FOOTBALL GU To Take on Towson Last Chance for Hoyas To Avoid Last Place By Mike Hume Hoya Staff Writer
Charles Nailen/The Hoya Freshman running back John Sims and the Hoya ground game will be key.
After a 37-17 loss last week to Lafayette, the Georgetown football team has one last chance to pull itself out of the basement of the Patriot League this weekend as the Hoyas face the Towson Tigers who are 1-5 in the Patriot League.
“It’s been a difficult season for us,” Georgetown Head Coach Bob Benson said, adding that a win would be a nice send off for the 17 members of the team who will not be returning next season.
The Tigers enter this Saturday’s game on a woeful five game losing streak. However, like Lafayette, those losses came against teams at the top of the Patriot League. Those losses include drubbings by the Patriot League’s top three teams, Bucknell, Lehigh and Colgate by scores of 51-10, 47-12 and 37-5 respectively.
In their game last Saturday against Fordham, Towson managed to hang close, but ultimately fell to the Rams by a score 28-23.
Defense has been a season long problem for Towson particularly against the pass. The Tigers have given up an average of 27.6 points per game so far this year.
The Tiger passing game is another trouble spot for the team as Towson has split time between two quarterbacks. Senior Val Troiani has seen the majority of the time behind center but has not exactly shone brightly in the starting role. In the Tigers’ loss to Lehigh, Troiani sported an abysmal quarterback rating of 3.4. His average rating for the season hovers near 95 as he has completed 96 of 192 passes on the year for only two touchdowns while throwing nine interceptions.
Senior running back Noah Reed anchors the Towson ground game, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Reed could crack the 1,000-yard barrier for the season with a big game against Georgetown. The Hoyas have been largely ineffective against the run all season and Reed needs only 126 more to break the mark. Georgetown is giving up an average of 218 yards per game.
The Georgetown running game is quite the opposite. No Hoya running back has broken 300 yards for the season yet (sophomore Dawon Dicks leads the team with 278) and the entire team has accumulated only 568 yards. After the Lafayette game the Hoyas are averaging a meager 63.1 yards per game on the ground.
“I think if we play well with good emotion and good effort we will win,” Benson said. “We’re looking forward to ending the season on a positive note.”
The game against Towson will be the final game of the season for the Hoyas and will mark the final chapter in the careers of 17 team members. Most notably the Hoyas will be losing starting quarterback Sean Peterson, fullback Aaron Brown, place kicker Marc Samuel, defensive end Eric Speron, linebacker Matthew Craffey and nose guard Scott Pogorelic.
Peterson has had a solid year for the Hoyas completing 60.6 percent of his passes for 1764 yards and 12 touchdowns. Brown started the season injured but since has been a force both with and without the ball. He has 72 yards on 26 carries, but has 12 receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively Craffey is tied for the team lead with 67 tackles, while Speron has 33.
Speron will likely be more remembered for his blocked PAT against Duquesne that led to freshman Byron Anderson’s game winning conversion return.
Kickoff against Towson is at 12:30 on Kehoe Field.
2001 Football Team Page Schedule Roster