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2009 Football Coverage
From HoyaSaxa.com game recaps. Links to other contemporary coverage may be out of date.
Randolph needed two plays and two catches for the go-ahead score, 13-7. The Hoyas went three and out, and off a HC turnover went three and out again. On its next series, HC went on a 8 play, 71 yard drive where Randolph was 5 for 5 and 49 yards, as the Crusaders led 20-7. Georgetown gave the ball over on downs on its last series, while HC drive to the two yard line before taking a knee to run out the clock. Dominic Randolph finished the game 36-56 for 414 yards, the first 400 yard passing effort on record against Georgetown. The Crusaders were led on the ground by freshman Eddie Houghton, who outpointed his brother across the field with a seven carry, 52 yard effort. Charlie Houghton rushed for nine yards in the opening series and just ten thereafter. Little can be said about the offense in the game after the opening touchdown. Brady was 6-9 for 46 yards in the scoring drive, but 5-14 in the remaining plays before being replaced by Scott Darby in the third. Darby was 8-17 for 54 yards, but excepting a 28 yard pass, he averaged a little over three yards a reception. Charlie Houghton led all Georgetown rushers with eight carries and 19 yards, and excepting a a reverse by receiver Rick Cosgrove early in the game, the rest of the running back corps combined for 11 carries and 12 yards. Senior Brian Josephs connected on 11 punts, one short of the modern record in a single game. Georgetown was 2-16 on third down conversions and held the ball just 10:27 in the second half, as the defense could no longer contain Randolph at the end. Randolph became the first PL quarterback to throw for more than 10,000 yards for a season, and his 36 completions in a game was the fourth most in HC football history. Still, HC coach Tom Gilmore was complimentary to Georgetown after the game. "They came out ready to play," he said. "They are well coached, have a good football team, and I think they'll win a lot of football games this season." The Hoyas return for its home opener Saturday versus Lafayette. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN HOLY CROSS
First downs 7 28
Rushed-yards 19-38 28-105
Passing yards 131 414
Sacked-yards lost 2-9 2-8
Return yards 29 35
Passes 19-40-1 36-56-2
Punts 11-34.9 4-39.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-2
Penalties-yards 6-38 5-48
Time of possession 20:23 39:37
Additional links follow below.
Game #2: Lafayette (Sep. 12) "The key right now for this football team is to not end up like years past [when] we lose the first two games and it all spirals downhill." - Georgetown senior Dan Matheny, quoted in the Washington Post It's said that one learns a lot about a football team between weeks one and two. If so, Saturday's 28-3 loss to Lafayette was a bad sign for the second game of the 2009 season. Despite holding the Leopards back with a pair of early defensive stands, Georgetown's offense was inert in its home debut, with a overstuffed 2,875 at 2,400 seat Multi-Sport Field. Its first play was an eight yard sack, and its only first first down of the entire half came from a Lafayette roughing the passer penalty in the opening drive. While Georgetown managed seven first half punts, the defense fell into another no-win situation, with nearly 21 minutes on the field in the first half. Lafayette took over on its third series of the first quarter at the 21, and advanced to midfield. A defensive offside penalty set the Leopards up with a second and short at the 46, whereupon LC running back Maurice White popped through the line for a 46 yard run, 7-0. When the Hoyas answered back with a three play, -8 yard drive, the Leopards were back in business, driving into Georgetown territory when DE Andrew Schaetzke stopped the Leopards with an alert play on fourth down and one, giving the Hoyas momentum. The offense promptly fumbled it back on its first play.
