I'm Brooke Rayder and I'll be bringing you the news and notes from Georgetown's Patriot League Championship Game against Lehigh today from Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem, Pa. I'm sure you are at home anxiously awaiting the 12:30 kick-off from your homes (unless you're here). Make sure you are tuning into today's free live audio webcast featuring Chuck Timanus and Ryan Sakamoto. If you have to step away from the blog or the broadcast you can also get updates by following Hoyas_Football on Twitter.
It's a beautiful day for Patriot League football in Bethlehem, Pa. Sunny, breezy, around 50 degrees, the last of the fall foliage is flying around on the field.
A little bit about the series: Lehigh leads 11-5, and 10-0 since Georgetown joined the Patriot League in 2001. The last Georgetown win against Lehigh was in 1925, with a 40-0 victory for the Hoyas.
You know what the Hoyas haven't had in 86 years? A chance to control their bid to the Division I FCS Championship. With a rushing defense that ranks 7th in the nation, the Hoyas look to stop a Lehigh offense that averages 491 yards per game.
Robert McCabe and Andrew Schaetzke are up to the task. Schaetzke has 11.5 sacks this season, leading the Patriot League. McCabe had 13 tackles in the win against Fordham last week, and 119 total on the season. I guarantee you Ryan Sakamoto could not throw down that many tackles in the Sports Information Department.
So here we are, getting ready for the starting line-ups! Make sure to click for more information as the game gets going.
We just arrived here at Fitton Field on the campus of Holy Cross about 15 minutes ago and are setting up for today's game with Holy Cross. Right now, it's 36 degrees, as Worcester, Mass. is expecting 8-12 inches of snow today, though nothing is falling at the moment. I hope wherever you are reading (or listening to today's broadcast on GUHoyas.com) you are well prepared for the weather. If you're anything like me, maybe you even have some Hurricane Irene supplies left over.
This is a HUGE game for the Hoyas. A Georgetown win could create an unofficial Patriot League Championship game at Lehigh on Nov. 12. Though Holy Cross, currently in first place in the Patriot League looks to be the toughest opponent GU has had this season. They are 4-3 (2-0 Patriot League), with two of those losses coming to Top 25 teams. Ryan Taggart is only behind Lehigh's Chris Lum nationally in total offense per game and the Crusaders defense is neck and neck with Georgetown in total defense (HC is 1st, 322.7 yards/g) and scoring defense (HC is 2nd, 20.3 pts/g), behind Georgetown (19.9 pts./g). GU will need to put pressure on Taggart, a high school teammate of GU's No. 35 Wayne Heimuli at Trinity in Dallas, Texas.
Series Info: Georgetown trails the series with Holy Cross, 8-15, despite a 17-7 victory last year on Homecoming at Multi-Sport Field. GU has not won a game at Fitton Field since 1999, coincidentally the last time Georgetown had a winning record, which they clinched last week with a win over Colgate.
Fun with Numbers: Andrew Schaetzke is fourth in GU history with 24.5 sacks and sixth all-time in the Patriot League...Freshman wide receiver Kevin Macari is second in the nation in punt return average, at 16.6 yards per return. His 60 yard return last week was the fifth longest in Hoya history and the longest in the league this year...GU is +8 in turnover margin, after a three interception (2 from Jeremy Moore, 1 from Robert McCabe) last week. Holy Cross is -5 on the season.
I'll be back with starters and much more from venerable Fitton Field momentarily...Make sure to keep hitting refresh after the jump for all the updates (as long as our internet is working) and listen in with myself and Chuck Timanus on GUHoyas.com. And of course if you're not following Hoyas_Football on twitter, you should start!
I'll be back with starters and much more from venerable Fitton Field
momentarily...Make sure to keep hitting refresh after the jump for all
the updates (as long as our internet is working) and listen in with
myself and Chuck Timanus on GUHoyas.com. And of course if you're not
following Hoyas_Football on twitter, you should start!
It's a little before 11:30 a.m. and Chuck Timanus, the radio voice of Georgetown football, and myself are in the pressbox at Greene Stadium on a sunny, though windy day. In both end zones they have those crazy wind puppets (not sure what they're really called) that appear to be moving around energetically.
The team is on the field for warm-ups, as days like these are always interesting ones for kickers and punters. Though at the moment Brett Weiss (the reigning Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week) and punter Matt MacZura do not appear to be having any problems.
