Coming off a disheartening defeat last week against Fairfield, the Georgetown football team has another key game tomorrow against the Iona Gaels.
The Gaels, another MAAC team, enter the contest with a 3-3 record. Iona shares two common opponents with Georgetown this season, Marist and Fairfield. The Gaels fell to both of them by a combined score of 82-14. Georgetown has faired slightly better, beating Marist 41-17, and losing to Fairfield last week, 38-14.
Head Coach Bob Benson believes his team will be more than capable of overcoming the adversity of last week’s loss.
“We’ll be fine,” Benson said. “Tough times last only if you let them last. Tough people last.”
In order to be successful, the Hoyas will have to shut down the Gaels running attack, which has averaged 177 yards a game so far this season. Ralph Saldiveri leads Iona with nearly 1200 yards rushing.
“We need to play sound defense and tackle well,” Benson said of Iona’s rushing threat, noting that poor tacking was evident in the loss to Fairfield.
Georgetown will also have to re-institute its own running game, which fell short of 100 yard rushing plateau for the fourth time in five games last Saturday against Fairfield. In every game that they have posted over 100 yards rushing this season, the Hoyas have come away with a victory.
After being benched during of last week’s game in order to spark the offense, sophomore Dave Paulus will resume his usual starting role at quarterback. Paulus should be able to take advantage of a somewhat weak Gael secondary. Iona has allowed an average of 202 yards passing per game, a statistic which Georgetown’s talented array of wide receivers could exploit.
With their record standing at 3-5, the Hoyas have their backs to the wall in pursuit of a winning season. Benson says his team remains fixed upon that goal and should rebound from last week’s demoralizing loss.
“It’s all in your attitude and how you react to it,” Benson said. “We need to play with confidence and consistency.”
With three games left in the season, the Hoyas must go undefeated to achieve their goal of finishing above .500. Following Iona, Georgetown faces St. Peters, before wrapping up its season at Davidson.
The remaining games could prove a challenge for Georgetown, which edged St. Peter’s 14-3 last season, a week after falling 28-27 to Davidson at home during Georgetown’s homecoming.
But first, the Hoyas must make it past the Gaels. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. tomorrow on Kehoe Field.
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