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Return to Patriot Play
Oct. 20, 2009
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
LAFAYETTE VS. FORDHAM Radio: WGPA-AM Sunny 1100 Live TV: Lafayette Sports Network (RCN-4&8, WBPH-60) National Replay: MASN on DIRECTV 640 and Dish 432 on Oct. 27 at 8 a.m. Internet: THE MATCH-UP: After a five-week hiatus from Patriot League play, Lafayette
(5-1, 1-0) will finally return to conference action on Saturday against Fordham (3-3, 0-1). The Leopards are slated to play five straight conference games (the first three at home and the last two on the road) to close out the regular season.
The Leopards are coming off a 4-0 swing over the best the Ivy League had to offer, most recently a 35-18 win at Harvard on Saturday. Senior TB DeAndre' Morrow had a big day for the Leopards with 11 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and four catches for 54 yards from QB Rob Curley.
Fordham outpassed Cornell in the Rams' last game, winning 39-27 behind a five-touchdown day from NFL QB prospect John Skelton (20-27-1 for 420 yards). Jason Caldwell was the beneficiary of most of Skelton's passes, accounting for nine catches for 245 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
KEEPING SCORE: Lafayette and Fordham each had their top scoring outputs of 2009 last week. Lafayette put up 35 at Harvard and Fordham scored 39 at Cornell.
ON THE POLL: Lafayette is and has been receiving votes in both of the Top 25 polls (The Sports Network and the FCS Coaches Poll). The Leopards have earned recognition from Sports Network voters since week one and are currently 30th in the poll (fifth in the others receiving votes). Lafayette has been tallying votes in the Coaches Poll since week seven and was 35th in Monday's votes. Lafayette has been ranked in the top 25 in five straight seasons (2004-08), climbing as high as 21st in 2008.
THE TURNOVER BATTLE: Turnovers were the key to Lafayette jumping out to a fast start at Harvard. On the first play of the Crimson's initial drive, Carlos Lowe forced a fumble after a Harvard catch that Eric McGovern recovered. The Leopards took over at the Harvard 27, later scoring on a six-yard TD run by DeAndre' Morrow. Michael Schmidlein's first career interception gave the Leopards' offense another scoring opportunity, starting at the Harvard 47. A 16-yard strike from Rob Curley to Kevin Doty and runs of eight and 23 yards by Morrow put Lafayette ahead 14-0.
On the season, Lafayette has turned it over seven times (11th fewest in the nation) while forcing nine turnovers. The Leopards have fumbled just once this season, and luckily for Lafayette, three of the six interceptions given up were in the same game (Columbia). Lafayette led the nation in fewest turnovers per game in 2008, handing it over just 11 times in 11 games, down from 27 in 2007.
IVY ITINERARY: 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. This season, 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. Harvard and Penn were picked to finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the Ivy league preseason poll, and the Columbia squad is one of the most talented in the last 10 years, featuring 26 seniors.
T.O.P. FOR LC: Time of possession has been a key element in the Leopards' success. This season, the Lafayette offense has held the ball an average of 33:20 in each game. The Leopards are ranked sixth in the nation, but just second in the Patriot League behind Colgate (38:58). Against Columbia, Lafayette held the ball for 20:06 of 30 minutes in the second half. Lafayette's final drive ran off 5:56 and covered 88 yards on 13 plays and left Columbia with just 13 seconds for its final possession of the game. The battle was closer at Harvard with Lafayette holding a 3:44 edge in time of possession.
HEAD COACHES: THE HEAD COACHES: Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani (Lebanon Valley '75) is in his 10th season as the fiery head man with the headsets and his 23rd year overall as a member of the Lafayette coaching staff. He is the 27th head coach in the program's 128-year history. Tavani was the running backs coach at Lafayette for 14 seasons prior to being named head coach in December of 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.
The Lebanon, Pa. native guided Lafayette to three straight Patriot League titles (2004, 2005, 2006) and his career record stands at 57-51. Tavani is 22-8 in Patriot League games over the last five years.
Tavani knew a little bit about running the ball in his playing days, becoming 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 freshman on the women's soccer team.
