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Sept. 20, 2005
THE MATCH-UP: Lafayette opens defense of its 2004 Patriot League championship on Saturday as the Leopards host Fordham at historic Fisher Field. In game eight last season, Lafayette assumed sole possession of first place in the Patriot League with a 3-0 record following a 35-20 win over Fordham in the Bronx.
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Seniors Larry Johnson and Brandon Stanford lead the Patriot League in kick and punt return average, respectively, through the first three games of the season. Stanford is ranked eighth in the nation with an average of 16.9 yards per punt return (nine returns for 152 yards), and has 10 or more yards on seven of his returns this season. Johnson, Lafayette's single-season record holder in both total yardage and average per return, is averaging 28.0 yards on seven returns.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kick returner Larry Johnson earned the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance last Saturday vs. Princeton. Johnson returned five kicks for 144 yards, including a career-long 72 yard return after the Tigers went ahead 23-14 with 3:47 remaining. A three-year starter at cornerback, he also made seven tackles (five solo) and had his first career sack.
THE SERIES: Fordham (720 wins) and Lafayette (614) have the most all-time wins among Patriot League teams in college football history. They have met 23 times and played every year since 1989, with the exception of 1996 when the game was canceled due to the death of a Fordham player. Lafayette held a 15-2-1 advantage through 1999 before Fordham ran off four straight victories. Leopards' head coach Frank Tavani earned his first career victory against the Rams a year ago.
THE HEAD COACHES: Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is in his sixth season at the helm of the Lafayette football program. He is the 27th head coach in the program's 124-year history. Tavani enters this weekend's contest with a career record of 26-33.
Fordham's Ed Foley, a 1989 graduate of Bucknell, was 5-6 last year in his first season as a collegiate head coach. He has a career record of 5-9.
HEY, YOU LOOK FAMILIAR: Four of Fordham's 10 assistant coaches have spent time at Lafayette in their careers. Defensive coordinator Joe Tricario was at Lafayette from 1996-98, while running backs coach Keita Malloy (2000), wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator Joe Dougherty (2003) and assistant defensive backs coach Josh Carter (2004) all coached the Leopards' wide receivers as offensive assistants.
BENNETT ON "BUCHANAN BATTLE" LIST: Senior linebacker Maurice Bennett has earned a number of preseason accolades, including placement on the watch list for the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award, which goes to the top defensive player in I-AA football. A total of 16 players were named to the first list, released Aug. 24. Bennett joins Bucknell defensive end Sean Conover on the list. Both players gathered first-team All-Patriot League accolades in 2004 and second-team preseason All-American recognition from the Sports Network as well.
BUCHANAN BATTLE UPDATE: Senior linebacker Maurice Bennett led the Leopards' defense with 13 tackles last weekend against Princeton, and has 31 tackles (11 solo, 20 assists) to go with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble so far in 2005. He has 301 tackles, 20.5 TFL, 9.5 sacks and five forced fumbles in his career, and has started 27 of the 37 games in which he has played at Lafayette. Bennett has the second-most total tackles among the 16 players currently on the Buchanan watch list.
THE LEOPARDS' LINEBACKERS: Seniors Maurice Bennett, Blake Costanzo and Dion Witherspoon, Lafayette's top three tacklers, have each led the Leopards in tackles in one of the first three games. In the season opener at Marist, Costanzo had 11 tackles, two sacks and recovered a fumble. In Lafayette's 7-0 win over Richmond, Witherspoon made 11 stops, including three assists behind the line of scrimmage. Bennett was credited with 13 tackles in last week's game vs. Princeton. They recorded 265 total tackles a year ago despite Witherspoon making just five starts, as he was playing behind two-year co-captain Wes Erbe.
`D' IS FOR DEVASTATING: The Leopards have held nine of their last 10 opponents under 23 points, with the exception being the I-AA playoff game at Delaware which included a fumble return for a touchdown. Lafayette allowed 19.1 points per game a year ago, and gave up just 15.2 points in league games. This season's edition of the defense leads the Patriot League in scoring average (14.7 ppg.) and fewest yards against (279.0 ypg.)
