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2014 Football Coverage
From HoyaSaxa.com game recaps. Links to other contemporary coverage may be out of date.Game #2: Dayton (Sep. 6) Senior running back Connor Kacsor set a Dayton single game rushing record as the Flyers defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 23-14, before a crowd of 3,468 at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, OH. The Georgetown offense, which struggled in its opener with Wagner, was no more effective in its early moments versus Dayton. A Georgetown three and out set up the Flyers near midfield, where a nine play, 26 yard drive set up Dayton for a 49 yard field goal for the opening score, 3-0. A second Georgetown drive netted just 13 yards, whereupon the Flyers went to the air in a drive interrupted by penalties and forcing a punt at midfield. A third Georgetown drive stalled at midfield, whereupon the Flyers remained in the air and advanced to the Georgetown 14 and settled for a 31 yard field goal to extended the lead to 6-0 early in the second quarter.
Kyle Nolan was inconsistent much of the game, throwing 19 for 35 for 179 yards, with only four completions of ten yards or more. The offensive line struggled to keep Nolan in the pocket, as many of his misses were hurried passes against an eager Dayton front line. Kimpela led all georgetown rushers with 49 yards, as the Hoyas totaled just 100 yards among five different backs. Kacsor accounted for 301 or Dayton's 317 rushing yards and 34 of its 40 carries. Of his 301 yards, 287 came after the first quarter. Georgetown continues on the road next week at Marist. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN DAYTON
First downs 15 24
Rushed-yards 29-100 40-317
Passing yards 179 176
Sacked-yards lost 1-7 1-8
Passes 19-35-0 19-33-1
Punts 5-45.6 2-41.0
Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-1
Penalties-yards 7-46 7-84
Time of possession 27:06 32:54
Connor Kacsor's 301 yards set a Dayton school record for rushing yardage and is second in Pioneer League history. It is the first ever 300+ yard rusher by a Georgetown opponent, breaking the record of 272 yards set by Fordham's Chip Kron in 1985. Kron's effort is no less remarkable. He rushed only 14 times against the Hoyas at a cold and rainy Kehoe Field on October 12, 1985, scoring on touchdown carries of one, 83, one, 84 and 17 yards in Fordham's 56-0 win, the largest margin of defeat by a Georgetown team since the 1905 season. Game #3: Marist (Sep. 13) The Georgetown Hoyas steered past an ineffective Marist team, 20-7, a team with just one offensive score in the entire 2014 season. While the Hoyas did nothing offensively that would raise concerns from Brown, Colgate, or Harvard over the next three weeks, its defense kept the Red Foxes in check throughout.
"I told kids we need to play with more of a sense of urgency,” said head coach Rob Sgarlata, earning his first career win Saturday. "Instead of waiting for plays to come to us we need to make them. Play the play you're in and not the next one and I think that showed up at critical times throughout the second half." Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN MARIST
First downs 20 8
Rushed-yards 34-94 32-72
Passing yards 194 68
Sacked-yards lost 4-24 1-5
Passes 21-45-1 10-25-3
Punts 7-43.3 10-37.5
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 4-35 7-60
Time of possession 33:37 26:23
Game #4: Brown (Sep. 20) Joel Kimpela and Daniel Wright combined for 194 yards as Georgetown upset Brown University, 17-3, before a crowd of 2,262 at Multi-Sport Field Saturday. The early drives of the first quarter foresaw a defensive struggle, as the first series from both schools ended with punts from midfield. The Brown offense, which featured 11 new starters, suffered its share of growing pains, cited for illegal formations in each of its first two possessions. Its offense began to catch fire toward the end of the first period, when a pass lofted from quarterback Marcus Fuller landed in the outstretched arms of WR Alex Vios for 33 yards, part of a seven play, 72 yard drive that saw Fuller connect on five consecutive passes to drive the Bears to the Georgetown five at the end of the first period. The succeeding plays in the drive were a harbinger for the Bears in this game. With a first and goal at the five, a false start set the Bears back to the ten. On the next play, Fuller rushed inside to the four, but lost the ball at the one, where Georgetown DT Jordan Richardson recovered the fumble and averted an early score that could have sent the Hoyas reeling. Georgetown went to the air in its next series, advancing to midfield. On its next series, Brown was on the march once again, driving to the Georgetown four before the Hoya defense held yet again, with Brown settling for a short field goal and a 3-0 lead. Georgetown took just 35 seconds to answer the Brown score. Following a pass completion to the GU 36, QB Kyle Nolan handed off the RB Daniel Wright, who squeezed past the Brown defensive line and swept down the eastern sideline of Multi Sport Field, a 57 yard run that gained Georgetown a lead it would not relinquish, 7-3.
