This season, it’s all about experience for the Georgetown football team. After defeating Davidson by a score of 20-10 in North Carolina last season, the team tore the Wildcats apart in a 40-16 showcase at Multi-Sport Field last Saturday.
Last season, the Hoyas relied on a number of sophomores, including linebacker Jeremy Grasso. A year later, that experience is coming to full fruition as Grasso and other third-year players led both sides of the ball last weekend. After a 2010 season where he and fellow junior Rob McCabe started on the outside, Grasso moved to middle linebacker.
“It was a big change, learning the defense from a whole new position,” the linebacker said. “But, as far as comfort, I’m really comfortable inside and it’s really good to be back there.”
Grasso responded to the move with perhaps the best individual defensive display Patriot League fans will witness all season, recording 3.5 sacks and eight tackles, including 4.5 tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery. The junior’s performance earned him Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors, but Grasso remains focused on the upcoming Patriot League schedule.
“It was a big honor. It gave me a little confidence and felt really good,” Grasso said. “I have to credit my teammates for opening up gaps, doing their jobs. I can’t take the credit myself, it has to go to my teammates.”
Led by Grasso, the defense held Davidson to just 16 points on the evening. Juniors Jeremy Moore and McCabe recorded seven and six tackles each, respectively, to go alongside interceptions from senior safety David Quintero and sophomore defensive back Stephen Atwater. This season, the secondary was touted as the strongest and most experienced aspect of the Hoya defense, but the entire unit stepped up to hold the Wildcats to negative seven yards on the ground.
“We knew that they had a few runs and didn’t do much with it,” head coach Kevin Kelly said. “Overall, [I’m] pleased with the effort of the whole operation.”
On the offensive side, there was more uncertainty, especially at quarterback, but junior Isaiah Kempf took the reins at starter and never looked back, accounting for one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown on 79 rushing yards and 172 passing yards. Kempf was assisted by the Hoyas’ starting tailback, Nick Campanella, who rushed for 82 yards and three touchdowns less than a week after Kelly predicted a breakout season for the sophomore.
Establishing themselves as mainstays behind center in Week 1, Kempf and Campanella gave a great deal of credit to the team’s revamped offensive line.
“It was definitely a team game—our line played phenomenally,” Kempf said. “They only gave up one sack. I didn’t think we were going to run as much as we did but they presented a lot of holes for us to run through.”
Kevin Sullivan, who moved from right guard to right tackle over the offseason, led the line by scoring his first career touchdown after diving on a loose ball in the end zone. The junior’s debut at right tackle coincided with sophomore James Spaly’s first collegiate start at left tackle, forming a new anchor for the Hoya offense this season.
This weekend, the Hoyas begin their Patriot League schedule against a motivated Lafayette team. In the preseason Patriot League Coaches Poll, the Leopards were picked to finish fourth, one spot ahead of the Hoyas. However, Lafayette already suffered their first setback last week, falling to North Dakota State 42-6. But Grasso says the result isn’t an indication of the matchup they will face this weekend.
“Lafayette is a really big game for us,” he said. “They’re going to be a much tougher opponent [than Davidson], but we’re really confident going in from our first game.”
After last season’s 28-24 victory over the leopards, the Hoyas have good reason to be confident. Yet. they are not overlooking their first Patriot League opponent. Kempf and company are committed to winning their last home game until October 22, but perhaps in a different fashion than their ground attack last weekend.
“They [Lafayette] like to load up the box a lot, so we’re definitely going to try to throw it around,” Kempf said.
Georgetown’s air attack could propel the team to a 2-0 start for the second straight year. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday evening at Multi-Sport Field.
