Things may not get a whole lot better this season for the Georgetown football team, but they can’t get much worse after going 0-6 against conference opponents in the Hoyas’ first season in the Patriot League. The conference’s giants, including Georgetown’s first opponent Lehigh, still outclass and outsize the Hoyas in most every category.
“We have no margin for error,” Head Coach Bob Benson said regarding the Hoyas’ chances against conference foes. But, he says, his team is constantly improving and acknowledges the challenge placed before them in terms of the tougher schedule.
“This team has been extremely focused on doing what it needs to do in order to take this program to the next level,” Benson said. “They don’t want to get their a- kicked anymore. They are very serious football players.”
That commitment does not change the fact that Lehigh has established one of the premier programs in the country. It poses a significant challenge for even the nation’s elite teams, and a nearly impossible one for a Patriot League upstart like Georgetown.
“We’re not in awe of them, but let’s face it, they have the whole package,” Benson said. “Batten down the hatches.”
Benson emphasizes though, that he is less concerned with Lehigh than with his own team.
“We have to worry about Georgetown,” he said. “We have to not take penalties, not commit turnovers and not give up any big plays. If we do that, we’ll be hanging around in the fourth quarter of some of these games with a chance to win.”
While Georgetown may win its first conference game this season, in all likelihood Georgetown is years away from competing for the conference title. Still, this season holds promise for the developing Hoyas.
Much of that promise centers on this year’s incoming recruits. In all the Hoyas list 28 freshmen who will suit up this season. For the most part they will add some much needed depth, but in some cases they could have an immediate impact.
Benson noted freshmen wide receiver Dominique Saunders, linebacker/defensive end Matt Calhoun, cornerback Rocco Milazzotto and halfbacks Marcus Slayton and Kim Sarin as potential contributors who could contest for starting jobs this season.
“We had a great recruiting class,” Benson said. “It’s absolutely a Patriot League caliber class.”
Slayton and Sarin will look to add to a woeful rushing offense that ranked last in Division I-AA in 2001. Sophomore John Sims returns and should be the primary tailback after posting 185 yards on 74 carries his freshman year. Junior Dawon Dicks, last season’s leading rusher with 299 yards, has swapped roles with defensive back sophomore Daryl Collier and will line up as a cornerback, while the fleet-footed Collier will move to the offensive backfield and split time with Sims and the freshmen.
The role of starting quarterback remains wide open as senior Dave Paulus, junior Morgan Booth and sophomore Andrew Crawford battle it out for the starting role. Paulus, the only one of the three with game experience as a starter, looks to be the most athletic, but spotty in terms of decision making, (16 interceptions in 2000), has left the door open for Booth and Crawford. Last season Sean Peterson (MSB ’02) beat out the incumbent Paulus for the job. Benson said a decision would come Sunday after the coaching staff has digested the results of Friday’s scrimmage with Shepherd College in West Virginia.
Georgetown’s strength should lie in its wide receiver corps. The Hoyas return starters juniors Luke McArdle and Walter Bowser as well as senior Trenton Hillier. The three combined for 1,034 yards and six touchdowns last season. All three have been impressive in the past, but an overmatched offensive line last year rarely provided Georgetown time enough to do more than dump the ball off or set up a screen pass.
Junior tri-captain Matt Fronczke, the first junior captain in 20 years, will lead Georgetown’s defensive backfield, which will include Dicks and sophomore Byron Anderson. Last year the defensive backs held their own, forcing 14 interceptions and holding opponents to yards 2,153 passing.
The Hoyas will need to improve up front on the defensive line in order to compete with Patriot League teams. Last season, opponents outran Georgetown 2,101 yards to 626 on the ground.
“[Sophomores] John Cummings, Nicholas Rojo, [Michael] oore, [senior Justin] Haynes, [senior Josh] Thomas, will all have to help us be run stoppers,” Benson said.
Sophomore transfer Jim Goranson will help to bolster the line, after leaving the University of Illinois for Georgetown after a redshirt season with the Illini.
While Georgetown lost key players at quarterback, full back and tight end, perhaps the biggest loss was kicker Marc Samuel (LAW ’02), last year’s leading scorer, who signed a contract to kick for the Buffalo Bills before being cut last week. Sophomore Bryan Bobo, freshman Michael Gillman and senior Tony Soric will attempt to replace Samuel, while Rob Smith, also a running back, sits out a year as a redshirt freshman.
In addition to the changes in personnel, there will be a change in scenery for the Hoyas as the team will play its home games on the natural grass of Harbin Field. Bleachers will be erected on the side closest to Village C and Harbin this week. The field will serve as a temporary home for the Hoyas until the new 5,000 seat multi-sport facility is completed for next season.
“It’s great to be down on Harbin,” Benson said.
The Hoyas will open the season at home against Holy Cross Sept. 14. Last season the Crusaders beat the Hoyas 33-7 in Worcester, ass., however, Georgetown defeated Holy Cross in 1999.
