The Georgetown Plague made its way onto the gridiron last week, forcing the Hoyas (1-4) to cancel their scheduled game against Colgate, a match-up which will not be made up this season. While no one likes to miss a game, head coach Kevin Kelly’s players made good use of the break.
“The positive is that the guys who were sick we gave off until Monday,” Kelly said. “The guys who were all banged up were able to heal because we didn’t have a game that weekend.”
The refreshed squad will play Penn (1-2) during this Saturday’s Homecoming game, and senior slot receiver Kenny Mitchell will need to shine in the team’s biggest game of the year. Mitchell has led the team with 166 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while helping the two young quarterbacks, freshman Keerome Lawrence and sophomore James Brady, grow as players.
“[Lawrence and Brady] do have tremendous talent,” Mitchell said. “It makes you more mature as a senior. You know that everything you do affects the team and it’s important for you to try and help their development.”
Both Brady and Lawrence, who combined for four interceptions against Holy Cross, need to take a step forward this week to have any chance against the Quakers. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, Penn has a strong secondary that allows just 177.0 passing yards a game on average. Junior DB Chris Wynn has three interceptions in three games, and senior DB Tyson Maugle leads the team with 19 tackles and has 2 tackles for a loss.
Georgetown won’t have it any easier rushing the ball. Penn has allowed 90 rushing yards a game so far this season, a number that includes last weekend’s effort against Dartmouth in which they gave up only five rushing yards the entire game. None of this bodes well for the Hoyas this Saturday, especially with junior running back Charlie Houghton still sidelined by injury. The team only managed 32 yards on the ground without Houghton against Holy Cross. The norovirus may be gone, but for now at least, Georgetown’s football troubles are here to stay.
Kickoff against Penn is at 2 p.m. on Harbin Field.