Tom Masella (Wagner '81) is in his fourth season at Fordham where he is 19-21. The Rams are coming off a 5-6, 1-5 season a year after they captured the Patriot League title and Masella was named Coach of the Year. Masella spent two seasons as the head coach at Central Connecticut State and he has also served on the coaching staffs at UMass, Louisiana Tech and UConn, and was the head coach at Boston University and Fairfield. He began his coaching career at Wagner.
ABOUT FORDHAM:
Fordham's season has been an up and down one. The first three games were on the low end with losses to Rhode Island, Columbia (40-28) and Colgate (20-12) while the Rams' most recent adventures were wins over Old Dominion, Bryant and Cornell.
In Fordham's three wins, the Rams have averaged 36.0 points per game, including a season-high 39-point effort at Cornell.
Senior QB John Skelton, widely touted as an NFL prospect because of his size (6-5, 258) and rocket arm, lived up to his billing at Cornell by throwing 20 passes for 420 yards and five touchdowns. Skelton now has 651 career completions for 8,160 yards and 58 touchdowns, all school records.
Skelton's brother, Stephen, a tight end who has caught 35 balls for 400 yards and four TD's, and WR Jason Caldwell, who has 34 catches for 600 yards and seven TD's, are the main options. Caldwell is coming off a career game vs. Cornell when he had 245 yards and four TD's.
Fordham runs the ball thanks to junior TB Xavier Martin, a 1000-yard rusher from 2008 who has 89 carries for 525 yards and three TD's this season.
The Rams' defense intercepted five passes at Cornell, including three by Abdul El-Quddus.
THIRD AND "I DON'T THINK SO": The Lafayette defense stopped Harvard
14-of-16 times on third down and allowed just 110 rushing yards against a squad that was averaging 173 yards on the ground per game. LB Michael Schmidlein led the team with 10 tackles. The Leopards had seven tackles for loss, including four sacks, three of which were literally at the hands of Ian Dell, with Mark Leggiero (6 tackles) accounting for the other.
Lafayette's defensive numbers were a little less impressive at the end of a runaway game than they would have been in a closer contest. For Harvard, 118 of the team's 233 passing yards came in the fourth quarter after the game was decided.
NATIONAL D RANKINGS: Lafayette's defense is 12th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 15.3 ppg. Lafayette is also 15th in rushing defense (90.3 ypg), 32nd in total defense (366 ypg) and 65th in pass efficiency defense (122.8 ypg).
ABOUT THE PROGRAM IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: Since 2004, Lafayette is 41-23 and 23-8 in Patriot League play. Lafayette stands as the only Patriot League program to record a winning record in each of the last five regular seasons (2004-08) while also holding a Top 25 national ranking each year.
LAFAYETTE vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE: The Leopards have played 345 games all-time against the six fellow members of the Patriot League, and are 177-152-16 (.540) in those contests. Since the Patriot League began play in 1986, Lafayette is 72-53-1 (.573) vs. member schools and has won league titles in 1988, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Lafayette vs. the Patriot League:
SIX TIMES SIX FOR 8: Junior WR Mark Layton has six touchdown catches this season, a mark that ties him with four other players (John Weyrauch, Mike Grau, Dave Baird, John Carter) for eighth on Lafayette's single-season touchdown mark. Phil Ng holds the record with 13 in 1988. Layton is in the midst of a breakout season. The Sanford, Fla. native, who made 17 catches for 194 yards all of last season, already has more substantial numbers in 2009 with 34 catches for 410 yards through six games with six touchdowns (the first six of his career). Layton is averaging six catches and 68 yards per game. 47 AND 49 IN THE 4-3: In the Leopards' 4-3 defense, the linebackers are going to make the bulk of the tackles. Junior Michael Schmidlein and senior Mark Leggiero are leading the team in tackles with 10.8 and 9.0 tackles per game, respectively. Schmidlein is 13th in the nation (first in the Patriot League) in tackles per game while Leggiero is tied for 43rd nationally (third in the Patriot League). CAREER CURLEY: Senior QB Rob Curley has completed 65 percent (116-179-6) of his passes this season and is currently ranked first in Lafayette history