauch's single-game record set in 2002. Layton made 65 catches in 2009.

HEAD COACHES: Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is in his 11th season as Lafayette head coach and 24th on the Lafayette coaching staff. In his time as the head man, he has transformed Lafayette into a consistent championship contender. Lafayette has spent time in the Top 25 each of the last six seasons and is the only Patriot League program to boast a winning record in every regular season during that span. The Leopards are coming off a 2009 season in which they were 8-3 (two losses to Top 25 opponents), including a 4-0 record vs. Ivy League opponents.

Tavani, who became Lafayette's 27th head coach on Dec. 11, 1999 and is under contract through 2014, led his program to a 26-10 Patriot League record over the last six years. In that span, Lafayette won three consecutive Patriot League championships from 2004 to 2006 and finished a game out of the title hunt in 2009. During that '04-'06 championship run, the Leopards made the first three postseason appearances in school history, laying claim to the Patriot League's automatic NCAA bid in 2004 and 2006, while earning the program's first at-large berth in 2005.

In addition to Patriot League championships and NCAA Playoff appearances, Lafayette has taken care of business close to home, beating its cross-valley rival Lehigh four of the last six times in College Football's Most Played Rivalry. The win in 2007 at Lehigh allowed the Class of 2008 to leave College Hill without ever having lost to its archrival, a feat not achieved since the Class of 1950.

Tavani has been a part of six Patriot League titles, helping guide the Leopards to crowns as an assistant coach in 1988, 1992 and 1994, to go with the last three championships as head coach.

In his playing days, Tavani became the first player in Lebanon Valley College history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. In that senior campaign, he also garnered All-America honors and has since been named to four athletic halls of fame. Tavani signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles out of college in 1976 before jumping into coaching at Franklin and Marshall.

His son, Daniel, carried on the college football tradition as an all-conference selection at Wofford. Of his other three children, Liam and Meghan both graduated from Lafayette and his youngest, Bridget, is a sophomore on the women's soccer team.

Tavani's career record stands at 60-55 and he is 2-5 against the Tigers.

Bob Surace (Princeton '90) is in his first season as the head coach at Princeton after nine seasons as an assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals most recently as the assistant offensive line coach. The 22nd head coach in Princeton history, Surace was a first-team All-Ivy center when the 1989 Tigers won a share of the Ivy League Title.

THE SERIES: Princeton holds a 37-4-3 record vs. Lafayette in a series that began in 1883. The Leopards and Tigers have not played since 2007 when the Tigers made it four in a row.

• The Tigers were 4-6 overall, 3-4 in the Ivy League in 2009 en route to fourth-place under then-head coach Roger Hughes. Princeton, which returns 43 letterwinners and 13 starters, was selected sixth in the Ivy preseason poll.

• Princeton is now under the direction of first-year head coach Bob Surace, a 1990 graduate of Princeton. Surace recently spent nine seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

• Seven starters return on offense led by led by junior QB Tommy Wornham. He completed 57 percent of his pass attempts (174-of-206) with eight interceptions and seven touchdown passes. Wornham was also the team's leading rusher, carrying 94 times for 372 yards and three touchdowns. Wornham threw the ball 51 times in the opener, completing 32 with one TD and two picks.

• On defense, six starters return, but the Tigers were dealt a big blow when senior LB Steven Cody broke his leg in the season opener vs. Lehigh. He led the team in tackles the past two seasons and was fifth in the nation in 2009.

500 CLUB: Lafayette put up 500 yards of total offense against Georgetown, something the Leopards did not do all of last season. Junior QB Ryan O'Neil was 33-of-43 for 304 yards while junior tailback Jerome Rudolph churned out 131 yards on the ground. Lafayette finished the night with 509 yards of total offense, the highest output since Nov. 11, 2006 against Georgetown (511), a 45-14 victory.

OFF AGAIN...ON AGAIN: Lafayette and Princeton have not played each other in football since 2007. Prior to that, the Leopards and Tigers played or at least were scheduled to play in every season since 1998 (the two teams were scheduled to play Sept. 15, 2001, but the game was canceled following the 9/11 attacks). Lafayette and Princeton have tentatively agreed to play each other over the next several seasons.