LETS CATCH TWO: Senior wide receiver Brandon Stanford's nine-yard touchdown catch on the first drive of the second half vs. Princeton was his second score of the season through the air. Tight end Chad Walker later hauled in a 23-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, and also had a four-yard TD catch at Marist. Nine different Leopards caught exactly one touchdown pass a year ago.
THE QUARTERBACK SITUATION: Junior Brad Maurer was knocked out of the game with a hip pointer on Sept. 10 vs. Richmond, but returned on the second play of the second quarter and went the rest of the way. He finished with 163 yards and a touchdown on 16-of-25 passing. Maurer started last week's game with Princeton but was visibly hampered by the hip pointer and was replaced by senior Pat Davis. Trailing 20-0 at the half, Davis was 6-for-10 for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and earned 40 yards on four carries to nearly bring the Leopards all the way back. Davis leads the Patriot League in passing efficiency with a quarterback rating of 172.82, as three of his 10 completions have gone for touchdowns. Maurer completed 12-of-17 passes (70.6 percent) for 111 yards and a touchdown in the season opener at Marist. He had attempted 93 passes without an interception dating to last season before having his final two passes picked off against Princeton.
THE THREE-HEADED TAILBACK: Junior Jonathan Hurt established himself as the starter at tailback after each of the top three backs received significant playing time in the season opener. Hurt, senior Alfred Belton and sophomore Anthony D'Urso helped the Leopards roll up 263 rushing yards against Marist, while Hurt had 21 carries for 70 yards in week two vs. Richmond. Hurt ran 11 times for 46 yards in the first half against Princeton before leaving with a knee problem. Belton (9 rushes for 32 yards and a touchdown) and D'Urso (4 rushes, 19 yards) carried most of the load in the second half as Lafayette twice pulled within one score of the Tigers.
THAT'S ONE FAST FRESHMAN: Wide receiver Shaun Adair has stepped on the field for just a handful of plays as a freshman, but is still Lafayette's second-leading receiver in terms of yardage. His two catches have gone for a total of 71 yards -- a 25-yard reception on the first play of the fourth quarter in the win over Richmond, and a 46-yard catch on the third play of the second half to set up the Leopards' first score vs. Princeton. Adair was a high school teammate of freshman linebacker Brian Reddy and junior offensive lineman Mike Saint Germain at Morristown (NJ) and won Morris County championships in the long jump, triple jump and 110m hurdles while anchoring the winning 4x400m relay team. His leap of 23-2 1/2 in the long jump would have won the Patriot League outdoor championship a year ago, while the distance of 45-1 1/4 in the triple jump would have placed third behind gold medal winner Jeff Sejour (48-4), who is a defensive back for the Leopards.
PLAYING CENTER FIELD: Junior defensive back Torian Johnson has two interceptions this season, and all four of his career interceptions have been returned for at least 16 yards. In the opener at Marist, Johnson picked off a pass late in the third quarter returned the ball 36 yards, and he had a 16-yard return after an interception at a similar point in the game against Princeton. Last season at Richmond, Johnson had a 46-yard interception return on the first play of the fourth quarter that led to a 22-yard go-ahead touchdown run by Jonathan Hurt. He also had a 20-yard return after picking off a pass at Columbia.
PATRIOT LEAGUE OPENERS: Lafayette is 8-7 in Patriot League openers since the name was changed from the Colonial League before the 1990 season. Frank Tavani is 2-3 in the first game on the league schedule as a head coach. Each of the first four games were against Towson, while the Leopards opened with a 17-6 win at Georgetown a year ago.
LAFAYETTE VS. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Leopards have played 314 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 165-150-16 (.515) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, the Leopards are 54-48-1 (.529) vs. member schools and have won league titles in 1988, 1992, 1994 and 2004.
SEASON DEDICATION: The Lafayette football program has dedicated the 2005 season in memory of Tom Norton '59, a member of the faculty in the sociology department for 37 years and a long-time supporter of Leopard football. Norton passed away on June 24, 2005 at the age of 68. Head coach Frank Tavani is dedicating the season in Norton's memory to thank him for his love and unwavering support of Lafayette football, and to promote the scholarship fund that has been established in his honor.