for single-career completion percentage (61%) and second in single-season completion percentage (64.8%). Curley also moved into seventh place for career touchdowns (26), career passing yards (3,774) and seventh in career completions (314). His 287 passing yards, 23 completions and 39 attempts vs. Columbia all matched or surpassed career highs. BENNETT BRINGING IT: Sophomore WR Mitchell Bennett is enjoying a breakout season for the Leopards. Bennett has 19 catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns and is also the Leopards' top blocking wideout. He had TD catches vs. Penn and Columbia. D-LINE: There is no doubt that the Leopards' defensive line is one of the most talented groups defensive coordinator John Loose has assembled in his 10 years on college hill. Seniors Andrew Poulson (26 tackles, 2 sacks, 3.5 TFL) and Ian Dell (23 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 6.0 TFL) return to the starting lineup at tackle and fellow senior Allan Whitesell (14 tackles, 0.5 sacks, 1.5 TFL), who played in 10 games with four starts in 2008, is playing one of the defensive end spots. At the other end is junior Doug Gerowski (18 tackles, 1 sack, 2.0 TFL), who has had a career-best five tackles in each of his last two games. Junior Michael Phillips (11 tackles, 1 sack, 2.0 TFL) made the most of his snaps on the defensive line in the season opener at Georgetown. He forced a pair of fumbles and recovered another. As a group in 2009, the defensive line has forced five fumbles. LEGGIERO'S BACKING IT UP: The Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, Mark Leggiero, claimed his first-ever Patriot League weekly honor on Oct. 5. The senior made a game-high 12 tackles, including nine solo stops, in Lafayette's 31-14 win at Yale. The Leopards held Yale to 58 rushing and 214 passing yards, 140 of which came in the fourth quarter after Lafayette had built a 17-point lead. Lafayette is surrendering just 15.3 points per game this season, tops in the Patriot League and 12th in the nation. Leggiero was Lafayette's second straight Defensive Player of the Week winner. Academically, Leggiero is an Engineering major who is a Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection. This semester, Leggiero is enrolled in three classes: Architectural Design & Theory, Civil Engineering Project Management with lab and Political Sociology. Leggiero maintains a 3.2 GPA and posted a 3.3 in the 2009 spring semester. A SIX-PACK OF SACK: A key to Lafayette's win at Yale was pressure on the quarterback. The Lafayette defense sacked two different Yale quarterbacks six times, thanks to two apiece from Andrew Poulson and Ian Dell and one each from Doug Gerowski and Nick Oliver. The six-pack was the most sacks for Lafayette since Sept. 11, 2004 in a 17-6 win at Georgetown. (Marvin Snipes 2, Chris Brungo, Blake Costanzo, Tye Murphy, Maurice Bennett). I'LL TAKE WHITE FOR $100 PLEASE...: Senior TB Maurice White churned out 131 yards on 21 carries at Yale, the only time this season that a Lafayette player his rushed for 100+ yards and the fourth time in White's career. Lafayette has four players on its roster who have rushed for 100-plus yards in a game: Tyrell Coon, DeAndre' Morrow, Jerome Rudolph and White. The number is second only to Appalachian State which has six who have broken the century mark. The Leopards are tied with Sacramento State for second in the category with UT Martin close behind with three. IN THE RED ZONE: Lafayette has both excelled and struggled in the red zone this season. The Leopards' defense is 10th in the country, allowing opponents to score just nine of the 14 times they have allowed an opponent inside the 20-yard line. By contrast, the Lafayette offense has scored on 19-of-25 red-zone opportunities, ranking 64th in the nation. HISTORIC WIN AT THE HISTORIC (OLD) YALE BOWL: Lafayette's win over Yale was the first ever for the Leopard program in eight tries. The two teams first met in 1912, and prior to the win on Oct. 3, last played in 2006. AND WE GO...TO OVERTIME: Lafayette found success in overtime against Penn (9/26), beating the Quakers with Davis Rodriguez's 28-yard field goal. It was the Leopards' first overtime game since Sept. 8, 2001, when Lafayette lost to former Patriot League member Towson 16-13. Lafayette is now 2-4 all-time in overtime, winning the first overtime affair in 1995 over Fordham (24-21 on 11/11/95) but losing the next four (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) before the win vs. Penn. P.L. PLAUDITS POST PENN: Junior K Davis Rodriguez and junior LB Michael Schmidlein earned Patriot League weekly football honors (9/28) following Lafayette's 20-17 overtime win vs. Penn. Rodriguez nailed the game-winning field goal in overtime and was named Special Teams Player of the Week while his classmate, Schmidlein, made a game- and career-high 16 tackles en route to Defensive Player of the Week laurels. Rodriguez hit 2-of-3 field goals, including the game winner from 28 yards out in overtime. Rodriguez also connected on both of his PATs, as he scored eight points on the evening. He had previously kicked the game winner against Penn in an 8-7 triumph in 2007. Rodriguez earns his first Special Teams Player of the Week award this season and third of his career. Schmidlein made 16 tackles to help Lafayette limit Penn to just 17 points in the 20-17 overtime victory, the Leopards' third straight over the Quakers. He also recorded a tackle for loss and pass breakup as the Leopards held Penn to just 2-of-13 on third-down conversions. He earned his first conference Defensive Player of the Week award. Rodriguez and Schmidlein both were Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selections in 2008, earning varsity letters while maintaining a minimum of a 3.2 GPA in the fall semester. The duo also surpassed the 3.0 GPA threshold in the spring semester. A Government and Law major, Rodriguez is currently enrolled in four classes: African Cultural Institutions, Early American Political Thought, Introduction to Psychology (with lab) and Religion, Myth & Fantasy. An Economics and Business major, Schmidlein is taking Economics of Health Care, Intro to Finance, Economics of Sport and Intro to Sociology this fall semester. TAILBACK BY COMMITTEE: The offensive coaching staff led by coordinator Mickey Fein and under the watchful eye of former tailback and current head coach Frank Tavani is faced with a problem of selecting a tailback from a talented group of four. The quartet includes three seniors in Maurice White, DeAndre' Morrow and Tyrell Coon and sophomore Jerome Rudolph. None of the seniors has been able to maintain his health for an entire season which has opened up opportunities for the other tailbacks and eventually Rudolph as a freshman. White is a powerful runner who was No. 1 on the depth chart in 2007 and 2008 and led the Leopards in rushing last season with 80 carries, 469 yards and 2 TD's. White's top performance of the season came at Yale when he had 131 yards on 21 carries with one touchdown. White leads the team in carries (77) and yards (354) in 2009. Coon is the biggest of the backs and is a slasher who led the team in carries (108) and ended 2008 with 454 yards and two TD's. Coon had the most carries against Penn, with 15 touches for 40 yards. Morrow is a shifty back with soft hands who had 58 carries for 336 yards and two touchdowns in 2008. He had eight carries for 61 yards at Georgetown to go along with four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown catch. Morrow had his best game of the season at Harvard, leading the team in rushing (85 yards with two TD's) and receiving (four catches for 54 yards). Rudolph and Morrow are the speediest members of the group. Rudolph carried for 199 yards on 35 carries and a pair of scores last year. His red and black cleats reached the end zone at Georgetown on a 48-yard scamper around the end. He missed the Yale game with a foot injury, but returned vs. Columbia. ABOUT THE OFFENSE: Lafayette has used multiple offensive formations in 2009, often choosing to employ three wide receivers and at other times two tailbacks with a pair of wide receivers, with one of the tailbacks in a role as a pass catcher. Lafayette has not completely abandoned the I formation, often going to a power I. The Lafayette offense has been far from predictable, choosing to pass out of the I as often as it does from other formations. The Leopards also introduced the Wildcat formation briefly at Harvard. UP AND DOWN ON THE GROUND: The Leopard rushing attack pounded out 205 yards on the ground vs. Georgetown, but managed 70 yards vs. No. 24 Liberty. Lafayette had 91 yards vs. Penn's defense, but bounced back with 155 yards at Yale. Lafayette had 118 rushing yards vs. Columbia and 128 at Harvard. DEFENSE VS. GEORGETOWN: A combination of a very strong Lafayette defense and a sputtering Georgetown (9/12) offense resulted in the Leopards shutting down the Hoyas' offensive attack. Lafayette allowed just 19 rushing yards and 194 passing yards, 81 of which came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. A NOCTURNAL VENTURE: The Georgetown game (9/12) marked the first home night game in Georgetown history. 