"Looking back on the stats this is one of the most dominant games we've had running the football," said head coach Rob Sgarlata. "We felt confident to call the offensive line's number and let them go and have Jo'el [Kimpela] and Danny [Wright] have great days." "The offensive line did a great job of pushing and making holes for me and Danny," said Kimpela, who finished for a game high 104 yards. "Danny had a great run and I think we just complement each other and try to make each other better every day." Penalties and big plays really hurt us," said Brown head coach Phil Estes. "Our fumble at the goal line in the first quarter gave great momentum to Georgetown. As a young team you can't make those mistakes." Georgetown goes back on the road Saturday, at Colgate. Game statistics:
BROWN GEORGETOWN
First downs 16 21
Rushed-yards 31-88 38-250
Passing yards 215 177
Sacked-yards lost 2-15 5-33
Passes 19-34-2 18-28-1
Punts 5-43.6 6-49.0
Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-1
Penalties-yards 5-21 5-36
Time of possession 28:20 31:40
50th Anniversary Football Celebration (Sep. 20) More than 200 former players joined to salute five decades of intercollegiate football at O'Donovan Hall Saturday evening. Welcomed by Gridiron Club president Bruce Simmons (B'69), the event welcomed former coaches, captains, Hall of fame honorees, and members of the 1964 team, introduced by master of ceremonies Dick Williams (C'65). During dinner, a series of reflections were offered by representatives of each decade of the modern era, including Tony Lauinger (C'67), Dr. James Chesley (C'75), Andy Phelan (C'87, L'90), Janne Kouri (C'97) and Michael Ononibaku (B'06), followed by remarks from a parent of two former football players, Peter Cooper. Awards were presented to retired Gen. George Casey (F'70) as a special recipient of the University's Letterman of Distinction award, while Rory Quirk (C'65, G'71, L'80) received the Gridiron Club award for outstanding volunteer service, which will be hereinafter named in Quirk's honor. Head coach Rob Sgarlata addressed the audience, receiving hearty applause following the Hoyas' win against Brown that day.
Game #5: Colgate (Sep. 27) Two blocked punts accounted for nine of Colgate's 19 points in a 19-0 win over Georgetown at Hamilton, NY. The tone was set early in this game and in familiar fashion. In each of the Hoyas' last six losses to the Red Raiders, it allowed 300 or more rushing yards in the game. Colgate wasted no time in moving in that direction, with runs of 48 and 32 yards in its opening possession, a series which saw the Red Raiders drive to the Georgetown 21 before an Alec May sack and a defensive surge on fourth down stopped the drive.