Much of the rest of the half was inconsequential, and had it not been for some defensive stands the Leopards would have made this a rout. Three consecutive Lafayette drives inside the Georgetown 22 ended with missed field goals. Then, in somewhat of a surprise for the Georgetown offense, Coach Kelly benched Brady and brought in fourth string freshman QB Isaiah Kempf, along with freshmen receivers Brandon Floyd and Kenneth Furlough. Opening with 2:02 to play, Kempf's debut in a Georgetown uniform led the Hoyas on a 13 play, 72 yard drive that ended eight yards short of the end zone as Kempf missed his final three passes as time expired. The Hoyas were outgained 464-213; over a third of Georgetown's total yardage came on the last series of the game. Charlie Houghton got only nine carries in the game for 35 yards; as a team, Georgetown managed 19 yards on 22 carries. Brady finished the game 14-29 for 113 yards, Kempf 6-12 for 81. Sophomore DB Wayne Heimuli led the defenders with nine tackles. Lafayette coach Frank Tavani was careful not to call out his opponents."It was not as pretty as I would have liked, but how can I complain about a 28-3 win?", Tavani said. "Big plays are something [our offensive coordinator] is always talking about with our players. And I think we have the kind of kids to make big plays." Game statistics:
LAFAYETTE GEORGETOWN
First downs 18 11
Rushed-yards 37-205 22-19
Passing yards 259 194
Sacked-yards lost 2-21 3-24
Return yards 14 1
Passes 20-34-0 20-41-1
Punts 5-34.8 8-33.1
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-2
Penalties-yards 10-91 7-73
Time of possession 37:41 22:19
Game links are below. The Associated Press must have been out of town or looking at an old roster, as they reported a field goal by Colin Meador and 119 yards passing by Sidney Baker. Neither are on the 2009 roster.
Game #3: Yale (Sep. 19) A 332 yard passing effort by freshman quarterback Isaiah Kempf was not enough as the Georgetown offense failed to find the end zone in a 31-10 loss to Yale at Multi-Sport Field Saturday. Kempf made his first collegiate start in place of sophomore James Brady, who was out with a hamstring injury, one of three starters held back for the game. Kempf's initial series was a rough one--on third down, his pass was picked off at the Georgetown 22. Though Yale had a great opportunity to score, consecutive penalties kept the Bulldogs out of the end zone, settling for a 30 yard field, goal, 3-0. The Hoyas went three and out and Yale did likewise, but a 15 yard punt from Yale's All-Ivy kicker Tom Mante set up the G-men at the Yale 47. On a 4th and two at the Yale 39, Kempf's pass to freshman Kenneth Furlough sailed wide, giving the ball back to Elis with a short field. Yale marched on an eight play, 61 yard drive, with transfer quarterback Patrick Witt connecting on a 28 yard pass, 10-0.
Kempf was the star of the game, throwing 32 for 59 for 332 yards, a record for a freshman quarterback. His 32 completions trail only Matt Bassuener's 33 and 35 completion games in 2007, where the Hoyas scored 51 points in a split of games with Bucknell and Fordham. His 59 completions trail only J.J. Mont's 65 attempts in a 49-40 loss to Fordham in 1998. For Yale, Witt was 22 for 27 for 216 yards and two touchdowns. However promising Kempf's efforts may be, his 332 yards gained no touchdowns and the general lack of scoring is the lasting mark of the 2009 season to date. In losing its 11 of 12 games and eighth of its last nine nine at home, the offense has now gone 40 consecutive possessions this season without a touchdown. In fact, Georgetown has scored only four offensive touchdowns since the eighth week of the 2008 season. Defensively, junior LB Nick Parrish led all defenders with 10.5 tackles, picking up the pace from injured DB Wayne Heimuli who did not play in the game. Also of note on the injury front: senior captain Dan Matheny was taken off the field following a leg injury and his loss will hurt the offensive line. The Hoyas remain home next Saturday for Howard University during Georgetown's 70th Homecoming Weekend. Game statistics:
YALE GEORGETOWN
First downs 20 17
Rushed-yards 38-87 11-23
Passing yards 216 332
Sacked-yards lost 6-47 1-8
Return yards 16 13
Passes 23-29-0 32-59-2
Punts 6-42.8 5-33.6
Fumbles-lost 4-2 1-0
Penalties-yards 6-57 6-56
Time of possession 35:39 24:21
Post-game articles follow below:
Game #4: Howard (Sep. 26) When the story of the 2009 season is written, a lasting memory will follow Saturday's 14-11 loss to Howard. Not to falling victim to onside kicks, not to three interceptions, and not even to three intentional grounding calls. No, just two yards. Two yards may have separated Georgetown from its first win in 2009, and could be the closest they come to a win for a long time to come. A restless Homecoming crowd and a steady rain proved to be less than ideal conditions before a full house on the Georgetown side of the spartan Multi-Sport Field and a surprising lack of turnout from the visitors across town. But to its credit, Georgetown started off strong, as freshman QB Isaiah Kempf completed four straight passes in a 12 play, 59 yard drive that ended with a Jose-Pablo Buerba field goal and an 3-0 lead. The weather conditions foretold a close game, but each team had their chances early.
