November 13, 2004
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Senior John Leverett eclipsed the Davidson all-time rushing record in the final game of his career, but the Wildcats were kept off the scoreboard by the visiting Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday afternoon at Smith Field at Richardson Stadium in a 23-0 defeat. Georgetown (3-7) snapped a two-game losing streak and recorded its second shutout of the season. Davidson (2-7), meanwhile, suffered its second shutout in three games after going 56 straight contests without being shut out.
The Hoyas ran for 178 yards on 44 carries in the game, led by tailback Kim Sarin (Jr., Roseville, Minn. / Cretin-Derham). He averaged nearly six yards per carry, traversing 94 yards on 16 rushes. Fullback Emir Davis (Fr., Trenton, N.J. / Hun) had touchdown runs of one and two yards, and quarterback Andrew Crawford (Sr., Superior, Colo. / Fairview) scored the other touchdown on an eight-yard keeper.
Neither team was particularly effective on offense, though, as Georgetown managed just 241 yards and were fortunate that none of its five fumbles were lost. The Wildcats did run 86 plays in the game, but amassed just 225 yards plus threw five interceptions.
The Hoyas took the lead less than 10 minutes into the game on a 34-yard field goal by Eric Bjonerud (Fr., Potomac, Md / Georgetown Prep).
The next Georgetown possessions was one of the few sustained drives in the game for either team. Starting at their own 40-yard line, the Hoyas got a pair of first-down passes -- two of just seven completions for GU -- before Sarin broke a 27-yard scamper to the Wildcat one. On Davis' second try, he punched it in with 1:37 left in the first quarter.
Over the next two quarters, neither team put together a drive of more than 24 yards as the score remained 10-0. Georgetown got a break in the fourth quarter when Davidson freshman quarterback Beaux Jones threw his third interception of the afternoon, picked off by Christopher Paulus (So., Manlius, N.Y. / Christian Brothers) at the Wildcat 19. After Crawford bolted for 17 yards, Davis barreled into the end zone.
After the 'Cats advanced to the Hoya 32 (the furthest they would penetrate the entire game), their drive stalled on fourth down. Georgetown's backup tailback Marcus Slayton (Jr., Cleveland, Ohio / Benedictine) had runs of eight and 54 yards, which set up Crawford's touchdown run. The extra point was wide, but it did not matter in the outcome.
Leverett broke the Davidson rushing record on the first play from scrimmage of the game with a seven-yard run up the middle. The previous record of 3,085 yards was held by Ray Sinclair ' 82 stood for 23 years. He finished the game with 83 yards on 25 carries, giving him 3,165 yards in his career and 1,084 in just nine games this season.
Three Wildcat quarterbacks combined to complete 15-of-43 passes for 135 yards and the five interceptions. After Jones went 8-for-25 with three picks, senior Damion White completed 2-of-8 passes on two drives for 20 yards and one interception. Freshman Matt McGreevy saw his first action of the season and led the 'Cats on their longest drive -- 58 yards -- while completing 5-of-10 passes for 50 yards. His final pass, however, was intercepted to end the game.
Freshman Ryan Hubbard caught a career-high seven passes for the Wildcats, gaining 65 yards. Defensively, junior Ricky Childers picked off a pass -- the first thrown by Crawford this season -- and senior Kevin Saunders led the 'Cats with nine tackles. Fellow senior Brendan Dete played well with seven tackles, six solo, two tackles for a loss, one sack, two passes broken up and a forced fumble. On special teams, senior Frankie Jones partially blocked a field goal to thwart the 33-yard attempt in the second quarter.
Maurice Banks (Jr., Clinton, Md. / Gwynn Park), Matt Cooper (So., Newport Beach, Calif. / Corona Del Mar), Kris Cooper (So., Newport Beach, Calif. / Corona Del Mar), Jason Carter (Sr., North Brunswick, N.J. / North Brunswick) and Paulus all had interceptions for the Hoya defense. Mehdi Hassan (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla / Cardinal Gibbons ) led all players with 13 tackles, while Paulus had 12, 10 of which were solo.
Davidson bid farewell to its 16 seniors in the final game of the season. Georgetown finishes out its season next Saturday with a Patriot League game at home against Holy Cross at 1 p.m.
