Much like Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day, the Georgetown football team (1-6, 0-4) is having a recurring bad dream. The Hoyas were once again stricken by key turnovers and an anemic offense in their 17-7 loss to the Bucknell Bison.
The Hoyas came out to start the game with sophomore quarterback Ben Hostetler under center, a change from the last two weeks when junior Matt Bassuener was at the helm. Though Bassuener had been having some success in the air and with his legs, the Hoyas were still in the middle of a losing streak and wanted to start with a clean slate.
“We went into the week, and we had a three-man race (for quarterback),” Head Coach Kevin Kelly said. “It was a close race between Ben and Nick (Cangelosi). Matt probably had his worst week of practice.”
With the younger quarterback at the helm, the Hoyas were still limited in their offensive production. In the second quarter, with the team down 3-0 Hostetler and sophomore running back Charlie Houghton botched a handoff and fumbled the ball away to the Bison.
Like last week against Lehigh and the week before against Colgate, the Hoyas’ opponents took full advantage of the killer turnover. Bucknell’s freshman quarterback Marcello Trigg fired a 26-yard pass to sophomore receiver Dan Zvara, which led to an unmolested six-yard touchdown run by junior running back Peter Kaufman.
The Hoyas then tried their luck with their starter from last year, junior Nick Cangelosi to see if he could provide the squad with some offensive fire-power. The Bison defense rendered the hulking Cangelosi just as ineffective, and he was pulled after one four-play drive.
Hostetler was then reinserted to finish out the first half, and the frustration caused by turnovers continued to take its toll. With about two minutes left in the half, Hostetler was picked off by Bison senior linebacker Matt Palermo. After the play, Hostetler sought out junior receiver Brent Craft, the intended receiver, and after a few heated words, the two had to be separated. Throughout the game several Hoyas were also noticeably ticked, involving themselves in several small scuffles toward the ends of plays.
“Frustration was definitely out there,” senior Hoya defensive back Derek Franks said of the team’s tension during the game. “When you lose, it’s frustrating.”
Coach Kelly and his staff made an effort to quell the frustration and wake up from this recurring nightmare by starting Bassuener in the second half.
“My thought at halftime was that we needed a spark,” Kelly said. “We only had 74 total yards in the first half. Back at the Columbia game we got a spark from Matt coming off the bench, and I think he did that again. The result just wasn’t there.”
The offense did move the ball with more efficiency in the second half, amassing 201 total yards, but struggled to get into the end zone. Again, turnovers plagued the Blue and Gray and prevented them from coming back.
As the fourth quarter approached, the Hoyas held up four fingers to represent the most important quarter of the game. The spirited sideline gave the offense a much-needed spark. With 12 minutes left, the Hoyas found themselves in the middle of a solid drive, highlighted by a series of runs by junior running back Erik Carter and short pass completions to Craft. Moving inside the Bucknell 35-yard line, Bassuener took off out of the pocket and picked up seven yards before senior linebacker and captain Dorion Peterson stripped the ball loose. The Bison recovered the pigskin, taking the wind out of the Hoyas’ sails.
“It’s very frustrating,” Kelly said of the late-game mistakes. “You just have to keep plugging. I can’t put my finger on it. I told the kids we have an open week, and we’re going to evaluate everything from A-Z, starting with myself.”
At that point the weary Georgetown defense was beaten up by Bison battering ram Kevin Mullen. The sophomore fullback consistently broke tackles and welcomed helmet-jarring contact throughout the game, gaining 110 yards. He padded his team’s lead, pounding his way into the end zone from two yards out to make it 17-0.
Bassuener then led the team on a spirited 84-yard drive for their only score of the game when he connected with junior Charlie Curtis for a two-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left.
“We’re playing to win,” Bassuener said. “If you watch football, you know crazy things happen, so it doesn’t matter what the time on the clock is. My mentality there is still to win the game.”
Now the Hoyas are faced with a bye-week before they take on Charlestown Southern University on Oct 28. Although it gives the team more time to mull over the loss, Kelly feels as though it may do some good.
“They need a break, and the coaches need a break,” he said. “We’ll work on some fundamentals because we have the time. We have a four game season, and we’ll take it from there.”