Howard opened up the third quarter by embarrassing the homestanding Hoyas by almost picking up a second onside kick, but Georgetown retained possession with a short field. The Georgetown drive, three plays and -8 yards, foretold another long half. For the most part, Georgetown's defense held Howard in check, while the offensive play calls continued to sputter. Georgetown's first two drives of the half totaled ten plays, -5 yards. In a game of trading field position, the Hoyas found three straight drives start inside its 10. With 1:07 in the third, starting at its 5, the Hoyas went to work. Within a penalty-filled quarter (the Bison had more penalty yards (59) than total yards (38)), Georgetown began its most memorable drive of the game. Kempf completed three midfield passes, including a 15 yards pass on 3rd and 13, and the Hoyas benefited from two Howard penalties that moved the Hoyas to the Bison two yard line, with momentum on its side. Charlie Houghton's 19 yard run at the start of the drive set the tone for a 93 yard drive, and he never handled the ball again--not only at the two yard line, but no carries for the rest of the game. First down, quarterback sneak, no yards. Second down, a missed throw in the end zone, no yards. Third down, quarterback sneak, no yards. Fourth down, quarterback sneak, no yards. The futile attempt to plow Kempf through a weakened Georgetown offensive line and failing three times was baffling, and could have been a game-ender for the Hoyas' fragile hopes, but a strong defensive stand set up the Hoyas at midfield with 9:39 to play, where Kempf found WR Dishon Hughes on two pass plays of 19 and 17 yards for a touchdown with 8:20 left. A two point conversion rallied the crowd, but on the next series the Bison converted a 3rd and 13 at midfield and ran out four minutes of clock time before a missed field goal gave Georgetown the balk with 2:07 at its 20 with no timeouts. On the first play, Kempf threw the ball straight into the hands of Howard defensive end Will Croner, and the Bison ended an eight game losing streak. Kempf was 23 of 49, but the three interceptions can't be overlooked. While none of the three led to points, they ended key drives that could have turned the tide. Instead, Georgetown is now at low tide and facing five road games in the next six weeks. For a team that has won just once outside the District of Columbia in three years, the short term prospects appear difficult. Game statistics:
HOWARD GEORGETOWN
First downs 14 21
Rushed-yards 42-142 26-45
Passing yards 134 232
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 2-16
Return yards 49 7
Passes 15-30-1 23-49-3
Punts 7-39.7 4-32.3
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 14-135 10-109
Time of possession 32:23 27:37
Additional links follow below. Game #5: Bucknell (Oct. 3) Field goals do not equal touchdowns. Six points in a game does not equal progress. The winless Georgetown Hoyas settled for field goals on its first possessions and never challenged thereafter, allowing Bucknell a 14-6 win Saturday that marked Georgetown's 19th Patriot League loss in 20 games since 2006. After holding the Bison (3-2) at the Georgetown 31 to open the game, Georgetown drove 45 yards in 11 plays, settling for a 41 yard Jose-Pablo Buerba field goal. After a Bucknell fumble at the Georgetown 20, the Hoyas looked to take command, but its offense could not advance past the 10 and added a 27 yard field goal, 6-0.