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 game at the Atlantic City Auditorium. Lafayette played four night games this season. 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 38 have earned the distinction since 1995. In 2008, Lafayette had 18 student-athletes qualify for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll for which they must achieve a minimum of a 3.2 GPA and earn a varsity letter. Lafayette has also claimed four of the last eight Patriot League Scholar Athletes of the Year. LINE 'EM UP: While depth could be an issue on the offensive line moving along in the season, the front five is made up of four players who have had starting experience. Team captain and left tackle Ryan Hart-Predmore is in his second season at left tackle and third as a starter. The team captain earned All-Patriot League Second-Team laurels in 2008. He will be lined up next to left guard Brian Wycinowski who started 11 games as a junior. Another "W" returns to the starting lineup at the center spot in Mike Wojcik. Wojcik started 19 games the last two seasons. The young buck in the group is sophomore Scott Biel at right guard. Biel earned the Offensive Scout Team award in 2008 and played his way into a starting position. Fifth-year senior Joe Moore sat out 2008 with an ACL injury after starting the final four contests of 2007 at right tackle. He is currently out with injury, hoping to make his return for the Patriot League stretch run. Sophomore Anthony Buffolino started in place of Moore vs. Liberty and has started each game since. The offensive line is under the tutelage of first-year assistant coach Stan Clayton who boasts nearly 15 years of coaching experience at Toledo and Princeton among other institutions. As a player, Clayton was a member of Penn State's 1986 national championship team and went on to play four seasons in the NFL. PRESEASON POLL: Lafayette was picked third in the Patriot League Preseason Poll of conference head coaches and sports information directors. In 2008, Lafayette was selected to finish fourth and that's where the team ended. This season, Holy Cross is in the top spot followed by Colgate, Lafayette and Lehigh tied for third, Fordham, Bucknell and Georgetown. The last time the preseason pick won the title outright was 2001 (Lehigh). ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE RETURNERS: Lafayette placed 10 players on the All-Patriot League first and second teams in 2008, but just three of them return in 2009: senior LB Mark Leggiero, junior PK Davis Rodriguez and senior OL Ryan Hart-Predmore. THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE: Senior MLB Mark Leggiero is one of the top players in the Patriot League and his play in recent seasons was recognized as he was selected as the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. He finished the 2008 season with 93 tackles, two sacks and an interception on his way to All-Patriot League First-Team honors. As a sophomore in 2007, he was second on the team with 77 tackles and three sacks and was an All-Patriot League Second-Team honoree. In 2006, he was the program's rookie of the year, playing in all 12 games on special teams and as the top backup at linebacker. Leggiero made a career-high 15 tackles vs. No. 24 Liberty and is second on the team in stops, ranking 43rd in the nation in tackles. ABOUT THE KICKER: Junior PK Davis Rodriguez was one of just five underclassmen on any Patriot League squad to earn all-league honors. Rodriguez was 13-of-15 on field goal attempts in 2008 and was 4-of-5 on kicks of 40 to 49 yards, including a career-long kick of 47 yards at Colgate. He also converted 32-of-33 PATs and at one point had made 48 straight PATs. Rodriguez is 82-of-86 for his career (95%) on PATs and 25-of-39 on field-goal tries (64%). With that as his background, Rodriguez struggled at Georgetown, missing kicks of 38, 34 and 32 yards. All had plenty of distance, but were wide. Against Liberty, Rodriguez missed his only attempt from 23 yards in the second quarter. Against Penn, Rodriguez was 2-of-3, including the game-winning 