Today Georgetown will resume its young intra-city rivalry with Howard, as the teams are meeting for the first time since 2009 and GU is making its first trip to Howard since 2008. The teams are currently tied, 1-1 all-time with today, as Coach Kelly mentioned earlier in the week being "the rubber match."
Both teams have played well, with the Bison winning its last two, including an impressive 29-point fourth quarter comeback to stun Florida A&M last Saturday. It was Howard's second consecutive win, having defeated Savannah State on that day. Against Savannah State, Howard freshman QB Greg McGhee threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to earn MEAC Rookie of the Week.
Georgetown is coming off of it's own 24-10 victory over Wagner, where the defense held the Seahawks to 77 rushing yards, half its season-average, while Max Waizenegger's 71-yard touchdown reception from Isaiah Kempf put the game away late. Safety David Quintero picked off a late pass to seal the game...
Some Light Reading for this morning before the game: Hoyas Front Three Gets a Boost from the Play of Dan Lenihan and Jordan Richardson http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101411aaa.html Today's Game Notes http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/gu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/release/release.pdf
I'll be back with more news and notes from Greene Stadium after the jump...
We're in Staten Island, N.Y., home of the Wu Tang Clan and the Wagner
College Seahawks, today's opponent. The trip is Georgetown's first to
Wagner College Stadium since 2000.
Today's game will be just the third meeting in program history, with the
Hoyas and Seahawks splitting the pair of previous games. Last year's
game was a heartbreaker for the Hoyas, as Wagner placekicker made a
career-long 54 yard field goal to send the game to overtime, where
Wagner won in two overtimes, 22-16.
Offensively this has been a much improved team than it was a year ago.
The Hoyas have already scored 151 points through five games and have
featured one of the most explosive offenses in the Patriot League. They
also have the third best red zone offense in the nation converting on
18-of-19 trips inside their opponents 20 yard line.
On defense, junior linebacker Robert McCabe continues to impress. Coming
into today's game, McCabe is leading the Patriot League, averaging over
10 tackles per game. Sophomore outside linebacker Dustin Wharton is
also among the league's top five players in that category. It would be
difficult to talk about defense without mentioning senior defensive end
Andrew Schaetzke. Schaetzke is tied for the league lead with 5.5 sacks
and second with 9.5 tackles for loss, despite often facing double and
triple teams this season. That is expected continue.
The weather today could not be anymore different than the weather last
weekend in Lewisburg, Pa. Right now in Staten Island, it's 64 degrees,
not a cloud in the sky and a nice breeze that we can feel with the
windows in the pressbox just opening up. Right now, we're watching both
teams warm up with a nice view of the Verrazano Bridge. Interestingly
the pre-game music is of the unedited variety, which is always a jolt
for people who work a lot of events, where cleanliness of lyrics is next
to Godliness.
I'll be back soon with starters and then throughout the game as our
internet connection allows! Also, make sure to follow Hoyas_Football on
twitter and get to the app store if you're on your smartphone and
download the new GUHoyas app!
Good Morning Georgetown Football Fans and welcome to the blog!
We're a little over an hour away from kick-off here at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium in rainy Lewisburg, Pa. It's a chilly, windy 54 degrees, the kind of Pennsylvania day where you round up the guys in the neighborhood for some tackle football at the park. Luckily, we're about to see just that.
Today's game with Bucknell has built up a little bit of hype around the Patriot League, with the Hoyas and Bison both entering today with 3-1 records. Not so bad for two teams picked to finish in the cellar prior to the season. Even The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa. is talking about the Hoyas... http://articles.mcall.com/2011-09-28/sports/mc-patriot-notebook-0928-20110928_1_scott-darby-hoyas-patriot-league
The matchup will feature this past week's Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week (GU QB Scott Darby) and Defensive Player of the Week, Bucknell's defensive end Josh Eden. Eden, who had an interception return for a TD, a safety and a fumble recovery in last week's win against Princeton. Darby, as you may remember accounted for five touchdowns and had the best completion percentage in GU history (81.8 percent).
PATRIOT LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR PREVIEW... Bucknell's Eden and Andrew Schaetzke are both among the top defensive players in the league. Schaetzke leads the PL in sacks and tackles for loss, while Eden is fourth in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss.
KEEP READING AFTER THE JUMP FOR STARTERS AND MUCH MORE...
Welcome to the Georgetown Football Game Day Live Blog!
We are a little over an hour away from game time here at Tenney Stadium on the campus of Marist. It's a beautiful day here for football, though a little bit muggy. Currently it's a 75 degrees and despite the forecast for rain, the sun is starting to peek through the clouds, just a bit.