NCAA DIVISION I-AA LEADERS: The Leopards among the top-50 NCAA Division I-AA leaders in 2005:
Individual
Punt Returns - Brandon Stanford, 8th (16.89 avg.)
Kickoff Returns - Larry Johnson, 18th (28.00 avg.)
Interceptions - Torian Johnson, T-22nd (0.67 int.)
Team
Scoring Defense - 15th (14.67 ppg)
Punt Returns - 15th (16.89 avg.)
Pass Efficiency Defense - 19th (97.46 rating)
Total Defense - 24th (279.00 ypg)
Pass Defense - 32nd (163.00 ypg)
Kickoff Returns - 35th (22.50 avg.)
Rushing Offense - 38th (170.67 ypg)
Rushing Defense - 41st (116.00 ypg)
Passing Efficiency - 45th (128.34 rating)
AN EVEN DOZEN: Lafayette is 12-6 in its last 18 games dating to the final three contests of the 2003 season. The last time the Leopards posted a dozen wins in 18 or fewer decisions was 1992-93. Lafayette went 8-3 en route to the Patriot League championship in 1992, and opened 1993 with five wins, two losses and a pair of ties -- 17-17 vs. Hofstra and 7-7 vs. Colgate.
STAYING HOME FOR THE WEEKEND: This Saturday's game is the third in a nearly unprecedented stretch of home games for the Leopards. Next weekend's game at Georgetown on Oct. 1 will be Lafayette's only bus trip since the season opener until it hits the road for the final two games of the year. In the interim, Fisher Field will host seven games over nine weeks (one away game and a bye week), something that has happened just twice in the college's 124-year history of football -- Lafayette was home for seven of the first eight games in 1904, and eight of its nine contests in 1910.
RIGHTING THE SHIP: After back-to-back two-win seasons in 2000 and 2001, Lafayette has won 20 games over the past three years, the most for the program over a three-year span since 1981-83. Lafayette is 12-8 in Patriot League play in that time, putting together its best league run since a 10-5 record from 1994-96.
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES OF FISHER FIELD: Lafayette will make seven appearances at Fisher Field in 2005, the second time in three years and just the third time since 1915 that the Leopards have played seven home games. Lafayette has played its home games at Fisher Field since 1926 and has played host to 383 games. Lafayette has recorded 12 undefeated home seasons at Fisher Field and has a 229-141-13 (.615) overall record.
POLL POSITION: Lafayette checked in with the top spot among others receiving votes in the initial poll from The Sports Network, released Aug. 8. The Leopards garnered 268 points, just 25 behind Grambling State, which held the 25th spot in the poll. Lafayette slipped to 29th two weeks into the season, and fell to 45th following last weekend's loss to Princeton. Matt Dougherty, Executive Director of I-AA Football for The Sports Network, listed Lafayette 25th in his preseason rankings in early July. Street and Smith's 2005 College Football Yearbook has the Leopards at No. 18 in the country.
THE 2004 LEOPARDS IN THE NATIONAL POLLS: Lafayette's Patriot League championship season in 2004 vaulted the Leopards into the top 25 in the final two polls of the year after spending nearly two months in the Others Receiving Votes section. The Leopards were annointed with the No. 24 ranking by ESPN/USA Today and No. 25 by The Sports Network following their 24-10 victory over Lehigh on Nov. 20 that sent Lafayette to the postseason for the first time in school history. Despite the 28-14 loss to Delaware in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, both publications ranked Lafayette 19th in their final poll.