28-yard field goal in overtime, his second vs. the Quakers in his career. Rodriguez added a 31-yard FG on slippery turf at Yale and a 35-yarder vs. Columbia. Rodriguez hit all five PAT's at Harvard. The St. Petersburg, Fla. native earned Sports Network 2009 Preseason All-America Second-Team honors after an All-Patriot League Second-Team selection in 2008. ABOUT THE DEFENSE: Anyone who has been around the Lafayette football program in recent seasons knows that the Leopards' defense has been the team's strength under defensive coordinator John Loose who is in his 10th season on College Hill. Lafayette finished eighth in the nation in scoring defense in 2008, allowing 17.5 points per game, including four games where it surrendered fewer than two TD's. The Leopards were 10th in the nation in rushing defense (92.2 ypg), 20th in total defense (300 ypg) and 36th in pass efficiency defense (115.9 ypg). Lafayette boasted the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation in 2007, allowing just 260.1 yards of total offense per game (first in the nation), 84.9 yards on the ground (fourth in the nation), 16.9 points per game (eighth in the nation) and a pass efficiency rating of 108.3 (15th in the nation). Lafayette's defensive production in 2009 follows... 2009 Game By Game Opponent Rushing Yds. Passing Yds. Total Yds. Points at Georgetown 19 194 213 3 No. 24 Liberty 119 242 361 19 Penn 131 159 290 17 at Yale 58 214 272 14 Columbia 141 153 294 21 at Harvard 74 233 307 18 AVERAGES 90.3 199.2 289.5 15.3CURLEY'S THE GUY: Senior Rob Curley emerged from spring ball as the Leopards' starting quarterback. He was 3-1 as the starter down the stretch in 2007 and 6-2 as a starter in 2008. Curley completed 57 percent of his passes (121-212) for 1,424 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He started the first eight games of 2008 before injury and eventually a coach's decision put him second on the depth chart. Sophomore Ryan O'Neil is the backup with junior Marc Quilling, who missed most of preseason with a back injury, close behind. Quilling was 45-for-76 for 555 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in 2008. Quilling started the final three games of the season. WHO'S CATCHING THE THING?: With the graduation of the Leopards' top two receivers from 2008, including a career top-5 pass catcher in Shaun Adair, the Leopards are looking to a young group to pick up the slack. Lafayette has moved to a rotation of five players. Sophomores Mitchell Bennett and Greg Stripe are 1 and 1A on one side of the field while junior Mark Layton is the other starter. Junior Nathan Padia and sophomore Kyle Hayes will also vie for catches. THE PUNTER: For the second year, the punting work will be done by Tom Kondash. In 2008, the junior punted 57 times for 2,149 yards and 37.7 yards per kick. He landed 22 kicks inside the opponents' 20-yard line with just one touchback and boomed a career-best 79-yard punt vs. Holy Cross. Kondash has booted five punts inside the 20 and has two kicks of 50-plus yards. Lafayette is 67th in the nation in punting (35.9 ypk). I SEE A RED JERSEY AND I WANT TO PAINT IT BLACK: 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 and continued their winning streak by beating the Crusaders 31-21. Lafayette has not worn its black jerseys or pants in 2008. 200+ RUSHING GAMES: When Maurice White ran for 212 yards in the 2008 season opener vs. Marist, it was the first time in nearly six seasons that a Lafayette ballcarrier eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark in a single game. For White, it was the first time in his career (high school or college) that he managed the feat and it placed him in some elite company. Since 1990, there have been nine 200-yard 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 WPATRIOT LEAGUE TITLES: Lafayette won three straight Patriot League 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). IN THE NFL RANKS: Blake Costanzo '06 is currently on the Cleveland Browns' 53-man roster. Costanzo, who now wears No. 54 for the Browns, played the last two seasons with the Buffalo Bills and was the team's special teams MVP in 2008 before being released. In the off-season, his contract was picked up by Cleveland. He is the lone Patriot League representative currently on an active NFL roster. In a matchup between his current and former teams on Oct. 11, Costanzo recovered a punt on special teams that set up the game-winning