The third quarter was a stalemate. The Hoyas managed three first downs but with little impact--the Hoyas' closest view of the red zone advanced it to the CU 38 when Nolan was sacked and gave up the ball to Colgate linebacker Vinny Russo. Colgate fared none better, with four drives totaling 27 yards and no first downs. The quarter yielded no points, however, and Colgate's 16-0 lead seemed secure. Colgate added a field goal on a ten play drive early in the fourth quarter but Georgetown could get no closer than the Colgate 47 thereafter. Colgate QB Jake Melville rushed 14 times for 128 yards, leading all Colgate rushers and mitigating an anemic passing effort, going 4-12 for just 30 yards. The Red Raiders combined to rush 47 times for 319 yards compared to a 31 carry, 35 yard effort by a Georgetown backfield that had little help up front. Of its 16 first downs, 15 were on the ground. Kyle Nolan finished 15-28 for 128 yards in the air for the Hoyas, but was sacked five times and surrendered one fumble. A 28 yard pass to TE Matthew Buckman was the longest play of the day for the Hoyas, who averaged just 2.7 yards per snap. The Hoyas return home Saturday to meet Ivy League favorite Harvard at Multi-Sport Field, the first ever visit of the Crimson to Washington and only its second game in its storied history to be played south of the Mason-Dixon line. Game time is 12:00 pm. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN COLGATE
First downs 14 16
Rushed-yards 31-35 47-319
Passing yards 128 30
Sacked-yards lost 1-7 5-48
Passes 15-29-0 4-12-1
Punts 9-31.6 5-41.4
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-0
Penalties-yards 5-50 9-93
Time of possession 28:32 31:28
Game #6: Harvard (Oct. 4) Andrew Casten scored four touchdowns as Harvard powered past Georgetown 34-3 at Multi-Sport Field Saturday, an effort which Harvard Magazine called "methodical", an apt description for a game where the Harvard Way--a relentless ground game, an pin-point passing game, and a line that held the Georgetown defensive line without a sack or a takeaway--was more than an inefficient Georgetown team could take. Casten and QB Scott Hosch were thrust into the lead roles after injuries led coach Tim Murphy to leave both QB Connor Hempel and RB Paul Stanton back in Cambridge for a second straight week. The next in line were up for the task.
No good deed goes unpunished, however, and after Casten rolled off 26 yards in the first two plays for the drive, a 39 yard pass from Hosch to WR Anton Firkser was headed to the Georgetown end zone before Georgetown's Garrett Powers stripped Firkser of the ball, which was recovered by Georgetown's Matthew Satchell at the GU 10 and returned to midfield. The offense had yet another shot at redemption, but foundered once again. On a third and nine at midfield, Nolan was sacked for nine yards and the Hoyas were forced to punt. Harvard would not be so generous thereafter, as Hosch opened up with a 43 yard pass to Casten that led a 10 play, 73 yard drive and Casten's fourth touchdown with 1:22 in the third, 27-3. The Hoyas were largely ineffective on offense thereafter. Harvard chewed up the fourth quarter clock, with a 10 play, 80 yard rive to go up 34-3, and a 12 play, 55 yard drive that was extended practice for its second string. Following its opening drive of the second half, Georgetown managed one first down to end the game. Georgetown was outgained 558-227, and outrushed 265-74. Kyle Nolan ended the first quarter 5 for 7, and the rest of the game was just 11-26, finishing with just 153 yards under significant pressure. Nolan was sacked twice and had three passes dropped, two in Harvard territory. Hosch ended the game 20 for 25 for 293 yards and was 11 of 13 after halftime. Defensively, the Hoyas were among the nation's leaders in net turnovers, but forced only one fumble which did not lead to a score. A final sign of Harvard's dominance was in special teams, where the Crimson punted just once. Game statistics:
HARVARD GEORGETOWN
First downs 26 18
Rushed-yards 47-265 27-74
Passing yards 293 153
Sacked-yards lost 2-23 0-0
Passes 20-25-0 16-33-0
Punts 1-35.0 5-45.2
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 8-75 5-39
Time of possession 31:03 28:57
Additional coverage follows below. Two dailies and a magazine from Boston covered the game, yet the Washington Post could not.Game #7: Lafayette (Oct. 11) Amidst the strongest rushing effort for a Georgetown team in nine years, a 14 point first half lead early in the second quarter, and a four point lead with under five minutes to play, the Hoyas surrendered three touchdowns to RB Ross Scheuerman as the Lafayette Leopards rallied for a 24-21 win before a small crowd of just 3,361 at Fisher Stadium. The Hoyas gave up more penalty yards (115) than rushing yards, yet allowed the Leopards a late drive that sealed the win. Georgetown's defense served notice from the start, forcing turnovers on each of Lafayette's first two possessions. On its opening drive, a pass from Lafayette QB Blake Searfoss was picked off by Georgetown's Garrett Powers at the Hoyas' 43, where the offense went to work: consecutive 15 yard runs, consecutive passes for 20 more. On the fifth play, QB Kyle Nolan found TE Matthew Buckman for a five yard TD, 7-0. The Leopards fared no better in their second possession, where Scheuerman fumbled at the Lafayette 29 and returned to the Georgetown 13. An 11 yard pass play to the two set up Georgetown for an imminent score, but a illegal block set the Hoyas back 15 yards and Georgetown's 28 yard field goal attempt was blocked.