Prior to leaving our digs at the Clarion the offense and defense took separate ends of the parking lot and went through its pre-game walk-through. I can only imagine what the other hotel guests were thinking if they looked out of their windows at around 10:30 a.m.
Anyway, we are now all set up in the press box. I'm sitting up here next to Chuck Timanus, the voice of the Hoyas. Make sure if you are reading this that you are also tuning into the free audio broadcast on GUHoyas.com today!
The press box here at Marist is not like any other that I have seen in my travels with Georgetown football. First, it's open-air which is nice and not rare. But the large, luxury suite-like areas set up for VIP's, is very different. Chuck and I are less then screen pass-distance away from Marist fans who are enjoying wine, beer and finger sandwiches. It will be interesting to see how that crowd progresses through the game.
On to football...Scott Darby will be starting at quarterback today. Isaiah Kempf will sit out after taking a big hit last week against Yale. Darby was under center for the Hoyas win against Marist in the Hoyas, 14-7 win over the Red Foxes last season.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: These two teams, while not natural rivals, have played some very close games, with six of the last seven being decided by a touchdown or less and two going into overtime. Each team has done a good job of defending its home field. Georgetown has not won in Poughkeepsie since 1999.
I'll be back with Georgetown starters and more information about the game and surroundings from Tenney Stadium throughout the afternoon. Make sure to follow us after the jump throughout the afternoon and keep your finger on that refresh button!
Welcome to the BLUE & GRAY SPRING FOOTBALL SCRIMMAGE
BLOG!
The weather is certainly a lot nicer than what it would have
been for the originally scheduled game time (yesterday at 3 p.m.). With the nice
weather comes a nice crowd.
There are a ton of former Hoyas here today, including new
Gridiron Club President Bruce Simmons, former President and current head of the
mentorship program Jim Lenihan, as well as Ataefiok Etukeren, a few former No.
35's in Nick Umar and Nick Parrish (the program's all-time leading tackler in
case you forgot). Also it is nice to see so many of this year's seniors, like
Paul Sant'Ambrogio, who is sitting right in front of the pressbox. Dan Semler
and Erik Antico are here, down the stands a little way is Keerome Lawrence, Danny
Thompson, Jr., Gyasi Parrish and Philip Oladeji.
Probably a few hundred people in attendance as we get closer
to the start of the game, a nice crowd considering the game is traditionally on
the same day as the team's award banquet, which was held yesterday.
Georgetown's new captains are SLOT Jeremiah Kayal and safety Wayne Heimuli.
Kayal will not play today, but Heimuli is suited up on the blue (defensive)
sideline. The offense will be wearing gray.
I'll be back with more from today's game after the jump...
Good morning Georgetown lacrosse fans (and other readers)!
We're about 30 minutes away from game time and I'm sitting in the pressbox at M&T Bank Stadium, which is a much better view than the one I had selling Ravens merchandise on the 400 level, the last time I was here in 2007.
With so many of the guys on the roster being from the Baltimore area and Ravens fans there is a lot of excitement about being out on this field.
David Shriver, a senior captain from Timonium, Md (and avid Ravens' fan) shared his thoughts about the a chance to play in the Face-Off Classic RIGHT HERE. Davey Emala, the Hoyas leading goal scorer (12 goals, 2 assists) another Baltimore native could not conceal a smile when talking to reporter from Inside Lacrosse earlier in the week, so for these guys its a cool experience
I'll have more lacrosse related info (along with random observations from M&T Bank Stadium) as we move along, so sit back, relax and hit the refresh button every now and then...Updates will appear after the jump.
It's about an hour before tipoff and I'm sitting courtside at the Sun Dome in Tampa for tonight's BIG EAST Conference game between the Hoyas and South Florida. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and I'll be here providing as much insight as I can before getting ready for post-game work.
Greetings from Verizon Center. I'm sitting courtside at The Phonebooth for today's game against Marquette. It's strange for many of us with a 1 p.m. tipoff, but we're here and ready to roll in the Battle of the Jesuits.
It's a Monday in the office and while the women are out for lunch - Barbara Barnes is no doubt still reveling in her Green Bay Packers winning the Super Bowl last night - a few of the guys here are around the television watching the 1997 Major League Baseball Home Run Hitting Contest.Ryan Sakamoto was in his cube doing some work, but when he heard that former Baltimore Oriole Brady Anderson was up to bat, that stopped pretty quickly.