FROM THE DESK OF MATT BAYLY, DIRECTOR OF SPORTS MEDICINE . . The current listing of Lafayette football injuries (9/20):
PROBABLE: Jr. TB Jonathan Hurt (knee), Jr. WR Travis Hutson (ankle)
DOUBTFUL: Sr. WR Joe Ort (hamstring), Fr. LB Brian Reddy (stinger), Sr. OL Robert Stroble (concussion)
OUT: Jr. DL Keith Bloom (eye), 2-4 weeks; Jr. TE Craig Bloom (foot), 2-4 weeks; So. WR James Dixon (ankle); So. TE Ben Hoover (hand), 6-8 weeks; So. DB Ryan Williams (shoulder)
MURPHY'S LAW: Twin brothers Taj and Tye Murphy, from Columbia, Md., are both playing integral roles in the Lafayette secondary as seniors. Tye started all 12 games at cornerback last season, finishing with 44 tackles, five pass breakups and an interception. Taj is listed at strong safety on this week's two-deep and is the Leopards' primary nickle back. He started the final three games of the 2003 season at strong safety.
LJ AT DB/KR: Senior Larry Johnson, named Lafayette's most outstanding defensive back last year after starting every game at corner for the second straight season, also handles kick return duties for the Leopards. Johnson holds school records in both kick return yardage (625 in 2004) and average per return (27.5 in 2003). All told, the Waldorf, Md. native has 1,863 career kick return yards for an average of 23.5 yards per touch. He also has 174 tackles, a pair of interceptions and 18 pass breakups. He leads the team with 18 solo tackles this season.
ZISKA THE KICKER: Junior placekicker Rick Ziska hit a pair of 42-yard field goals against Marist to ensure that the Leopards never trailed in the opener. The first kick gave Lafayette a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, while the second pushed Lafayette's edge to 20-14 and answered a Marist touchdown drive. He is 2-for-4 this season, with all of the attempts in the 40-49 yard range. Ziska made 7-of-12 field goals, including 3-for-4 from beyond 40 yards, in 2004. His third career make, a 48-yarder, came just before halftime at Georgetown in the second game of the season and was the second-longest field at Lafayette in the modern era. He also hit 37-of-38 extra point attempts to lead the Patriot League by percentage points in that category.
JUST DROP IT IN THERE: Ziska's collegiate punting debut against Richmond received high praise, as he dropped three of his four kicks inside the 20-yard line. Sophomore David Yankovich is averaging 37.9 yards on eight punts, with a long of 47 yards. Ziska, the Leopards' No. 1 placekicker, assumed nearly all of the punting duties vs. Princeton, and has forced four fair catches on his eight attempts.
THE CAPTAINS: Senior linebacker Maurice Bennett and senior fullback David Nelson were elected co-captains by their teammates during spring practice. Bennett (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) has made 227 tackles in the last two years, and is in his third season as the starting middle linebacker. Nelson (Dover, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) played in 11 games, starting twice, as a junior and totaled 170 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
PATRIOT PRESEASON POLL: The Patriot League's head coaches and sports information directors slotted Lafayette second, just behind Lehigh, in the preseason poll released at the league's media day on Aug. 2. The Leopards received three first place votes and 61 total points, while the Mountain Hawks garnered top billing on eight ballots and had 68 points. Colgate, Fordham and Bucknell were grouped closely in the third through fifth spots, with Holy Cross outpointing Georgetown for sixth.
ALL-PL PLAYERS: Lafayette placed seven players on the 2004 All-Patriot League team, and three return for the 2005 season. Linebackers Maurice Bennett (first team) and Blake Costanzo (second team) represented the Leopards on the defensive side of the ball, while offensive lineman Drew Buettner was a second-team selection. Buettner is back for a fifth year after receiving a medical redshirt for his sophomore season, which he missed with a knee injury.
PRESEASON HONORS FROM I-AA.org: A league-leading nine Leopards earned preseason recognition on I-AA.org's All-Patriot League team, including six of the 11 returning defensive players with starting experience. Senior linebackers Maurice Bennett and Blake Costanzo, along with junior defensive lineman Marvin Snipes, were named to the first team. Linemen Andrew Brown and Daniel Liseno are joined by defensive back Torian Johnson on the second team. Offensive lineman Drew Buettner is the only representative on the first-team offense, while quarterback Brad Maurer and wide receiver Archie Fisher are on the second team.