Georgetown was able to hold Lafayette over its next three plays but it left the offense with 1:16 and no time outs.Nolan was picked off at the georgetown 30 and the leopards ran out the clock. Nolan started the game 9-10 for 69 yards but finished 22-30 for only 165.Kimpela rushed for 165 yards, Wright for 106. Game statistics:
GEORGETOWN LAFAYETTE
First downs 24 16
Rushed-yards 42-282 40-103
Passing yards 165 147
Sacked-yards lost 3-37 4-10
Passes 22-30-2 17-26-2
Punts 5-40.8 4-39.8
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1
Penalties-yards 9-115 7-53
Time of possession 35:11 24:49
Game #8: Bucknell (Oct. 25) A pair of mistakes, both coming at the end of each half, proved fatal to the Georgetown Hoyas, who dropped its fourth straight game in a 22-17 loss to Bucknell before 2,437 at unfinished Multi-Sport Field Saturday afternoon. Bucknell (6-1) arrived to this game as one of the Patriot League's better offenses, and showed it within its first drive: a methodical 17 play, 97 yard drive. Running back C.J. Williams figured in 12 of those plays, including five straight rushing attempts, beginning from the Georgetown 14, that led the Bison to the touchdown, 6-0.
Despite trailing 229-192 in total yards at the half, the Hoyas were very much in this game, despite a third quarter which involved an exchange of punts and neither team advancing to midfield before Nolan led the Hoyas on an eight play, 81 yard drive that reached third down just once. On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Nolan took the ball on the keeper and scored from five yards out, 17-16. The Hoyas held Bucknell in check on its next series, but the Hoyas stayed to the run and were forced to punt deep in its own territory. A 32 yard punt set up the Bison at midfield, and Bucknell went to work--an eight play, 55 yard drive regained the lead at 22-17 with seven minutes to play. Georgetown needed a spark and got it from Daniel Wright. Wright, who had been effective all afternoon on kick returns, took back the kick to the Georgetown 41. A pair of short passes crossed midfield, but the offense soon stalled. A holding penalty set the Hoyas back 10 yards, Nolan was sacked on second and 13, and on a third and long, a potential game winning throw to Justin Hill was off target. With a net four yards over five plays at midfield, Georgetown punted it back. With Bucknell's run offense, the only question was whether Georgetown could get the ball back by the end of the game. With 2:52 to play, the defense held on a third and seven at the Bucknell 29, but on fourth down, a confident Bison opted to go for it and RB Matt DelMauro drove straight through the line for 10 yards and another first down. The defense held again, but with only 30 seconds remaining, the ensuing punt would give Georgetown little time to mount the comeback. In one of the more exciting plays of the season, the punt was blocked, with the ball rolling across Georgetown's end of midfield. While the clock was running, the Hoyas were getting the ball back, but a Georgetown player unnamed in the media and in the game notes channeled former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Leon Lett and attempted to pick up the bouncing ball, quickly losing control and turning the ball over with 17 seconds remaining. The blunder was especially egregious given the circumstances, but it's one of those things coaches teach since junior high school and the Hoyas suffered as a result. Letting the ball rest would have given the Hoyas two, maybe three plays at midfield for a stirring comeback, no sure thing, but a chance. Reaching for a moving ball gave the Hoyas no chance at all. The statistics were fairly even in this game, with Bucknell holding a slight lead in total yards made possible by a strong ground game, led by C.J. Williams' 136 yard effort. Joel Kimpela led the Hoyas with 70 yards on 12 carries. Kyle Nolan passed for 191 yards on 11 for 26 attempts, but the numbers are deceiving for on offense which still prefers the reliability of short passes. Excepting Buckman's 67 yard TD pass on a broken defensive assignment and a 55 yard pass to Justin Hill late in the third, Nolan averaged just three yards per attempt and less than 10 yards per reception. Game statistics:
BUCKNELL GEORGETOWN
First downs 20 12
Rushed-yards 43-172 31-104
Passing yards 171 191
Sacked-yards lost 2-9 2-12
Passes 13-24-1 11-20-1
Punts 6-26.3 7-38.9
Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-yards 8-77 7-70
Time of possession 35:36 24:24
Additional links follow below:Game #9: Lehigh (Nov. 1) Late game mistakes continue to befall the Georgetown Hoyas, who saw their an upset opportunity against Lehigh fall short in a 27-19 loss to the Engineers at Multi-Sport Field. Georgetown has traditionally struggled on offense in its series with Lehigh, and Saturday's game followed a similar start. A six play opening drive netted just one yard, and it was soon left to the Hoya defense to hold the line. Lehigh's opening drive began at midfield and advanced 51 yards in 10 plays, where a pair of defensive stops at the six yard line from Georgetown's Alec May forced Lehigh to settle for a short field goal, 3-0. It did not take long to bring the defense back on the field, as Georgetown's Daniel Wright fumbled the ensuing kickoff and set up the visitors at the Georgetown 31. A key conversion on a fourth and two at the GU 23 extended the drive, which was converted three plays later with a 17 yard touchdown pass from Nick Shafnisky to Troy Pelletier, 10-0. By the end of the first quarter, Lehigh owned a 134-11 advantage in total yardage, but the Georgetown defense kept things close.
Shafnisky wasted little time in reasserting the lehigh offense, finding Pelletier alone for a 69 yard pass to the Georgetown six, whereupon Sodeke closed out the three play drive with a six yard run, 27-11. The Hoyas answered right back, with a pair of passes from Nolan to WR Michael Cimilluca that got the Hoyas into the Lehigh red zone. On a fourth and six from the Lehigh nine, Kyle Nolan took off around the right end and scored the touchdown with 8:49 to play, and converted a two point conversion to DeCicco, 27-19. Georgetown would hold Lehigh in check over the next two series late in th fourth quarter, but failed to capitalize. Taking over with 5:02 remaining, a first down penalty set GU back to its 13. The Hoyas drove to its 26 and opted to go for it on fourth and two deep in its own territory, but Kimpela never reached the line of scrimmage. Lehigh drove to the GU 19 before Alec may sacked Shafnisky and forced a fumble that set Lehigh back at the 38, forcing a punt than netted just 18 yards. Georgetown took over with 1:42 to play, but was its own worst enemy. Following a 12 yard pass to Justin Hill, a Kyle Nolan run was brought back on an offensive hold. Three plays later, a 42 yard pass from Nolan to Hill at the Lehigh 30 was also brought back on a holding call, and a fourth and 24 pass with :18 left sailed incomplete. despite giving up 499 yards on the afternoon, the final minute of each half prevented the upset and and end to a 14 game losing streak versus lehigh. With Lehigh's upward scholarship path, another such opportunity may not come around soon. The long runs from Kimpela and Hill led the Georgetown stat chart, with the Hoyas rushing for 228 yards. Nolan was less effective, finishing 15 of 32 for just 135 yards. Nick Shanifsky had the big game for Lehigh, 17 of 26 for 345 yards, with a game high 187 receiving yards from WR Troy Pelletier in Lehigh's first PL win of the season. The Hoyas have dropped five straight since its Homecoming win to Brown on Sep. 19, and will take a bye week in advance of its Nov. 15 game at Fordham, where the 8-1 Rams will be a prohibitive favorite. Game statistics:
LEHIGH GEORGETOWN
First downs 21 21
Rushed-yards 48-154 35-228
Passing yards 345 135