The Hoyas are 0-5 for only the third time in school history and will travel next Saturday to Lehigh who, despite an 0-4 start in 2009 and a growing impatience for its coach, Andy Coen, has nonetheless outscored Georgetown 160-14 in its last three games at Goodman Stadium. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN BUCKNELL
First downs 15 15
Rushed-yards 32-83 48-176
Passing yards 136 86
Sacked-yards lost 5-32 1-9
Return yards 3 8
Passes 14-27-2 9-14-0
Punts 5-32.2 6-35.7
Fumbles-lost 1-0 3-1
Penalties-yards 7-45 5-30
Time of possession 29:07 30:53
Additional links follow below.Game #6: Lehigh (Oct. 10) "The Hoyas...continue to lag behind the rest of the league in terms of talent. I covered their first game in the league back on Labor Day weekend of 2001. Lehigh beat them 41-14 that day in Washington and Georgetown talked about how far away they were from competing in the Patriot League. Eight seasons later and they're still far away." --Keith Groller, Allentown Morning Call Lehigh held the Georgetown running game to negative yardage in a 27-0 victory at Goodman Stadium Saturday, Georgetown's 14th loss in its last 15 games and its ninth straight to Lehigh in as many games. The story of the game was Georgetown's running game, or lack of it. Rather than attack the a Lehigh run defense which was ranked sixth among the seven PL teams, Georgetown opted to go with the short passing attacks that have defined this season for the Hoyas. With Charlie Houghton not receiving a single carry in the game, Georgetown would go as far as its passing game would take them--which in this case was not very far. Georgetown posted one first down in each of its first two possessions but punted each time, whereupon special teams play set up the first Lehigh score. Following a 29 yard Georgetown punt and a 34 yard return, the Engineers went to the ground, rushing five of its next six plays before QB Chris Lum tossed a 17 yard pass to WR Craig Zurn for the score. Following a blocked PAT, Lehigh led 6-0. The teams traded punts but more mistakes hurt Georgetown. On a 3rd and seven near midfield, Kempf was sacked for 15 yards, and Brian Josephs' line drive punt was blocked and returned to the Georgetown nine. Three plays later, Lum found receiver Jake Drwal in the end zone, 13-0.
With eight sacks on Kempf, Georgetown didn't have a lot of time for drop-back passing, but its overall strategy received unusual criticism from the otherwise objective Lehigh broadcasts. "Georgetown's screens look awful", commented an analyst on WLVR-AM, while the television broadcasts attempted to mitigate the Hoyas' poor performance by explaining that it had joined the more competitive Patriot League straight from Division III, which was incorrect. "Overall I thought our defense did a great job, guys were flying to the ball and we made life tough for Georgetown today," said Lehigh coach Andy Coen. More trouble lies ahead for the winless Hoyas, as undefeated Colgate arrives Saturday at Multi-Sport Field. This is the first meeting between the schools in two years, owing to a norovirus outbreak on the GU campus that cancelled the 2007 game in Hamilton, NY. Colgate is 6-0 against the Hoyas since 2001. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN LEHIGH
First downs 10 16
Rushed-yards 20-(-26) 48-219
Passing yards 151 81
Sacked-yards lost 8-44 1-12
Return yards 0 108
Passes 27-40-1 10-22-1
Punts 10-34.2 5-32.8
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 5-28 6-45
Time of possession 26:43 33:17
Additional links follow below.
Game #7: Colgate (Oct. 17) There's no quit in the Georgetown Hoyas, but that's still not enough against a top 20 team. A record 63 carries paced the #17-ranked Colgate rushing game to a 31-14 win over Georgetown Saturday at Multi-Sport Field, extending the Hoyas' season long losing streak. The Red Raiders (7-0) got an unexpected introduction to the cold and wet conditions when its first punt of the afternoon was blocked by Georgetown's Keerome Lawrence and returned by Brandon Floyd for the touchdown, 7-0. After a Colgate punt set the Hoyas at its 20, the Hoya offense went three and out, and a bad punt by reserve kicker Tucker Stafford set up the Red Raiders at the Georgetown 39. The nation's top rated rushing attack was true to form, with ten straight rushing plays en route to the tying score. Georgetown could not move the ball in its second drive, following which a 49 yard Stafford punt pinned the Red Raiders back at its four. Holding Colgate in its own end of the field, a 36 yard punt set up the Hoyas with a short field at the 49. Keyed by a 30 yard pass play to RB Philip Oladeji, Kempf engineered the offense's first rushing touchdown of the season, with a seven yard quarterback run to give Georgetown an unexpected 14-7 lead on the #17-ranked Red Raiders.
