Georgetown’s football team is looking brand spanking new as they get ready to try to put a spanking on their opponents throughout the 2006 season, beginning Saturday at home against Patriot League foe Holy Cross.
Along with new, hard-nosed head coach Kevin Kelly, the Hoyas will start the season with several new parts as they try to build up a winning football machine.
Sophomore quarterback Ben Hostetler will be calling the plays for the Georgetown offense for the season-opener. The athletic, bandana-wearing quarterback ran the offense effectively in the spring and summer to win what was a very tight race between him and the more experienced seniors Nick Cangelosi and Matt Bassuener. He has only attempted 15 passes, completing ten for 115 yards and one touchdown.
He started one game last year against Cornell due to a Cangelosi injury and was almost injured himself, doing a flip in mid-air after getting hit while diving for a first down. That no-fear mentality should suit Hostetler well against Patriot League defenses that kept the Hoyas to the lowest offensive output in the league last year.
“It’s a privilege to be a starter and lead my team into the game,” said the quarterback who everyone calls Hos. “It’ll be fun.”
The entire team hopes that this Saturday’s game will be more fun than the last time they squared off against Holy Cross and lost 48-6. But the Hoyas are a definitively different team than they were last year. Only eight seniors will be starting this year and the coaching staff is entirely different except for secondary coach Rob Scarlatta. For them, this is a different team, with a different scheme and new, young players to carry it out. The defense is especially young and missing key starters from last year, including stud defensive end Michael Ononibaku and middle linebacker Mehdi Hassan. But according to senior defensive end and captain Alex Buzbee, last year’s performance against Holy Cross is no indication of what will happen this time around with the changes on the Hoya squad.
“We have a young team, but I’m looking forward to see how the guys step up,” said Buzbee. “We have good leaders, and as long as we can stop the run, everything else will take care of itself.”
Even the new quarterback isn’t putting too much weight on last year’s outcome when the offense only threw for two total yards and gained 21 in all.
“It’s a whole new system,” Hostetler said. If we protect the ball, we’ll be alright.”
The Hoyas will be protecting the ball from a team coached by Tom Gilmore, a good friend and formerly a fellow coach with Kelly at Dartmouth.
“He has a great work ethic and has coached on both sides of the ball,” Kelly said. “He’ll have his team ready to play.”
The Hoyas are getting ready, for the game during what Kelly calls “polish days.” With a new coach, new defensive players and new offensive scheme and quarterback, the Hoyas are excited to see the fruits of all their labors this offseason.
“A lot is riding on this,” Buzbee said. “We got a brand new coach and I think everyone is anxious to see how we look for this year.”
