Last Saturday afternoon, at the center of the gloomy, clouded Georgetown campus a Hoya brightspot took place. Mother Nature christened the new Multi-Sport Field with its first rain-doused duel and its first Georgetown football victory, as the Hoyas needed four quarters and an overtime of soggy play before they drained Duquesne (2-3 overall) 10-7.
While the drops fell on mostly empty seats, Georgetown’s (3-3 overall, 1-1 PL) water-logged warriors played like it was a national championship game. The defensive struggle could not be decided after 60 minutes of sodden football, allowing the watershed game to come to a climactic end.
In the overtime, senior kicker Brad Scoffern made his best Adam Vinatieri impression, booting a 25-yard field goal through the rain and the uprights to lift his team to its first home win of the 2005 season. It was actually the kicker’s second chance to win the game. He attempted a 52-yard field goal at the end of regulation. Under the meager kicking conditions, with his previous long kick being 49 yards, the try was a long-shot in every sense of the word.
“Coach gave me an attempt at that 52 at the end of regulation, and I hit the ball pretty well. It was down the middle but just short,” Scoffern said. “It was a heavy ball.”
Instead the double-duty kicker, who punted well all game, waited until after the easier, but pressure-packed, 25-yard overtime kick to slide feet first into the Georgetown “G” at midfield and celebrate with his team.
“I was confident,” Scoffern remarked. “In the overtime kick, all my teammates and coaches had a lot of confidence in me going into it. I just tried not to think about it and make the kick.”
Without the stifling play of Georgetown’s defense, Scoffern may never have had the chance to be the hero. With 33 seconds left in regulation and the game tied, Duquesne had the ball at the Hoya 35-yard line, threatening to score. But, on their first play, three-time MAAC Rookie of the Week and freshman quarterback Scott Knapp threw to Duquesne junior receiver Dan Spriggs across the middle, only for Hoya senior linebacker Mehdi Hassan to rip it away and run 40 yards downfield. The interception set Scoffern up for his first attempt at a game-winning kick.
“It was a rainy defensive day,” Head Coach Bob Benson said. “We forced turnovers, which we said we needed to do.”
The defense heeded their head coach’s call to “Dial it in!” and only allowed the Dukes to tread through the soaked turf for 169 total yards and one score. Led once again by senior captain and defensive end Michael Ononibaku (13 tackles, 2 sacks), the defense sacked Knapp five times, after he had only been sacked six times all season.
The Dukes’ offense, which is very dependant on their passing game, was not helped by the rain.
“This is the first game we’ve played in this type of weather,” Duquesne Head Coach Jerry Schmitt said after the game. “It is tough to open up your offense, and throw downfield with a wet ball. You have to give credit to Georgetown’s defense.”
Hoya senior running back Marcus Slayton had no problem dodging the puddles, running for a touchdown and 115 yards on 28 carries. The humble Slayton has shown he can be the man in the offense with his second 100-yard rushing game in a row. Like any good running-back, he knows who to thank for his success.
“I can’t do it by myself,” Slayton said. “If anyone’s the man it’s that front five. You put them all together and you say that they’re the man. I’m just running through the holes. They let me do what I do best, and that’s run.”
The Hoyas’ offense was held to only 165 yards itself, but is learning to overcome injuries and do just enough to win games. The offense was missing starters, sophomore receiver Kyle Van Fleet, senior tight-end Glenn Castergine and junior offensive linemen Tom King and Liam Grubb all with injuries. Not to mention senior captain and running back Kim Sarin who is out for the year with a back injury.
The banged-up Hoyas survived injuries, rain and a 40-yard field goal attempt by first-year kicker Mark Troyan during the Dukes’ first and only overtime drive, to get themselves back even with a .500 record.
At 3-3 the Hoyas have already matched last year’s win total, and will look to surpass it this week at Cornell (2-2 overall, 1-1 Ivy) at 1 p.m.