The game was won on the ground, with Colgate out rushing the Hoyas 313-91; however, it should be noted that this was Georgetown's best rushing output all season. Isaiah Kempf was the leader on offense despite a poor passing day overall (8-26, 106 and one INT), he ran for 72 yards but was mitigated by four sacks, two sizable, that reduced his rushing totals by almost half. Philip Oladeji led the Georgetown rushers with 118 yards of total offense. With the win Colgate moves to 7-0 for only the fifth time in school history, last reached in 2003 when the Red Raiders advanced to the I-AA national championship game. Colgate is one of only four 7-0 teams, joining Richmond, Montana, and Butler. By contrast, Georgetown fell to 0-7 for only the second time in its 122 year history and joins Indiana State and Idaho State as the only 0-7 teams in Division I-AA. The Hoyas will try to reverse course and avoid becoming the first 0-8 team in school history after the bye week with an Oct. 31 game at Old Dominion. The Monarchs are a surprising 5-2 in their first season in Division I-AA following a 28-17 win over Campbell this past week. Game statistics:
COLGATE GEORGETOWN
First downs 27 10
Rushed-yards 63-313 26-91
Passing yards 125 106
Sacked-yards lost 1-12 4-36
Return yards 0 45
Passes 13-20-0 8-26-1
Punts 5-29.0 5-30.6
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-yards 2-25 0-0
Time of possession 40:36 19:24
Additional links follow below.Game #8: Old Dominion (Oct. 31) Thomas DeMarco rushed for three touchdowns as Old Dominion walked over Georgetown, 31-10, before 19,782 in Norfolk, VA Saturday. The crowd, the largest road game attendance for a Georgetown opponent since the Hoyas played at Miami in 1950, saw the Monarchs put the game away in the second quarter and coast to the seventh victory of its inaugural season. ODU had scored on its first possession in six prior games this season, and made it a seventh following a nine play, 86 yard drive to go up 7-0. DeMarco keyed on a matchup with WR Reid Evans and Georgetown DB Jayah Kaisamba, hitting Reid three times in the drive, but it was a 15 yard DeMarco draw that put the Monarchs on the scoreboard. Although DeMarco appeared to have fallen short of the goal line, and absent instant reply, the field judge overruled a hesitant head linesman and called it a touchdown.
The first half numbers were stark. ODU had 350 yards total offense to Georgetown's 39. Kempf was 4-16 for 25 yards, with two sacks, and a number of hard shots to the ground. Kempf sat the second half for QB Scott Darby, who was working against the second team ODU defense as the game was already out of reach. As a result, Georgetown was able to offset the first half numbers with three long drives, the second of which found Darby passing to WR Brandon Floyd for a fourth quarter touchdown, Darby's first collegiate touchdown pass and only the third passing touchdown for the Hoyas all season. Despite only 75 total yards in the second half, the Monarchs dominated all phases of the game. DeMarco rushed for 144 yards and threw for 71 as the Monarchs averaged 6.8 yards per rush. Running back Desmond Williams rushed for 113 yards. For Georgetown, Charlie Houghton finished the game with 112 yards rushing, his first 100 yard game since November 3, 2007, and averaged 29 yards per kick return. Darby finished 14 for 31 for 147 yards, with Kenneth Furlough and Robert Lane each catching four passes for the game. The Hoyas totaled 297 yards total offense, 258 after halftime, but not enough to suffer their ninth straight loss since the last week of the 2008 season, tying a school record set in the 1975 and 1976 seasons. The 0-8 start is the first such record in Georgetown's 122 year varsity history. For ODU, with 38 underclassmen on its two-deep, the sky's the limit. Already, there is talk in the local press about extending coach Bobby Wilder's contract, even though he has three years remaining. At Georgetown, the focus is something entirely different: ending its losing streak Saturday at Marist, which accounts for two of Kevin Kelly's five career wins at Georgetown. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN OLD DOMINION
First downs 26 21
Rushed-yards 37-125 50-340
Passing yards 172 85
Sacked-yards lost 2-16 0-0
Return yards 2 30
Passes 18-47-1 7-14-1
Punts 4-29.0 4-38.8
Fumbles-lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 5-60 9-112
Time of possession 29:47 30:13
Additional links follow below.