PROUD OF THE PROGRAM: Since 2004, Lafayette is 44-27 and 26-11 in Patriot League play. Lafayette stands as the only Patriot League program to record a winning record in each of the last six regular seasons while also holding a Top 25 national ranking each year.

PATRIOT SABBATICAL: The Leopards are taking a hiatus from Patriot League play, more like a sabbatical. Lafayette opened the season with part-time Patriot League member Georgetown on Sept. 11 and will not play a Patriot League game that counts in the standings until Oct. 30 at Bucknell.

129th SEASON: Since fielding its first college football team in the fall of 1882 (the same year Robert Ford shot Jesse James and that Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuted), Lafayette has had a proud, colorful gridiron tradition on the way to a total of 656 victories (656-547-39). Lafayette ranked 31st among all college football teams in all-time wins entering the 2010 season, posting its first win in 1883 (25-0 vs. Rutgers). Lafayette accumulated 100 victories by 1900, 200 by 1915 and 300 by 1934.

WORRYING ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK: Lafayette has been picked second in the Patriot League Preseason Poll of conference head coaches and sports information directors. The Leopards (36 points) received two first-place votes. This season, Colgate (46 points and six first-place votes) was selected in the top spot followed by Lafayette, Lehigh (35 points and three first-place votes), Holy Cross, Bucknell and Georgetown. In 2009, Lafayette was selected to finish third and ended in a tie for second.

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE: A constant in John Loose's defenses is stellar linebacker play. Maurice Bennett '06, current NFL player Blake Constanzo '06, Andy Romans '09 and Mark Leggiero '10 have passed the mantle (or shoulder pads in this case) to senior Mike Schmidlein. The senior co-captain led the team and ranked 23rd in the nation in tackles (100) in 2009. The Economics & Business major recorded two sacks, had an interception and also forced a fumble in 2009. In 2010, Schmidlein made 11 tackles at Penn. When you ask the coaching staff who is next in the long line of stud linebackers, Ben Eaton's name pops up. The 6-0, 220-pound Eaton is a physical specimen, bench pressing 425 pounds while featuring four percent body fat. Eaton had seven tackles at Penn, along with a blocked punt, and made six in the opener.

ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE RETURNERS: Lafayette placed 15 players on the All-Patriot League first and second teams in 2009, and five of them return in 2010: first-teamer junior WR Mark Layton, senior LB Mike Schmidlein, senior WR Mitch Bennett, senior P Tom Kondash and junior DB Brandon Ellis.

3-4 or 4-3...WAIT AND SEE: The only constant in life is change and that has always been the case for John Loose's defenses. Loose perennially has adjusted formations to match up with opponents' formations and schemes. That is never more obvious than when Loose installs a new defense to combat the spread option. This season, the Leopards may spend more time in a 3-4 configuration than in previous seasons which have primarily featured a 4-3. Statistically in 2009, Lafayette was 11th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 99.6 yards per game. The Leopards were 45th in total defense (331.8) and just 76th in passing defense (127.6). Lafayette surrendered just 265 yards in its first game of the season, but gave up 392 against Penn.

ABOUT THE KICKER: Senior Davis Rodriguez is in his fourth and final season as the Leopards' starting placekicker. He has played in 34 games during his career and is 30-of-45 (67%) in field goals and 105-of-111 (94.6%) in PATs. This season, as he did for part of 2007, Rodriguez is handling kickoff duties. The St. Petersburg, Fla. native was named All-Patriot League Second Team in 2008 while collecting Sports Network All-America Honorable Mention status.

THE PUNTER: For the third straight year, the punting work is being done by Tom Kondash. In 2009, the senior punted 40 times for 1439 yards and 36.0 yards per kick. He landed 11 kicks inside the opponents' 20-yard line. His career best is a 79-yard punt vs. Holy Cross (2008). Kondash had three punts for 99 yards vs. Georgetown and seven punts for 259 yards (37.0) at Penn.