I'm a bit late to the party here, maybe it's still a leftover feeling from waking up a bit later than normal, or later than I had expected to. It also didn't help that the wireless was down at Verizon Center for the better part of pregame this morning. Thankfully, Gordon Armstrong, who oversees the IT department at The Phonebooth, was able to take care of things and get the internet access back up courtside just as the game started.
Another Thursday morning and another BIG EAST Coaches
Conference call.Georgetown Head Coach
John Thompson III called in just before noon and spoke about the upcoming game
against Providence:
A special thanks to Meagan Barry in Hoyas Unlimited, who had started to write a recap on Saturday's Athletic Recognition Dinner, and to Rafael Suanes, who sent some pictures off to me as well.
Today was the weekly BIG EAST Coaches Conference call for
men's basketball.League coaches have to
call in to take questions from the media on a bi-weekly basis.So Coach Thompson was off last week, but back
on again this week.When he was on a couple
of weeks back, I transcribed his responses to post here, but he was on for a
very short time today, mainly because he only had one question asked.
We're 17 minutes from tipoff at the Louis Brown Athletic Center - or the RAC, as everyone knows it - and the crowd is slowly filtering in as the Hoyas get ready to take on Rutgers in an important BIG EAST game.
I'll be here as much as I can throughout the game...probably more than I am for some home games.
Welcome from The Verizon Center, where the Hoyas are getting ready to take on the Pitt Panthers tonight. It's a 7 p.m. tipoff and I am sitting in my normal seat, two from the visiting bench and next to the stat crew with about 41 minutes left before the start of the game.
It's not exactly Breakfast at Wimbledon, but we'll call it Breakfast with the Hoyas since we're here at Verizon Center for an 11 a.m. tipoff against West Virginia.
The start of BIG EAST Conference play also means the start of the weekly BIG EAST Coaches' call, where every other week, the league's coaches call in and take questions from the media. Today was the first of four times this through the end of February where John Thompson III called in and spoke to the members of the fourth estate.
That first day back to school, or in this case, work, is always a struggle, but I perked up a bit this morning when I received an e-mail from ESPN about next week's game against Pittsburgh.
The game was originally slated to air on ESPN2, but has been moved to the main network channel (that would be ESPN), with Dave Pasch and legendary coach Bob Knight set to call the game. It should be a great atmosphere at The Phonebooth that night as students are back in town for the first day.
The Hoyas are back on the air again on Saturday, hosting West Virginia downtown. It's an 11 a.m. tip, so set your clocks and get their early. Sean McDonough and Doris Burke are on the call for the game.
It's nice to get a chance to take a breather over these next couple of days, but we're back at it again this weekend. Hope to see you all there on Saturday and Wednesday....
Greetings from Verizon Center. We're in the middle of starting lineups for today's game against Utah State. I'll be providing as many updates and insights as I can here...not stats and scores, but just some gameday observations.....feel free to tune in.
Some
of us in the sports information office may not be in Paradise, but for me and
members of the women's soccer team, Columbus, Ohio on Thanksgiving Day may as
well be Shangri-La.
There is a lot of talk of fanciness here in Sports Information. This is not the first time that the Drake song Fancy will have been referenced. However, I think today it is entirely appropriate as I blog about OUR NEW WEBSITE!!!
Welcome to the Georgetown Football Game Day Blog on a brisk day in the Bronx!
Today's Georgetown vs. Fordham game marks the 55th meeting between the two schools, with the Rams holding a 30-21-3 edge...It is also the only game in town today, with the Yankees being eliminated in the American League Championship Series!! I'm going to avoid making that comment out loud in the press box, as I suspect there may be a few, still sour, fans.
Fordham has a GREAT looking campus', one of the better we've seen this year, though that could be biased since this is the nicest day we've had for a football game this year. Either way, looks almost out of place when you venture a few blocks in any direction in the heart of the Bronx, which is also a fantastic place to be as well (unless you're an Orioles fan on a Yankees game day).
As I type, Georgetown's first wave of players is out in full pads warming up under the direction of Strength and Conditioning Coach Carl Johnson. Meanwhile, the Hoyas special teamers are warming up on the field with Brett Weiss easily hitting 30 yarders. Freshman punter David Conway, the Australian product, is bouncing the football and catching it on the run like he was playing Rugby or Australian rules football.
