Oct. 6, 2006
Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University football team returns home this weekend, hosting Lehigh on Saturday, October 7 at the Multi-Sport Field on the Hilltop. Kickoff for the Hoyas and the Mountain Hawks is slated for 1 p.m.
The game can be seen live on the Georgetown Athletics website - www.guhoyas.com - through HoyaVision, a live streaming video of the game. Chuck Timanus, the "Voice of Georgetown Football," will call all of the action.
The Hoyas are back at home for the first time since September 9, when the Blue and Gray posted a 7-0 win over Stony Brook. Georgetown has lost its last three games and enters the game with a 1-4 overall record and an 0-2 mark in the Patriot League.
This will be the 12th meeting between the teams, with Georgetown carrying a 5-6 all-time record against the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh, however, has won all five matchups since the Hoyas entered the Patriot League in 2001, including a 46-14 decision in Pennsylvania last year.
The Georgetown offense has been led the last three weeks by junior quarterback Matt Bassuener (Port Edwards, Wis./John Edwards), who has completed 70.6 percent of his passes (48-of-68) for 491 yards and six touchdowns. His quarterback rating (157.42) leads the Patriot League. Bassuener made his first career start last week in a 31-14 loss to Colgate, completing 14-of-25 passes for 160 yards.
His favorite target has been junior slot Brent Craft (Jupiter, Fla./The Benjamin School), who has caught a team- and career-high 24 passes for 236 yards and two scores. Craft leads the Patriot League in catches per game (4.80) and is sixth in the league in yardage per game (47.2).
Sophomore wide receiver Kenny Mitchell (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake), who was named to the Patriot League Honor Roll this week, has caught nine passes for 115 yards and has two touchdown receptions. Mitchell is second in the Patriot League and No. 20 nationally in kick returns, averaging 25.5 yards (18 returns for 459 yards).
On the defensive side, senior linebacker Chris Paulus (Manlius, N.Y./Christian Brothers) leads the team and the Patriot League in tackles with 50. He is second in the conference in tackles per game (10.0) and is one of five Hoya players among the top-15 in Patriot League in tackles.
Lehigh has lost its last two games and enters the contest with a 1-3 overall record. After four-straight non-league games, this will be the Patriot League opener for the Mountain Hawks, who were picked to finish second in the conference. The Mountain Hawks were upended by Albany, 17-16, in the season opener, but bounced back to beat Villanova, 31-28. They lost to Princeton (14-10) two weeks ago and to Harvard (35-33) last week. Junior quarterback Sedale Threatt has completed 60.4 percent of his passes (64-of-106) for 863 yards and five touchdowns. Senior split end Lee Thomas has caught 18 passes for 291 yards and one score, while senior wide receiver Frank Trovato has 15 receptions for 231 yards. Five different Lehigh receivers have caught touchdown passes. Senior tailback Marques Thompson has 52 carries for 232 yards, an average of 58.0 per game, and sophomore Matt McGowan has carried the ball 31 times for 165 yards and one score. Junior free safety leads the team in tackles with 31 stops and has registered three pass break-ups. Senior linebacker Micah Greene is second on the team with 23 stops, while Chris LaMont has 19. Eric Rakus has registered 17 total tackles and leads the team with 4.5 tackles-for-loss.
The Hoyas are averaging 287.8 yards per game in total offense, 192.6 in the air and 95.2 on the ground, while Lehigh is averaging 104.5 yards per game rushing, 225.2 yards per game passing and 329.8 per game in total offense. The Mountain Hawks lead the league and rank 11th nationally in pass defense, allowing only 112.0 yards per game.