CATCHING UP WITH MITCH BENNETT: Senior wide receiver Mitch Bennett is putting his fingers to the keyboard in his Catching Up blog on GoLeopards.com.

PATRIOT LEAGUE TITLES: Lafayette won three titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The Leopards begrudgingly shared the title with Lehigh in 2004 and 2006, and with Colgate in 2005. The championships also led to three straight NCAA Playoff appearances, making Lafayette one of six teams in the country to appear in the 16-team field in three straight years. The Leopards have won six PL championships in the 24-year history of the league (1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005, 2006).

THROW ME THE BALL: Lafayette features one of the top receiving corps at the FCS level and one that Frank Tavani calls the best during his head-coaching tenure. The group is lead by seniors Mark Layton and co-captain Mitch Bennett. In 2009, Layton caught 65 passes, the second most in Lafayette single-season history, for 838 yards (seventh in single-season history). He also pulled down 11 touchdowns, tying him for the second-best Lafayette single-season effort. Bennett reeled in 40 passes as a sophomore, catching touchdown passes in four games. He finished with 596 receiving yards. Juniors Greg Stripe and Kyle Hayes, are also significant contributors.

RUNNING THE BALL: In 2009, it was tailback by committee, but all but one member of that committee graduated. Junior Jerome Rudolph, who made the switch from No. 32 to No. 27 for 2010, is the lone holdover and is at the top of the depth chart. Rudolph battled a leg bruise throughout the preseason, but showed no ill effects in the season opener vs. Georgetown. He had 24 carries for 131 yards and a score. He was the team's third-leading rusher in 2009, racking up 215 yards on the ground with an average of 5.1 yards per carry. On his heels is sophomore Vaughn Hebron who forced his way into the discussion during spring ball and in the preseason. A bigger, stronger back, Hebron is the son of the former NFL player of the same name who played for Philadelphia and Denver. Hebron carried five times for 21 yards vs. Georgetown.

WITH A NAME LIKE "JET"...: Jethro "Jet" Kollie's name certainly stands out and the Lafayette coaching staff is hoping that the diminutive Kollie's (5-6, 160) play will speak for itself during his career. Kollie will be placed in the slot where the Leopards will look to utilize his breakaway speed. STANDING OUT IN THE CLASSROOM: Under head coach Frank Tavani, Lafayette football players have excelled as student-athletes. Twenty-three have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District selections and 39 have earned the distinction since 1995, including Doug Gerowski in 2009. Lafayette had 20 student-athletes qualify for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll in 2009 for which they must achieve a minimum of a 3.2 GPA. Lafayette has also laid claim to four Patriot League Scholar Athletes of the Year.

H-BACK/TE/FB: Some new combinations of letters have found their way onto the Lafayette roster. Without an experienced fullback, the Leopards may employ h-backs (not to be confused with the old school half back) to supplement the running game. Junior Kevin Doty was initially slated to fill that role with converted defensive lineman Erin Murray adding depth at that spot. Backing up Doty at tight end is freshman Brandon Hall. The Leopards have not abandoned any one of the positional groupings, instead utilizing each of them in different offensive situations. Currently, freshman Pat Creahan and Greg Kessel are vying for time at fullback and both played in the opener.

100+ in 2009: With the Leopards' offense focused on the passing game in 2009, Lafayette had just two 100-plus rushing yard games. Maurice White '10 was responsible for both with 21 carries for 131 yards at Yale and 24 carries for 107 yards vs. Fordham. Two games into the 2010 season, Jerome Rudolph has a 131-yard rushing performance.

200+ RUSHING GAMES: Since 1990, there have been nine 200-yard rushing performances for the Leopards, six of which were the work of Maroon Club Hall of Fame honoree Erik Marsh '95.

