Image Contributor
Senior center Dan Matheny (62) is one of 20 Georgetown seniors who will be playing their final game on Saturday when the Hoyas play host to Fordham.
Sixty minutes. Twenty Hoyas. Ten losses. Zero wins.As Saturday afternoon approaches, so does reality for nearly two dozen members of the Georgetown football team. Tomorrow represents the final opportunity to don the Blue and Gray, to gather in the huddle and to walk off the gridiron a winner.
“It’s bittersweet,” senior co-captain and center Dan Matheny said. “It’s been a long and hard four years for me. I’ve had a lot of injuries, so after it’s over it’ll be a nice rest for my body.”
atheny has struggled with injuries all season. Over his first three years on the Hilltop, he started 29 of the 32 games the Hoyas played. He missed three games during his sophomore campaign in 2007 with a knee injury.
A bad ankle this year has prevented him from stepping on the turf since starting the first three games of the season.
“You know, after high school, I wasn’t ready to hang up the cleats or pads yet,” Matheny said. “But now it feels complete as far as playing.”
As his football career comes to a close, he has already given some thought to the future.
“I made the final interviews for Teach for America, so hopefully I’ll be doing that,” Matheny said.
Yet the prospective teacher still has one more job left: making the most of Saturday’s matchup with the Fordham Rams (4-5, 1-4 Patriot League).
“It’s a little bit of both,” Matheny said when asked if the week leading up to the game has been sentimental or just business as usual. “It’s been a good couple of days of practice the last few days. But once practice was over, we said, `This is our last Tuesday and this is our last Wednesday,’ so it’s sort of sentimental.”
Despite the captain’s constant grin, this year’s squad has yet to feel the euphoria that accompanies victory. Georgetown is winless this season, having lost all 10 games this season and 11 in a row dating back to last season.
So while Saturday will include nostalgia, heartfelt goodbyes and four years of memories, the pressure is slowly growing as the Hoyas hope to avoid becoming the first group in school history to complete a winless campaign.
“Fordham is having a good year this year, and we feel like we’re playing for a lot,” Matheny said. “But the underclassmen are really working hard to get a win.”
Without question, the Hoyas are aware of their predicament and what it entails.
“Obviously we really want to go out with a win, and the coaches have made it clear that we have to win,” he said. “At the same time, we’re trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves.”
Fordham will be no knockdown team that the Hoyas can rely on for an easy victory. The Rams, who have beaten Old Dominion and Bucknell while falling just short against Lehigh and Lafayette, feature a punishing, high-scoring offense that has averaged over 27 points per game. Fordham ranks second in the league in rushing, so Georgetown should expect a physical, grind-it-out style from the Rams, who have 16 touchdowns on the ground.
Fortunately for the Hoyas, Fordham gives up exactly as many points as it scores (27.3), which is good for last in the Patriot League in scoring defense.
Georgetown will also have home-field advantage on their side, giving the seniors the opportunity to play one last time in front of their home crowd.
“It means the world to all of us to be lucky enough to put on the uniform every game,” Matheny said. “We’re excited to play at home – we’ve had a lot of good memories here, and it has meant the world to the entire class to play here. When you’re choosing a school, you want a lot of things and sometimes those things don’t go the way you want them to. But [Georgetown] is the best place for all of us.”
atheny’s class also shares a special relationship with Head Coach Kevin Kelly. The class of 2010 was the first class that Kelly recruited to play football on the Hilltop, and Matheny was one of the first recruits Kelly contacted.
“We know he cares a lot about this class,” Matheny said. “This was his first group, and we know he wants to see us win our last game. We certainly appreciate what the coaches have done and [that they have] worked their butt off for us.”
After 32 games played as a Hoya, the captain has no regrets.
“It’s been amazing for me,” Matheny said. “All I want to do is play one more snap, one more game and walk off that field knowing that I gave it my all.”
Hoya Notes
Along with Matheny, 21 other seniors will be playing their final game for the Hoyas tomorrow:
DB Ike Acholonu, WR Zach Barbiasz, DB Willie Bodrick, TE Henry Bowe, K Jose-Pablo Buerba, LB Jon Cassidy, OL Brooks Caston, WR Rick Cosgrove, captain OL Rich Hussey, DB Dennis Jackson, TE Brian Josephs, WR Matt Kinnan, slotback Robert Lane, DB Travis Mack, OL George Mosle, DL Jared Myers, captain DE Chudi Obianwu, captain DB Chris Rau, LB Joey Tavarez.”