Game #9: Marist (Nov. 7) Despite a 68 yard touchdown catch in the final minute, Georgetown's defense gave up 56 yards in 53 seconds, allowing Marist a 37 yard field goal with one second left in a 23-21 loss Saturday in Poughkeepsie, NY, extending the Hoyas' all-time losing streak to ten straight games, nine on the 2009 season. Sophomore quarterback Scott Darby made his first start of the season at quarterback, connecting on four of four passing in a nine play, 66 yard drive to give the Hoyas the lead on the opening possession of the game. Despite the Hoyas' early success at passing the ball, the play calling suddenly shifted to the run, where three rushes on the next GU drive gained two yards, and on the third series a rushing play to RB Charlie Houghton resulted in a fumble at the Georgetown 29, setting up the Red Foxes for a six play drive to tie the score. After a Georgetown punt, it was up to the defense to make a stand. The Red Foxes marched in eight plays inside the Georgetown 20, but DT Andrew Schaetzke sacked QB Chris Debowski on a 3rd and 4 at the GU 18, followed one play later by a defensive stop that prevented a touchdown. And then, almost on cue, the offense deflated the defense (and Georgetown fans) with an interception at the GU 31, which was returned to the 16 and set up Marist for the go-ahead score, 14-7.
The Hoyas needed to open up the game and they did just that. Darby found WR Brandon Floyd with a 19 yard pass to its 32, and on the next play, Darby found Floyd streaking down the field for a 68 yard touchdown pass, the longest pass play in three seasons. Jose Pablo-Buerba's extra point gave Georgetown a surprising 21-20 lead with under a minute to play. Opening up at its 24, Marist needed a big play, and got it. Debowski found WR James LaMacchia for 31 yards to midfield, and found Joe DeSimone for eight more yards to the GU 40. On the tackle, senior LB Chris Rau was tagged with a face mask penalty, adding 15 yards to the catch and setting up Marist at the Georgetown 22. Two plays, two timeouts, and a 37 yard field goal later, Georgetown was handed a stunning loss. Scott Darby put up some big numbers passing (31-57, 289 yards) but three turnovers and the failure to build the running game was an undercurrent in the game. Charlie Houghton, who put up 163 yards rushing and 76 yards receiving two years ago in Poughkeepsie, rushed for 21 yards in the first quarter and only one net yard thereafter. RB Philip Oladeji rushed 13 times for 100 yards last season, and picked up only one carry in this one. A Georgetown team that put up 266 yards on the ground against Marist in 2007 and 186 in 2008 managed just 98 yards on the ground all afternoon, forcing Darby into a pass-intensive effort. Georgetown returns home Saturday for a meeting with #1-ranked Richmond at 1:00. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN MARIST
First downs 22 17
Rushed-yards 28-98 41-172
Passing yards 289 144
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 2-12
Return yards 17 15
Passes 31-57-2 10-19-1
Punts 4-39.8 6-37.8
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-50 4-18
Time of possession 29:57 30:03
Additional links follow below.Game #10: Richmond (Nov. 14) In the worst opening quarter of Kevin Kelly's 42 game tenure at Georgetown, the Hoyas gave up turnovers on its first three possessions to pave the way for #4 ranked Richmond to run over the homestanding Hoyas, 49-10, at Multi-Sport Field Saturday. On Georgetown first play of the game, Charlie Houghton fumbled at the GU 25, converted in a seven play drive, 7-0. On Georgetown's second possession, Scott Darby was picked off at the GU 40, with a leisurely 12 play drive extending the lead to 14-0. On its third series, Keerome Lawrence fumbled at the GU 29 and Georgetown coach Kevin Kelly was cited with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the Spiders were up 21-0 with 1:26 in the 1st quarter.
