Hoya Staff Writer Friday, September 8, 2006 Lindsay Anderson/The Hoya Sophomore wide reciever Brent Tomlinson does his best to trample over Holy Cross senior cornerback Casey Gough and senior saftey Marc Crosby, but Crosby knocks the ball out and Tomlinson fumbles.

Legendary Green Bay Packers Head Coach Vince Lombardi once said, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; It’s whether you get back up.” The Georgetown football team was knocked flat on its back by a stronger, more experienced Holy Cross squad in its season opener last Saturday at the Multi-Sport Facility. They may not be the Packers, but Hoya Head Coach Kevin Kelly is hoping his young team has what it takes to get back on its feet this week against Stony Brook. “We had a tough ballgame last week. So did Stony Brook,” Kelly said. “Both teams are going to be coming in very hungry for a win. We just want to have more points than they do at the end of the game.” Georgetown and Stony Brook enter Saturday afternoon’s matchup in similar situations – both are young teams looking to rebound from tough losses and to continue adjusting to the new schemes of a new coach. The Seawolves (0-1), led by first-year Head Coach Chuck Priore, fell in their season opener to Hofstra, 17-8, in the two teams’ annual battle for Long Island bragging rights. “We played a hard game, but we didn’t play particularly well,” Priore said. In the District, the Hoyas left a rain-soaked MSF on the disappointing end of a 26-13 affair, shaking their heads at what could have been in Kelly’s head-coaching debut. Georgetown kept it close, but in the end was outdone by a lethal combination of dropped passes, fumbles and costly mental errors. The Hoyas’ offense was predominantly a passing one, something that may change tomorrow. Sophomore quarterback Ben Hostetler attempted 34 passes – completing 23 of them – while Georgetown ran just 23 running plays, eight of which were quarterback keepers. “[Offensive] Coach Miceli called a great game – it was a close one,” junior running back Emir Davis said. “I hope to be more involved this week. Coach says we are going to re-emphasize the running game.” For his efforts, Hostetler, who never seem rattled despite the fact that he was making only his second start, was named to the Patriot League Honor Roll. The sophomore from Elliot City, Md., is not allowing the early-season honors to faze him. In fact, as of Tuesday’s practice, he did not even know that they existed. “Really?” Hostetler said when told of his award. “Sweet.” Hostetler seemed equally relaxed discussing tomorrow’s opponent. “I think we will be able to read their defense pretty well,” he said. “We’ll mix it up a lot. Our line looks good; I think we’ll have a good game.” Priore also seems to think “Hollywood” Hostetler and the Hoyas are on the right track. “Offensively, they can create a lot of big plays with their Option,” Priore said. “We want to try and limit the options for their QB.” Spying Hostetler from the defensive backfield will be wily senior cornerback Hasan Stewart, who broke up virtually every pass Hofstra threw his way last week. Senior offensive tackle Liam Grubb and his fellow lineman will need to be ready to contain Stony Brook defensive end Chris Merckle, who recorded five tackles last season against Georgetown as a freshman and had a strong game (seven tackles) against Hofstra to begin his sophomore campaign. The Hoyas managed to stymie the Crusaders’ running game that had destroyed them the previous year. Linebacker Chris Paulus led the team with eight total tackles and senior safety Derek Franks added seven. “We had some pretty good defensive calls,” Franks said. “We were out there a long time – I think it was 92 total snaps – and some calls we executed well, some we didn’t.” Another big question going into Saturday’s game is whether Georgetown will be able to prevent big pass plays on third downs, after they allowed the Crusaders to convert almost half of their third-down conversions (7-for-16). Franks looks to put last week’s outing behind him and focus on the Seawolves, who scored their lone touchdown against Hofstra via a four-yard strike from quarterback Josh Dudash, a red-shirt junior who threw for over 2,000 yards last season. “I know we have a good secondary,” Franks said. “They are a passing threat, and we are looking forward to a defensive game.” Priore wants to keep it simple and put the ball in the hands of Dudash and senior receiver Michael Cosentino, who snagged six balls against the Hoyas last season. “We have a new coaching staff and it is important that we stick to the basics,” he said. There are many similarities between the two new head coaches, from their intense, disciplined coaching style to their blunt way of speaking. Both achieved success at their former schools (Kelly at Navy, Priore at Trinity), and both have coached players who went on to the NFL: Kelly coached Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich at Marshall, and Priore tutored former Detroit Lions receiver Miles Macik and current New York Giants fullback Jim Finn while at Penn. The two coaches acknowledge the similarities, both personally and professionally. “Kevin and I are both from the Northeast – he was at Dartmouth when I was at Penn,” Priore said. “I am very happy to be here at Stony Brook as I know Kevin is happy to be at Georgetown.” Kelly sees the comparison between the two teams being more applicable on the playing field. “I was telling the guys that this morning,” Kelly said. “Both teams are coming off very close losses to teams they were looking to beat. It is going to be a hard-fought game between two teams that are hungry for a win.” No matter the records of their young teams, one thing is for certain: The two rookie head coaches hold each other in high regard. “I don’t really know him that well, but what I do know of him is that he is an excellent head coach,” Kelly said. “He put together an impressive string of victories at Trinity.” Priore mirrored his fellow coach’s sentiment. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Multi-Sport Facility.