Following last Saturday’s loss to Yale, Georgetown’s football team (2-1, 1-0 Patriot League) hopes to get back to winning this Saturday when it travels to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on Marist (1-2, 0-1 Pioneer League).

Despite suffering their first loss of the young season, the Blue and Gray played their Ivy League opponent tough, trailing by only one point at halftime. Yale’s lead grew to 17 early in the fourth quarter before a late Hoyas touchdown brought the Blue and Gray back within 10, but that would be the closest the visitors got.

“We were challenged in many ways, and we started off the game really well, really explosive. We set our run game really well,” senior receiver and co-captain Jeremiah Kayalsaid. “In the second half we came out a little lethargic. [But] it taught us how to play a full game.”

Going into the contest, Georgetown had been on a three-game win streak, which began with last season’s season finale win against Marist.

The Hoyas also experienced their first loss of last season against Yale after starting the season with wins over Davidson and Lafayette.

Their struggles in New haven show that Georgetown must make some the top spot in the Patriot League and a postseason berth are to be realized.

“We have to be more consistent in what we do. We did some real good things Saturday, but we did some poor things that hurt us in all three phases,” Head Coach Kevin Kelly said. “The buzzword after the game is more consistency.”

Senior co-captain and safety Wayne Heimuli, who contributed an interception and a blocked punt against Yale, agreed with Kelly’s assessment.

“We did not perform up to our standards, and we should have been able to step up and stop them,”Heimuli said. “We just didn’t answer the call. We have to get back to fundamentals.”

Marist is not a team to be taken lightly, as they have experience at many positions on both sides of the ball.

“Marist always gives us a tough game. They give us some fits with their offense and they have kind of an oddball defense, a 3-3 stack team, which is different than what most teams run,” Kelly said. “They present some scheme issues.”

This past week, the Red Foxes suffered a loss at the hands of the Dayton Flyers in the teams’ Pioneer Conference opener. Their lone win came in their season opener against Sacred Heart, 20-7.

The Red Foxes were chosen to finish the season in eighth place in the Pioneer League preseason poll, one spot ahead of Davidson, who the Hoyas defeated in 40-16 the season opener for both teams.

On offense the Red Foxes are led by sophomore quarterback Chuckie Looney, who appeared in nine games in support of starter Tommy Reilly last year.

Looney’s rise to starting signal caller was a surprise to some after Reilly, who is a senior this season, passed for over 2,300 yards and 15 touchdowns against only six interceptions last season. During the campaign, he set program records in passing attempts, completions and yards for a season.

This season Looney has thrown for 674 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. The sophomore has also shown himself to be a threat in the running game as well.

“[Looney] likes to run,” senior defensive end Andrew Schaetzke said. “He’s a smaller guy, but he isquicker.”

Looney‘s favorite targets in the receiving core have been senior wide receivers Kevin Fitzpatrick and Mike Rios, sophomore wide receiver Armani Martin and junior tight end Anthony Calcagni. This unit has dangerous play-making ability, and the Hoyas’ talented secondary will have to work hard to keep them contained.

“Their top receiver [Fitzpatrick] already has 20 catches,” Heimuli said. “So we have to make sure to lock them down.”

The passing attack has been complemented thus far by a trio of running backs — seniors RyanDinnebeil and Calvin McCoy and sophomore Atiq Lucas. They have struggled so far, however, averaging only 53 yards per contest on about 27 carries per game, an average of only 1.9 yards per carry.

The Marist offense has also struggled with turnovers, as the Red Foxes have lost three fumbles to go along with Looney’s five picks. This weakness has stalled drives while subsequently putting extra pressure on the defense. The Georgetown defense should be able to take advantage of this trend to gain good field position for the offense.

“As long as we keep our eyes on our man, don’t try to do too much, do what we do, and not try to overcompensate, the picks will come,” Heimuli said.

On the defensive side of the ball, Marist has received outstanding performances from junior lineman TerrenceFede, senior linebacker Ryan Cronan and junior safeties Tyler Ramsey and Nick Mainiero.

Fede has accumulated three sacks and five tackles for a loss of 25 yards this season. Ramsey has also contributed three tackles in the backfield while Mainiero has grabbed two interceptions.

“The strength of their defense is their defensive line,” Kayalsaid. “Their nose guard and their defensive end are prettyimpressive.”

The Hoyas and Red Foxes have matched up with one another every fall since the 2006 season. The Blue and Gray lead the series 3-2, including last season’s 14-7 victory.

Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 1:05 p.m. in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.