score and also made two tackles. HISTORIC FISHER STADIUM: Fisher Stadium has hosted the College's home football games since 1926. The facility underwent a $23 million transformation that gave Lafayette one of the premier FCS football venues in the nation. New spectator seating was built, including chairback seating in select areas, 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 82nd season, Fisher Stadium has been host to 406 Lafayette football games with the Leopards enjoying an overall record of 241-152-13 for a winning percentage of .609. Of the previous 81 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. LAFAYETTE FOOTBALL IN ITS 128th SEASON: Since fielding its first college football team in the fall of 1882 (the same year that dirty little coward 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 644 victories (644-540-39). Lafayette ranked 33rd among all college football teams in all-time wins entering the 2009 season, posting its first win in 1883 (25-0 vs. Rutgers). Lafayette accumulated 100 victories by 1900, 200 by 1915 and 300 by 1934. 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 SPORTS NETWORK TO TELEVISE ENTIRE SEASON: The Lafayette Sports Network, the national leader in Division I FCS television coverage, will televise all 11 regular-season Lafayette football games for the seventh straight year. Now in its 13th 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 (226,000), New York City (250,000), Philadelphia (382,000) and Washington, D.C. (131,000) will be able to watch all 11 Lafayette games on RCN-8. Nationally, LSN telecasts will be picked up for the ninth 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. Each LSN football telecast will air tape-delay on MASN on the Tuesday following each contest. A complete broadcast schedule follows. Gary Laubach handles all of the Leopards' play-by-play duties for the 13th straight season and is joined by analyst John Leone for the 12th straight year. In his ninth year as a member of the broadcast team is Dan Mowdy, who reports on the Leopards from the sidelines. RADIO AND TV SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT KICKOFF RADIO TV MASN/ MASN AIR DATE AIR DATE 9/12 at Georgetown 6 p.m. WAEB 790 LSN/MASN 9/15 11:30 p.m. 9/19 LIBERTY 6 p.m. WAEB 790 LSN/MASN 9/22 11:30 p.m. 9/26 PENN 6 p.m. none LSN/MASN 9/29 11:30 p.m. 10/3 at Yale 12 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 10/6 8 a.m. 10/10 COLUMBIA 6 p.m. WAEB 790 LSN/MASN 10/13 8 a.m. 10/17 at Harvard 12 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 10/20 8 a.m. 10/24 FORDHAM 1 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 10/27 8 a.m. 10/31 BUCKNELL 1 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 11/3 8 a.m. 11/7 COLGATE 1 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 11/10 8 a.m. 11/14 at Holy Cross 12:30 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 11/17 8 a.m. 11/21 at Lehigh 12:30 p.m. WGPA 1100 LSN/MASN 11/24 8 a.m.LSN RCN-4 & 8, WBPH 60 MASN Mid Atlantic Sports Network (DIRECTV 640, DISH 432) LAFAYETTE ON THE RADIO: The Lafayette Sports Network entered into an agreement with WAEB-AM 790 and WGPA AM-1100 to broadcast the 2009 Lafayette football season. The deal places Lafayette on the top two rated AM stations in the Lehigh Valley. See a complete broadcast schedule on the following page. Veteran broadcaster Dick Hammer is in his 43rd season as the Leopards' play-by-play man and will be joined in the booth at home by former Leopard greats Mike Joseph '88 and Phil Ng '88 on a rotating basis, and on the road by Lafayette SID Phil LaBella. 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. INSIDE LAFAYETTE FOOTBALL: Inside Lafayette Football can be seen every Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. throughout the season as well as 30 minutes prior to kickoff of all Lafayette contests. Laubach will sit down with head coach Frank Tavani, as well as select student-athletes, to discuss the Lafayette football program. LAFAYETTE SPORTS NETWORK ALL-ACCESS: Each LSN telecast is available live through LSN All-Access, which streams the game worldwide to any high-speed internet connection. In all, more than 60 Lafayette athletic contests, as well as Inside Lafayette Football, are scheduled to be broadcast through Lafayette All-Access this year for a rate of $9.95 per month and $79.95 for the entire year.
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