DATE RUSHER OPPONENT CARRIES-YARDS W/L 09/09/08 Maurice White at Marist 29-212 W 11/16/02 Joe McCourt Holy Cross 38-203 W 11/19/94 Erik Marsh Lehigh 34-214 W 11/20/93 Erik Marsh at Lehigh 25-249 L 11/06/93 Erik Marsh at Holy Cross 36-221 W 11/21/92 Erik Marsh Lehigh 46-251 W 10/31/92 Erik Marsh at Colgate 41-225 W 11/16/91 Erik Marsh Colgate 20-200 W 10/19/91 John Kahn Columbia 41-224 W

IN THE NFL RANKS: Blake Costanzo '06 is in his fourth season in the NFL. The Ramapo, N.J. native is in his second season with the Cleveland Browns. He had three defensive/special teams fumble recoveries in 2009, tying him for first in the AFC and third in the NFL. He led the team with 14 special teams tackles and was later selected as the special teamer on SI.com's All-Pro team. Costanzo, who wears No. 54 for the Browns, has played in 34 games over the past three seasons. He played his first two seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

AND WE GO TO...OVERTIME: Lafayette has played seven overtime games all-time and is 2-5 in those contests. The Leopards were 1-1 in 2009 overtime games, the first extra session games since 2001.

DATE           OPPONENT    RESULT
11/11/95  Fordham         24-21 W
11/18/95 at Lehigh   37-30 L
10/18/97 at Cornell  41-34 L
10/03/98 at Dartmouth    13-10 L
09/08/01 at Towson   16-13 L
09/26/09 Penn            20-17 W
11/21/09 at Lehigh   27-21 L

IVY ITINERARY: In 2009, for the first time in program history, Lafayette went 4-0 against Ivy League opponents. The previous best record against Ancient Eight foes was 3-0, accomplished most recently in 1982. In 2009, Lafayette beat Yale, Penn, Columbia and Harvard. All four victories extended or snapped significant streaks. The Leopards have won three and eight straight over Penn and Columbia, respectively. Meanwhile, the victory over Yale was the first in program history in eight tries, and the win at Harvard marked the first Lafayette triumph since 1996, snapping an eight-game skid. This season, Lafayette faces a similar Ivy slate with Princeton replacing Yale on the schedule. The Leopards play four in a row against the Ancient Eight, including Saturday's game at Princeton.

T.O.P. FOR LC in '09: Time of possession was a key element in the Leopards' success in 2009. The Lafayette offense held the ball an average of 33:10 in each game, leaving just 26:50 for opponents. The Leopards finished seventh in the nation, but just second in the Patriot League behind Colgate (35:45). Colgate dominated the Leopards, holding the ball for 16 more minutes.

Opponent   LC TOP. OPP TOP Differential    Result
Georgetown    37:41   22:19   +15:22          W
Liberty            26:16   33:34   -7:18           L
Penn           34:26   25:34   +8:52           W
Yale           33:44   26:16   +7:28           W
Columbia   36:01   23:59   +11:59          W
Harvard            31:52   28:08   +13:44          W
Fordham            37:08   22:52   +15:16          W
Bucknell   38:40   21:20   +17:20          W
Colgate            22:00   38:00   -16.00          W
Holy Cross 32:50   27:10   +5:40           L
Lehigh         34:12   25:48   +8:12           L
AVERAGE            33:10   26:50   +6:10           8-3

T.O.P. OF POSSESSION...2010: Lafyette dominated time of possession vs. Georgetown, holding the ball 40 minutes to 20 minutes. The opposite was true at Penn where the Quakers held the ball for nearly 38 minutes to Lafayette's 22.

HISTORIC FISHER STADIUM: Fisher Stadium has hosted the College's home football games since 1926. The facility underwent a $35 million transformation that gave Lafayette one of the premier FCS football venues in the nation. New spectator seating was built and additional visitors' seating was 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 84th season, Fisher Stadium has been host to 412 Lafayette football games with the Leopards enjoying an overall record of 245-154-13 for a winning percentage of .612. Of the previous 83 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 in 1926 and 1927 in the first 10 games ever played in the stadium.

LAFAYETTE ON THE RADIO: The Lafayette Sports Network radio broadcasts will be available on WJRH 104.9. Veteran broadcaster Dick Hammer is in his 44th season as the Leopards' play-by-play man and will be joined in the booth at home by Phil Ng '88.