Sacked-yards lost 1-9 2-19
Passes 17-26-1 15-33-0
Punts 2-43.0 5-39.0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-1
Penalties-yards 7-90 4-43
Time of possession 34:02 25:58
Additional links follow below:Game #10: Fordham (Nov. 15) To no surprise, Georgetown was no match against #8 Fordham in this one, where the full scholarship Rams coasted past the Hoyas 52-7 at Jack Coffey Field and clinched its third Patriot League title in school history. The Rams led 10-0 after one quarter, 24-0 at the half, and 45-0 after three quarters. The Rams did not take long to establish its leadership in this game. On Fordham's first drive, Michael Nebrich was 3-3 for 23 yards, but it was a 33 yard run off scrimmage from RB Kendell Pearcy to set up a Fordham touchdown with 11:15 in the first quarter, 7-0. Georgetown opened with a a pair of nice runs by Joel Kimpela to advance to midfield, but no further. A bad punt from kicker Harry McCollum went just eight yards and set up the Rams with a short field, but the Georgetown defense held Fordham to a punt on its next possession and a field goal to open the second quarter, 10-0. The Georgetown offense was out of sync all afternoon. The Hoyas opened the second quarter as two passes were dropped and the special teams saw a punt returned to midfield. On the third play of the drive, Nebrich injured his knee and left the game, but senior QB Peter Maetzold wasted little time in reserve, with a 34 yard pass to WR Peter Wetzel to set up the next score, 17-0. Penalties dogged the Hoyas all afternoon. On its best drive of the half, Georgetown's Daniel Wright returned the kickoff 45 yards to midfield, and a 12 yard run by Nolan brought the Hoyas to the Fordham 34 yard line. A pass play to WR Tommy Jesson at the one yard line was called back by an offensive pass interference call. On the next play, Nolan sailed a pass over Justin Harrell, while on 3rd and 20, Justin Hill dropped a likely touchdown pass. On 4th down, Nolan opted for a short pass to Harrell with little hope of a first down, and the play gained four yards, a metaphor for an offense which has lacked timing all season. After the Hoyas held Fordham to a punt, Nolan threw up a wobbly pass at midfield that was intercepted and set up a four play Fordham drive, led by a 43 yard pass from Maetzold to WR Tebucky Jones, 24-0. Georgetown managed a total of nine yards in its next two drives and remained shut out at the half. The Hoyas got a break to open the third quarter, with a 48 yard run by Joel Kimpela to the Fordham 23, but its next three plays netted two yards and PK Henry Darmstadter missed a 39 yard field goal attempt. The Rams scored on each of its next three drives: a nine play, 79 yard drive extended by a Georgetown roughing the punter penalty, a five play, 57 yard drive, and an eight play, 80 yard drive featuring a 60 yard pass to WR Sam Ajala. The fourth quarter saw the Hoyas go 80 yards in eight plays to end the shutout, 45-7, but special teams failed them again when a McCollum punt was blocked at its 23 yard line and set up the Rams for a four play drive and the eventual 52-7 outcome, the second most points scored in a series dating to 1890 and the most points allowed by the Hoyas in a game since the 2012 season. Georgetown QB Kyle Nolan had the worst passing effort of his career, 7 for 25 for 74 yards, with a variety of dropped passes and overthrows as to make the Hoyas' narrow chance in this game otherwise impossible, and was replaced by Matt Barnes in the fourth quarter. For the game, Georgetown had more penalty yards than passing yards. Each teams suffered injuries to key personnel in the second quarter, with Fordham QB Michael Nebrich appearing to suffer a serious knee injury, while a similar fate may await Georgetown LB Nick Alfieri following his knee injury a few minutes later when he collided with a Georgetown teammate. Both will be evaluated Monday at their respective schools.
