The start of October was supposed to signal new beginnings for the Hoya football squad. This past Saturday, the team (2-3 overall, 1-2 PL) that started their difficult schedule on the road for three of its first four games came out of the action with a .500 record and was fully ready to return to battle among the comforts of home. Yet, even with Leo cooking their meals, Georgetown seemed to be victim to a recurring nightmare when they fell to defending Patriot League Champion Lafayette (4-1 overall, 2-0 PL) 12-7 last week.
The Hoya’s season-long uphill climb featured the same menacing obstacles of bad field position and lack of offense that have plagued them all year. Their average starting field position for the game was their 20-yard line, and the offense could only manage one scoring drive with long field ahead of them.
“Any time you ask an offense to go 80 and 90 yards you’re asking a lot,” Head Coach Bob Benson said. “Field position is part of the game, and we’re not good enough to play on an 80-yard field.”
The game ended up being one of field position for both teams in the early goings, characterized by a volley of punts back and forth between white and blue jerseys.
Lafayette finally started the scoring with a 36-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first quarter by junior kicker Rick Ziska.
The Leopards’ next drive proved that it was the Hoyas’ defense that was spotty. A dropped interception by senior cornerback Brian Tandy in the end zone seemed to symbolize the significance of the entire day for the Hoyas: a huge opportunity that just slipped away. On an ensuing fourth and six for Lafayette, the Hoya secondary was burned, allowing junior quarterback Brad Maurer to drop a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide-open senior receiver Brandon Stanford. A missed extra point made it a 9-0 game.
“We know we have a good defense,” said Coach Benson. “But we needed to make more plays in the first half.”
The Lafayette defense snuffed out Georgetown’s option throughout the half. They allowed just 16 yards on 13 plays during Georgetown’s first four drives.
“We have a veteran defense and they know that we depend on them to keep us in every game,” said Lafayette Head Coach Frank Tavani. “Other than four missed tackles on one play, our defense really pitched a shutout.”
The player that made those four tackles miss was senior running back Marcus Slayton. He made a powerful 40-yard run with about four minutes left in the half to put an exclamation point on the Hoyas 80-yard scoring drive. Slayton, who has been splitting time at tail-back with sophomore Emir Davis, eluded tackles and shook defenders, rendering the boulder-like defense to mere pebbles.
“The offensive line did a wonderful job all game,” said Slayton. “Our tackle sealed [his defender] in and there was daylight.”
Unfortunately, it would be the only significant amount of light the Hoyas saw for the remainder of the game. The Leopards wouldn’t let them back inside the red zone for the rest of the afternoon.
The hyped Hoya defense, led by senior defensive end and captain Mike Ononibaku (13 tackles, 2.5 sacks), flexed their muscles in the second half. They refused to surrender a score, willing their team a chance to win in the final minutes.
The momentum shifted once junior defensive end Alex Buzbee and the rest of the defensive line stuffed a Lafayette quarterback sneak on fourth and inches on the Hoya 10 yard line.
“At that point, a field doesn’t ensure that you’ll win the game, just that you won’t lose it in regulation,” said Coach Tavani. “My philosophy is, if you can’t get an inch on that play, you don’t deserve to win.”
Junior quarterback Nick Cangelosi and the rest of the offense set out from deep in their own territory in the hopes of proving Coach Tavani’s philosophy right.
“There’s not a guy on that offense who didn’t think we could go down the field and win that game,” said Cangelosi.
The drive started out slow, but the boys in blue found openings. After the Hoyas converted on the ensuing fourth and short with a sneak, they found themselves in Lafayette territory.
“We had a shot, we had the ball on their side of the 50 with two minutes left for the win,” said Coach Benson. “You want the ability to win the game at the end, but we have to be able to close it.”
The Hoyas had the right play call, but they couldn’t execute.
“It was a great play-call. But we’re the players and we have to get it done,” Cangelosi said. “It’s not the coach’s fault, it’s our fault. We have to start making plays offensively and it starts with me.”
With the team looking back at what might have been they will go for their third win against Duquesne (2-2, 0-1) this Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