A HISTORY OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Lafayette football program has claimed three national championships -- 1896, 1921 and 1926 -- and recorded five undefeated seasons -- 1896 (11-0-1), 1921 (9-0-0), 1926 (9-0-0), 1937 (8-0-0) and 1940 (9-0-0). Of recent note, the Leopards have won six Patriot League championships -- 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005 and 2006 -- and made their first three appearances in the NCAA FCS 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.

SARTORIAL SCHEMES: The Leopards' perfect mark in black jerseys came to an end in 2008 with a one-point loss to Holy Cross on Nov. 15 and a setback vs. Lehigh (black pants and jerseys). Lafayette is now 4-2 in the black jerseys. They wore black to beat Lehigh in 2004 and again in 2006 to win Patriot League titles. Fordham was also victim to the black jerseys in 2005. The only other time they've paired black jerseys with black pants was in a driving rain storm with standing water on the old Fisher Field grass surface against Columbia in 2005, a 14-7 victory. The Leopards pulled out the black pants against Holy Cross in week 10 in 2007, beating the Crusaders 31-21. Lafayette did not wear its black jerseys or pants in 2009.

CYBER LUNCH: New in 2010, all of Lafayette's media luncheons will be streamed live on GoLeopards.com beginning at 12:30 p.m.

ALL SEASON ON LSN: The Lafayette Sports Network, a national leader in Division I FCS television coverage, will televise all 11 regular-season Lafayette football games for the eighth straight year. Now in its 14th year, LSN has become a staple for Leopard fans both regionally and across the country. LSN's traditional live distribution to more than 10 million homes on RCN-4 and WBPH-60 covering all of Eastern Pennsylvania will be enhanced this season by live coverage on all of RCN's cable systems in major markets along the East coast. RCN subscribers in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. can watch all 11 Lafayette games on RCN-8. Nationally, LSN telecasts will be picked up for the 10th straight year by DIRECTV and DISH Network outlets, available to more than 90 million viewers via the Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). MASN, which is available regionally and nationally on DIRECTV channel 640 and DISH Network channel 432, is the official television home of the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Ravens and reaches nearly 6 million homes in a seven-state region from Harrisburg, Pa. to Charlotte, N.C. A complete broadcast schedule follows.

LAFAYETTE SPORTS NETWORK ALL-ACCESS: If it doesn't air on ESPN3.com, LSN telecasts will be available live through LSN All-Access, which streams Lafayette contests and other programming worldwide to any high-speed internet connection. In all, more than 75 Lafayette athletic events are scheduled for broadcast through LSN All-Access this year at a rate of $9.95 per month and $79.95 for the entire year. The CBSSports.com ULive package, which includes content from all CBS Interactive collegiate member institutions, is available for $14.95 monthly or $119.95 annually.

RADIO AND TV SCHEDULE
DATE  OPPONENT    KICKOFF LIVE TV MASN AIR DATE - TIME    WEBCAST ESPN GAMEPLAN
10/2   HARVARD         12 p.m. LSN 10/6 - 9 a.m.   LSN-AA
10/9  at Columbia 12:30 p.m.  LSN 10/10 - 9 a.m.  ESPN3 or LSN-AA Possible
10/16   STONY BROOK 1 p.m.  LSN 10/20 - 9 a.m.  LSN-AA
10/23 at Fordham  1 p.m.  LSN 10/24 - 9 a.m.  ESPN3 or LSN-AA Possible
10/30   at Bucknell 1 p.m.  LSN 10/31 - 9 a.m.  ESPN3 or LSN-AA Possible
11/6    at Colgate  1 p.m.  LSN 11/7 - 9 a.m.   ESPN3 or LSN-AA Possible
11/13   HOLY CROSS  12 p.m. LSN 11/17 - 9 a.m.  LSN-AA
11/20 LEHIGH          12 p.m. LSN 11/20 - 7 p.m.  ESPN3 or LSN-AA Possible

LSN  RCN-4 & 8, WBPH 60
MASN  Mid Atlantic Sports Network (DIRECTV 640, DISH 432)
LSN-AA   Lafayette Sports Network All-Access (available through GoLeopards.com)
Note: Definitive ESPN3.com and ESPN GamePlan coverage will be announced the week of each game