Charles Nailen/The Hoya The Hoyas hope to improve on last years performance against the Mountain Hawks, where they fell 41-14.
After a hard-fought, three-way battle, junior Morgan Booth beat out senior Dave Paulus and sophomore Andrew Crawford and will take snaps as the starting quarterback when Georgetown opens its season against Lehigh Saturday at Goodman Stadium.
“Morgan has shown the ability to be a consistent leader,” Head Coach Bob Benson said. “He has shown that he can make good decisions both before and after the snap.”
Booth, from San Marino, Calif., has never started a game at quarterback and last year attempted just six passes in limited action.
“Coach [Tim] Breslin and [Jim] Moorehead have done a great job teaching me the offense,” Booth said. “It’s a lot more work as the starter, coming to practice early, leaving late, studying game tapes, but it’s definitely worth it.”
The Sunday decision to go with Booth concludes a prolonged audition between the three candidates, all of whom Benson said had an equal shot .
“We had three very good candidates, which is why we took so long,” Benson said. “We wanted to be thorough and we didn’t really have to make a decision until Sunday anyway.”
“I’m glad it’s over,” Booth said of the tryout. “After auditioning for 30 practices straight it starts to rub on you.”
Paulus, who appeared to have the inside track for the starting job because of his experience as the Hoyas’ starting quarterback in 2000, will be worked around the offense. Last year after losing the starting position to then-senior Sean Peterson, Paulus worked as the team’s punter as well as a kick returner and wide receiver. Benson has not decided whether Crawford or Paulus will be Booth’s primary backup.
“We all get along pretty well both on and off the field,” Booth said. “So it was enjoyable. Obviously, I would have been a little disappointed if it wasn’t me, but I think we’re all pretty happy.”
Booth will be tested from the start Saturday, leading the offense in the daunting task of facing down highly ranked Lehigh.
The much ballyhooed Mountain Hawks enter the game unanimously ranked in the Top-25 and are fresh off a 37-26 victory over Division I-A Buffalo. Lehigh dominated offensively out-gaining its opponent by 243 yards, 180 of those through the air.
Lehigh returns the majority of a team that went undefeated en route to the Patriot League title and has won 42 of its last 43 games.
“They might be the best team in division I-AA. Period,” Benson said.
Georgetown’s main task will center on stopping running back Jermaine Pugh who scampered for 112 yards against Buffalo – one more than Buffalo’s entire team.
“We have to make the big plays defensively,” Benson said. “We have to make smart decisions, control the clock and win special teams.”
Juniors Matt Shiels and Chad Schwenk split time behind center against Buffalo. Schwenk, a transfer from Rutgers, completed 14 of his 24 attempts for 206 yards. Both Senior Dave Crockett and junior ichael Sutton posted more than 100 yards receiving with 105 and 104 yards respectively, part of the 508 yards of total offense recorded against Buffalo. Containing both Pugh and the Lehigh passing attack will prove a daunting task for a Georgetown defense ranked near the bottom of Division I-AA in 2001.
“Everyone’s pretty tired of using and hearing the excuse that we’re a first-year team in the Patriot League,” Booth said. “This is our year to prove ourselves. Seeing Lehigh across the line . yeah we may be a little jittery the first couple of snaps, but we’ll find our groove.”
Notes: Benson chose former kicker Marc Samuel’s replacements, naming sophomore Bryan Bobo field goal and extra-point, while freshman Michael Gillman, a transfer from the University of Florida, will handle kick offs.
