Oct. 27, 2006
Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University football team heads South this weekend, looking to end a five-game losing streak with a non-league contest against Charleston Southern of the Big South Conference. Kickoff against the Buccaneers is slated for 1:30 p.m.
Georgetown University's student radio station, WGTB, will provide live audio of the game, with Matt Tymann providing all of the play-by-play. Fans can visit www.georgetownradio.com to listen to the game live.
Georgetown enters the game on Saturday with a 1-6 overall record and a 0-4 slate in the Patriot League. Led by first-year head coach Kevin Kelly, the young Hoyas - there are 34 freshmen on the roster - have been in nearly every game this season, but have fallen on the losing side the last five games.
After a week off for a bye, the Hoyas face a stiff challenge in Charleston Southern, winners of 12-straight games and one of three unbeaten teams (7-0 overall, 1-0 Big South) in Division I-AA.
CSU is averaging 30.1 points per game, while its defense is allowing only 15.1 points per game. Quarterback Collin Drafts has completed 71.9 percent of his passes (143-of-199) for 1,680 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is averaging 240.0 yards per game passing. Maurice Price leads the team with 69 catches for 713 yards and nine scores, while averaging 101.9 yards per game. CSU is averaging 98.7 yards per game rushing, with Drafts leading the team with 305 yards, 75 carries and six scores. Kenny Harper has carried the ball 66 times for 249 yards. Kicker Nick Ellis has connected on 22-of-24 point-after attempts and 4-of-5 field goals, with his longest a 37-yard kick. On the defensive side, Jada Ross leads the team with 83 tackles and is third on the team with seven tackles-for-loss. Jonna Lee is third on the team with 46 tackles and is second with 7.5 tackles-for-loss. Okeba Rollinson is fourth on the team with 41tackles, is second on the team with eight tackles-for-loss and is second on the team with 3.5 sacks. Dennis Justiniani is sixth on the team with 34 tackles and leads the squad with 9.5 tackles-for-loss.
The Hoyas fell to 0-4 in the Patriot League after dropping a 17-7 decision to Bucknell on October 14. Junior quarterback Matt Bassuener, who was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week on September 25 after a strong outing in a losing effort at Columbia, will make his third career start today. He had come on in a reserve role against Brown and Columbia and made his first career start against Colgate, completing 14-of-25 passes for 160 yards. In six games this season, he has completed 70.6 percent of his passes (77-of-109) for 653 yards, with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. Bassuener has the third-highest quarterback rating (136.65) in the Patriot League. Sophomore Ben Hostetler, who started the first two games of the season and against Bucknell, has appeared in all seven games, completing 57.0 percent of his passes (57-of-100) for 536 yards and four scores. GU quarterbacks have thrown passes to 16 different receivers this year, with junior Brent Craft catching 37 passes, junior Emir Davis grabbing 17 and junior Jasper Ihezie with 15. Craft is second in the Patriot League in catches per game (5.29) and is averaging 52.9 yards per game. The Hoyas have gained at least 100 yards on the ground in three of the last four games, including a season-high 177 at Colgate. The team is averaging 100.0 per game. Bassuener leads the team with 216 yards on the ground, while junior Erik Carter has 142 yards.
Senior linebacker Chris Paulus leads the team and is fourth in the Patriot League, with 69 tackles. Seven Hoyas are among the top-20 in the league in tackles. Senior Alex Buzbee is ninth with 54 tackles (7.2/game), senior defensive back Derek Franks is 10th in the league with 48 tackles (6.9/game) and junior Mike Greene is 11th with 41 stops (6.8/game). Seniors Stephen Smith is 13th (43/6.1 per game), senior Brian Tandy is 15th (42 stops, 6.0/g) and junior Kevin Cherepski is 20th (40/5.7). Buzbee leads the league in tackles-for-loss with nine and is tied for second in the league with 3.5 sacks. The Hoyas are fifth in the league in passing offense (173.1 per game), seventh in rushing offense (100.0/game) and sixth in total offense (273.1). The defense ranks sixth in the league in rushing defense, allowing 167.6 yards per game. The unit is third in the league in passing defense (177.0/game) and fourth in total defense (344.6/game).