HAVEN'T WE MET BEFORE?: The 2005 Lafayette football schedule features the same 11 regular-season opponents that the Leopards played on the way to last year's Patriot League championship. This is the fifth time in 124 years of football that Lafayette hasn't had any changes to the schedule in consecutive years, and head coach Frank Tavani hopes this year's repeat is met with better results. In 1959-61, the Leopards went 5-4 in consecutive years before falling to 2-6-1 in the last of the three seasons. In 1977-78, Lafayette went 5-6 and 4-7, respectively, while the 1986-87 editions of the Leopards were 6-5 and 4-7 against identical opponents. . . IN 2005: Through three games on the 2005 schedule, Lafayette has repeated its 2004 wins over Marist and Richmond, while falling to Princeton for the second straight year. The Leopards were 8-3 in the regular season a year ago, with the other losses coming to Harvard and Colgate.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT SELECTIONS: Lafayette has remained a mainstay on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, with the school being represented by 20 student-athletes during Frank Tavani's first five seasons as head coach. In 2004, quarterback Brad Maurer and offensive lineman Stephen Bono earned spots on the Academic All-District II squad. Maurer, who started all 12 games under center as a sophomore, is a neuroscience major. Bono was named to the first team for the third straight season. The 2004 Patriot League Football Scholar Athlete of the Year, Bono was a recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. On the gridiron, he was an All-Patriot Legue First Team selection.
REPLACING McCOURT: Joe McCourt, the 2004 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, left the Leopards as the school's second all-time leading rusher and with a legacy as one of the most dependable backs in Lafayette and Patriot League history. McCourt, who was a three-time 1,000-yard rusher, finished his career wtih 4,474 yard and 50 touchdowns on the ground. He is the all-time leading scorer in both Lafayette and Patriot League history with 326 points, and is also the fourth-leading receiver with 139 catches for 1,135 yards.
COACH `EM UP: Head coach Frank Tavani, the former running backs coach at Lafayette, has seen nine 1,000-yard seasons in his 18 years on the coaching staff. An All-American tailback himself at Lebanon Valley College, Tavani has mentored Erik Marsh, Joe McCourt, Leonard Moore and Tom Costello to 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The quartet has an exclusive hold on the top four spots in the school record book for career rushing yards.
SEVEN IS ENOUGH: Lafayette's 7-0 win over Richmond on Sept. 10 was the Leopards' first win by that margin since 1968, when they won two games by a 7-0 score. Lafayette defeated Hofstra on Oct. 5, and then shut out Kings Point on Nov. 9. The 1967 season finale at Lehigh was a 6-0 victory for Lafayette.
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).
LAFAYETTE LEADS NATION IN TELEVISED GAMES IN I-AA: The 2005 Lafayette College football season will see a Patriot League-best 11 contests hit the television air waves via the Lafayette Sports Network. This is the third straight year that the entire season will be televised and the ninth year that LSN has been in existence. The Lafayette Sports Network, recently named one of the best university-run sports networks in the country by Broadcast & Cable Magazine, has annually produced the most expansive and highest quality television package in the Patriot League. LSN telecasts can be seen by more than 9.8 million viewers in the Lehigh Valley, all of Philadelphia, and the Pocono region. LSN telecasts 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-TV 60. Nationally, the telecasts will be picked up for the sixth straight year by various DIRECTV outlets, available to more than 60 million viewers. CSTV (DIRECTV Channel 610) will continue as a major LSN partner, airing select telecasts to a national audience of more than 65 million households. CSTV will carry the Lafayette-Princeton game live at 1:00 p.m. on Sept. 17, while the 141st meeting between Lafayette and Lehigh will be broadcast to a national audience on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 9:00 a.m.
Emmy-nominated local sports broadcaster Gary Laubach will handle all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the ninth straight season. John Leone, Lafayette's Associate Director of Major Gifts, has provided color analysis for all but the first year on the air. In his fifth year as a member of the announcing crew is RCN's Dan Mowdy, who will handle analysis on the Leopards from the sidelines.
A HISTORY OF 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 four Patriot League championships - 1988, 1992, 1994 and 2004 - and made their first postseason appearance last season 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.
