Fresh off their dominating 38-7 win against Lafayette last week during Homecoming weekend, the Georgetown football team (3-3, 1-0 Patriot League) will look to stay unbeaten in conference play when they host Colgate (2-4, 1-0 Patriot League) this Saturday afternoon at newly renamed Cooper Field. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.
The Hoyas will look to start 2-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2010, a fact that is well known to both Sgarlata and his players.
“To win a game like that in the Patriot League is a big deal,” said Sgarlata of his team’s win over Lafayette. “But for us, to win back-to-back games in the conference is even bigger.”
The Colgate Raiders stand in the way of that accomplishment for the Hoyas. Coming off a blowout loss to Princeton, the Raiders have lost to FBS opponent Navy, New Hampshire, and Yale, and have beaten Holy Cross and Cornell. Both of those wins came on the road.
“They’re battle-tested, they played really good teams early in the season,” said Sgarlata of the Raiders, who dominated the Hoyas 19-0 last season. “They’re a big tough football team who has always presented problems for us.”
The Raiders are the best running team in the Patriot League, averaging 188 yards per game on the ground, and are fueled by the junior duo of running back John Wilkins and quarterback Jake Melville. A dual-threat snaptaker, Melville will present many problems for the Hoyas, as he’s thrown for nearly 200 yards per game in addition to running for 56 yards per contest.
“He’s good,” said Sgarlata. “One of the scary things is that he’s thrown the ball better now than he has in the past, as he’s matured.”
It will present a challenge for the Hoya defense, who held Lafayette to just nine total yards rushing last week, while also forcing three turnovers and blocking a field goal. Junior defensive end Phil Novacki was a Patriot League weekly honorable mention after recording five tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while senior defensive end Hunter Kiselick had four tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
But the Hoyas offense has not slouched at all recently either. For his performance last week against Lafayette, senior quarterback Kyle Nolan earned Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week. Nolan became the first Hoya to throw for five touchdowns since 2002, when Dave Paulus had five touchdown passes against Bucknell.
And while stats and wins are impressive, Sgarlata just worries about his team leaving all their effort out on the field.
“The number one thing I want us to do is I want to play well,” said Sgarlata. “If we can walk off the field, and I can say, ‘hey, we played well,’ I’m good with that. Our kids give tremendous effort.”
Sgarlata and his team believe that because of this determination and effort that they have the talent to accomplish something that no Georgetown football team has ever done: win the Patriot League.
“Our ultimate goal is to win the conference and go into the national playoff,” said Sgarlata. “That’s why we’re in the Patriot League. Our kids are of the caliber of this league.”