Back to today's game: While Fordham is technically a Patriot League opponent, the game will not count in league standings due to the Rams being deemed ineligible for their decision to give merit-based scholarships. If you would like to read more about the specifics of what this means CLICK HERE
Whether it counts in the Patriot League standings or not, today is still a chance for the Hoyas to win its fourth game of the season, the first time since 2005 they would be able to accomplish that feat. The win would also count historically in league standings, as a win would be the first time in team history the Hoyas have defeated three PL opponents in a season.
On offense, the Hoyas will look to keep up their efficiency in the red zone. The Hoyas have scored on 21-of-23 trips, including 14 touchdowns, the best in the league and tied for eighth best in the country. Junior wide receiver John O'Leary leads the team with four touchdowns, more impressive when you consider he has played in five games this season.
I'll have more football related info (along with random observations
from Fordham) as we move along, so you should probably just keep
this window open and hit refresh every now and then...updates will appear after the jump.
The seconds are ticking away as we get closer and closer to the beginning of basketball season! Midnight Madness will be here on Friday and you can feel the excitement on campus. If you've ever been to a Midnight Madness event, you know that it is a fun way to start the season and get a look at the team.
Hoya Insider is back!After a summer-long hiatus Hoya Insider is back and better than ever!We've decided to change some things around this year.We know that fans anticipated the new show every Thursday with the fine hosting of Meredith Cox and Kortney Robinson, but this year it's going to be a bit different.
It's GAMEDAY! Chuck Timanus, the voice of Georgetown
football that some of you may be tuning in to hear on GUHoyas.com later this
evening (IT'S FREE TONIGHT!!!), and I are sitting watching various college
football games, while going over a few last minute notes in preparation for
tonight's game.
Could you make the argument that there are better things to do on a Saturday morning/afternoon than watch college football? Yes.
Would you be wrong? Most likely.
Some who would agree with me, included some Georgetown football alums like last year's No. 35 jersey honoree Robert Lane. Also, a few VIP's like Dr. Daniel Porterfield, Georgetown's Senior VP for Strategic Development and Mark Rountree the Associate AD for Compliance. Chuck Timanus, the voice of Georgetown football over the past seven seasons and WGTB Radio's John Kenchelian were out among the crowd.
Moving to the field of practice, today marked some of the first live hitting the squad has done, as the two week countdown to the season-opener at Davidson on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. (You can catch all the action here on GUHoyas.com). It was a great opportunity for the 100 or so in attendance to get a sneak preview of what the 2010 Hoyas should look like: (Highlights after the jump)
At about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Georgetown senior golfer Vincenzo Salina (Vandoeuvres, Switzerland/Institut Florimont) will step to the tee box at the first hole of the Innisbrook Resort & Golf Course with the chance to do something he has been hoping to do for three years, since he first stepped foot on the Hilltop.
We are nearly halfway done
with our
season here in the Nation's Capital and things are starting to heat up.We are standing at 4-2 overall and ranked
10th with a lot of lacrosse left to play.
That
was sort of the situation I found myself in on Monday morning, getting a wakeup
call from my boss - Senior Director of Communications Bill Shapland - at around
7 a.m. and telling me to get dressed and meet him in the lobby as we needed to
meet up with the basketball team.
I'm on the road with women's basketball today, but this morning I received a phone call from Mara Vandlik the associate director of Hoyas Unlimited. She was calling about a glitch on the web we had to work out but this phone call reminded me that the Hoyas Unlimited started today!
Hope everyone had a really nice Thanksgiving and got to spend the holiday with people they care about. Turkey Day consisted of sleeping in, eating good food and watching a Bronco win to cap it all off. My parents have moved from just outside Philadelphia to Allentown,
Pa so the drive has turned into a 3 1/2 hour trip up I-95 to a 3 1/2
hour trek across I-83 and I-76. Not that this matters to many, but the
scenery is definitely different.
Yep, that's the truth. It was midnight and I was indeed
eating takeout dinner from The Tombs. I was at least home, which was more
than can be said for some of the sports information staff at that time of
night.
Hope
everyone had a nice day off for Columbus Day and if you didn't have a day off,
thennnn you know what it's like to work in sports information.But today, today is a new day.It is Tuesday here in wonderful McDonough and
that can only mean one thing ... blog updating!!!
I've worked at Georgetown for more than 30 years and I've been the PR flak for Men's Basketball for 25 of them. I created the Athletic Department's first internet page, back when the world wide web was gopher links without any visuals. (Yes, yes, I'm old as dirt, and channeling Al Gore, but what's the point?)
