Nov. 4, 2014
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THE OPENING KICK
MATCH-UP: Lafayette (3-6, 1-3) visits Colgate (4-5, 2-1) on Saturday for the Leopards' last game before the 150th Meeting with Lehigh on Nov. 22 at Yankee Stadium. Both squads come into the contest on three-game losing streaks. The Raiders dropped last week's game to Fordham, 37-13, while Lafayette is coming off a three-point overtime loss to Bucknell.
THE TREND: Colgate is 4-0 at Andy Kerr Stadium and will be looking to send off its seniors with a perfect home mark for the second time in three seasons. The Leopards are 0-5 on the road after going 3-1 at home. Lafayette last won in Hamilton in 2006.
LAST TIME OUT: Derek Maurer booted a 33-yard field goal in overtime as Bucknell outlasted Lafayette, 27-24. The Bison had to rally to send the game to overtime. Back-up QB Trey Lauletta led an eight-play, 75-yard fourth-quarter drive that ended with a 12-yard TD toss to Jake Hartman, one of three TD's for Hartman on the afternoon. The score knotted the game at 24-24 with a minute to go in regulation.
TD TIME: Senior TB Ross Scheuerman ran for three touchdowns at Bucknell to boost his career rushing TD total to 28. He moved into a fifth-place tie with Tom Costello '91. It was the second time this season that Scheuerman ran for three scores (vs. Georgetown) and third time in his career (Princeton, 10/12/13).
QB SITUATION: Sophomore QB Drew Reed has been playing through a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the Fordham, Georgetown and most of the Wagner and Harvard games. At Harvard (10/18), he played the first two series before taking a hit directly to the shoulder while trying to run for a first down. Reed played the entire game vs. Holy Cross, completing 19-of-33 for 192 yards, with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Against Bucknell, Reed was 27-of-40 for 222 yards with an interception.
Sophomore Blake Searfoss, who completed 23-of-42 for 274 yards and a touchdown in relief at Harvard, started vs. Fordham and Georgetown. The QBs' season numbers: Searfoss: 73-124-4 (58.9%), 5 TD • Reed: 109-180-8 (60.6%), 7 TD.
150th MEETING: The 150th meeting of college's football's most-played and longest consecutive rivalry (Lafayette vs. Lehigh) will be contested on Nov. 22, 2014 at Yankee Stadium. More than 49,000 tickets have been sold to the game which will be played at a neutral site for just the second time in the series history.
REED'S MARKS: Soph. QB Drew Reed is already the school recordholder for single-season and career completion percentage. With 241 completions, he needs just 12 more to move into the top 10 for career completions, a spot currently occupied by three-time Patriot League champion Brad Maurer '07.
SACKS SITUATION: Lafayette has given up an average of 3.6 sacks per game while managing just a shade over two sacks per game.
ON THE LINE: The offensive line has been beset with injuries. Only two of the five starters from the training camp two-deep remain in the starting lineup: Zack Mazur and Connor Staudle. Mazur moved from tackle to center and back to tackle again while Stadule has been able to remain in the lineup at left guard. Four-year starter, Luke Chiarolanzio, was lost for the season after suffering a torn bicep during the Harvard game. Starting right tackle Nick Zataveski moved to left tackle with Chiarolanzio's injury. He and backup Paul Federinko have split time at tackle. Senior Ben Jeannot has started the last four games at center after Mazur's move.
CLASS OF THE CLASSROOM: In 2013, the Lafayette football program had the highest academic progress rate (APR) in the NCAA FCS Playoffs and boasted the fourth-best graduation success rate (GSR) in the NCAA. Overall, for the 18 sports measured at Lafayette, a total of 14 Lafayette programs registered a graduation rate of 100 percent.
In 2014, Lafayette's football program received a ranking of 95, the fifth-best mark in the NCAA. On the whole, Lafayette's athletic programs had the fourth highest total in the nation with a 97 percent GSR overall for its 18 sports measured and a total of 12 Lafayette programs registered a graduation rate of 100 percent.
ABOUT COLGATE: Colgate hosts Lafayette with a 4-5 overall record and a 2-1 record against Patriot League opponents. The Raiders are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, dropping contests to Yale (45-31), Albany (24-17) and Fordham (37-13).
• The Raiders return eight starters on offense and seven on defense after finishing last season with a 4-8 overall mark and a 3-2 league record.
• Dual threat sophomore QB Jake Melville has started six games, connecting on 82-of-134 for 888 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He also has carried 74 times for 451 yards and four scores, leading the team with 6.1 yards per carry and 75 rushing yards per game. He missed three games during which freshman Bret Mooney completed 28-of-65 for 367 yards with a TD and one INT.
• Sophomore TB Demetrius Russell has carried 117 times for 574 yards and a score, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
• Defensively, senior LBs Kris Kent and Vinny Russo lead the team with 70 and 69 tackles, respectively. Kent, a Bethlehem, Pa. native who played at Nazareth High School, has 8.0 tackles for loss and a team-best 2.5 sacks.
• Dan Hunt (Springfield '92) is in his first season as the Colgate head coach, but has been on the staff since 1999.