For the Hoyas, Scott Darby was 15-33 for 122 yards. Philip Oladeji led the Georgetown rushers with only 27 yards after Charlie Houghton was injured earlier in the game. The Spiders' Eric Ward was 7-12 for 85 yards while his backup, John Laub, was 9-15 for 122 yards. The Spiders held the ball for 35:06 in the game. Game statistics:
RICHMOND GEORGETOWN
First downs 27 12
Rushed-yards 49-250 24-59
Passing yards 207 120
Sacked-yards lost 0-0 1-2
Return yards 43 37
Passes 16-27-1 16-34-1
Punts 2-40.0 7-36.4
Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-2
Penalties-yards 7-73 1-14
Time of possession 35:06 24:54
Additional links follow below.
Game #11: Fordham (Nov. 21) John Skelton threw for 405 yards and five touchdowns as the Fordham Rams rolled past a beaten up Georgetown team, 40-14, before an announced crowd of 2,439 at Senior Day. The widely expected loss marked Georgetown's 12th consecutive loss and the first winless season in 122 years of varsity football at the University. Fordham (5-6) entered the game having won two Patriot League games in the prior two seasons and wasted no time exposing a Georgetown pass defense that Fordham coach Tom Masella had openly questioned in pre-game comments on the Fordham radio broadcast. On the Rams' first play from scrimmage following a 30 yard Georgetown punt to midfield, Skelton found WR David Moore open for a 43 yard touchdown pass, 7-0.
The third quarter looked like more of the same, with Fordham taking the kickoff 41 yards to midfield and Skelton driving the rams to the Georgetown eight. On a first and goal, Skelton was intercepted in the end zone by Georgetown's Chris Rau, and the Hoyas responded with its best drive of the game. Aided by a Fordham roughing the passer on a 3rd and 25, and a 26 yard pass play to keeRome Lawrence, Kempf constructed a 14 play, 80 yard drive, handing the ball to Robert Lane for the one yard score, 34-7. It was only the third rushing touchdown registered by a Georgetown runner all season. An exchange of punts led the Rams into a drive of its own, with Skelton going 4-4 on a 11 play, 82 yard drive, finding WR Asa Lucas for the score, 41-14, early in the fourth. Georgetown responded with a 10 play, 73 yard drive, aided by a pair of Fordham penalties to finish the scoring at 41-14. Two subsequent Georgetown drives advance to the Fordham 33 and the Fordham seven, but both fell short on downs. Skelton finished 23-32 for 405 yards, only the second quarterback to throw for more than 400 yards against Georgetown in a game since 1964. For the season, Skelton finished with 3,708 yards and 26 passing touchdowns on the season, along with 802 completions, for 9,923 yards, and 69 TD's on his career. The Hoyas' quarterback situation ended as it began: questionable. Darby was 4 for 16 for 60 yards, Kempf was 14 of 26 for 170 but was sacked eight times. With Charlie Houghton injured, Philip Oladeji's 81 yards rushing earned him the season rushing title with just 308 yards, and whose 28 rushing yards a game is the lowest per game average in 25 years. But to be fair, these numbers are not alone. A number of lows were set with this game, not the least of which is a 12 game losing streak and an 0-11 finish that raises all sorts of questions about just what was accomplished this season and how to correct the often glaring mistakes that have been in evidence in the second half of the season. With the loss of 22 seniors, including key elements of the Georgetown offensive and defensive line, much of its secondary, its punter, and its place kicker, the questions are deep and without any good answers. "It's nice to go into the off season with a win," said Fordham coach Tom Masella. For the seventh straight year, Georgetown cannot say the same. Game statistics:
FORDHAM GEORGETOWN
First downs 26 19
Rushed-yards 45-281 44-69
Passing yards 405 230
Sacked-yards lost 1-10 9-95
Return yards -8 21
Passes 23-32-1 18-42-0
Punts 4-27.3 6-39.8
Fumbles-lost 2-2 5-2
Penalties-yards 9-113 4-42
Time of possession 28:19 31:41
Additional links follow below. |