GEORGETOWN FORDHAM
First downs 13 23
Rushed-yards 37-171 41-144
Passing yards 80 352
Sacked-yards lost 3-20 2-8
Passes 8-26-1 27-36-0
Punts 9-30.3 5-39.0
Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 10-94 10-100
Time of possession 29:19 30:41
Additional links follow below:Game #11: Holy Cross (Nov. 22) A picture perfect drive to open the fourth quarter piloted Georgetown to a 21-16 upset win over Holy Cross in the 2014 season finale before a small crowd at Multi-Sport Field Saturday. The Hoyas drove 81 yards to open the fourth quarter for the Hoyas' game winning touchdown. At the outset, it appeared that the Hoyas' offense was ill-equipped to stay close in this game. Georgetown collected one first down and a net of just 25 yards in its first four possessions combined, and relied on the senior-strong defense to keep the visiting Crusaders from an early runaway. HC opened the game with back to back runs that drove it to midfield, but a Matthew Satchell sack of HC QB Peter Pujals led to an early punt. On its next series, the Purple started at midfield and drove to the Georgetown 14, settling for a short field goal and a 3-0 lead. The Crusaders received another break with field position to end the first quarter, and again, the defense was up to the task. A pair of stops by GU's Hunter Kiselick halted a HC drive at the Georgetown 26, and the ensuing field goal attempt missed wide. The Hoyas' next drive was nonplussed (four plays, two yards, 48 seconds), and the ball returned to HC at its own 12, where Pujals led the Crusaders on a 13 play, 78 yard drive, with all 78 yards coming on the ground, led by 42 yards from RB Gabe Guild and 25 from RB Diquen Walker. With HC knocking on the door, a pass to the end zone was intercepted by GU's John Egan, returning it to the HC 37. But as would be the case for much of this day, Hoya penalties set back the cause, moving the return yardage from the 37 yard line back to its five.
The Crusaders needed big plays but couldn't find them. Rushes were hard to come by and pass plays were limited to short yardage. Laughlin was able to complete a two yard pass on a 3rd and 2 to cross the Georgetown 45, but the clock was now down to 1:31 and the Crusaders needed two scores to get back in the game. Laughlin missed on four of his next five passes with the clock under one minute, but completed a 10 yard pass on fourth down to extend the drive. Three plays later, facing a fourth down with 32 seconds remaining, he found another 10 yard gain to the GU 22. A Georgetown sack on third and six appeared to put the game on ice, but Georgetown was tagged with an offsides call and the Crusaders kept plugging along, but with precious few seconds to mount a comeback. A short pass by Laughlin was rewarded with an additional GU penalty to advance the ball to the two. On the ensuing play, Laughlin's pass was incomplete. With time running out, Laughlin found WR Tyler Artim in the end zone, but by that point there was no time left on the clock for an extra point, much less an onsides kick attempt, and the Hoyas took home the win. Holy Cross outgained Georgetown 366-317 but two turnovers and two failed field goal attempts proved its undoing. For the Hoyas, Joel Kimpela rushed for a team high 107 yards, while DL Alec May picked up his 16th sack of the season, setting a new single season record for the team. And despite the growing scholarship gap between the teams, the win marked Georgetown's fourth win in the last five years over Holy Cross, which lost its sixth game of the 2014 season by seven points or less. The win was Georgetown's first in Patriot League play this season, and finishes 3-8 overall.
HOLY CROSS GEORGETOWN
First downs 27 19
Rushed-yards 46-203 40-153
Passing yards 163 164
Sacked-yards lost 1-5 3-16
Passes 21-38-1 12-21-0
Punts 4-41.0 5-39.2
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 2-20 11-103
Time of possession 30:53 29:07
Additional links follow below: |
