Thursday, July 21, 2005

FOOTBALL: Breakout performance gives Maurer reins of Lafayette offense
The Pulse-Journal (Liberty Twp., Ohio)/ By Steven Matthews
Through Lafayette College's first five games of the 2004 football season, coach Frank Tavani opted to split the quarterback duties between former Kings High star Brad Maurer and Pat Davis. But during halftime of game No. 6, Tavani had a hunch. Maurer, who started each of the previous first five games but gave way to Davis in the second half, had engineered the Leopards to a 21-0 halftime lead at Columbia on Oct. 9. And Tavani wasn't about to take him out. "I had a feeling this is the time to stay with him," he said, "and that second half was his breakout half of the season." On the third play from scrimmage in the second half, Maurer scampered 63 yards for a touchdown as the Leopards cruised to a 35-14 victory. He also tossed two TD passes and was an efficient 12-of-14 through the air.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Opportunities await Lafayette's freshmen
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
While securing commitments for the Lafayette men's basketball program Class of 2009, coach Fran O'Hanlon gave each of his six recruits the same message. ''I said to all these freshmen, 'You guys are going to have a chance to make an impact as freshmen because of our numbers,''' O'Hanlon said from his office Monday afternoon. ''I don't know if it's going to be positive or negative, but it's going to be an impact.'' As O'Hanlon begins his 11th summer as Lafayette's coach, he can only wonder what impact injuries and player turnover will have on his 2005-06 team.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

BASEBALL: He's chasing his dream from the bottom up
The York Dispatch/ By Dick VanOlinda
If it's Tuesday, Jason Boyd is in Sauget, Ill. The Littlestown High School and Lafayette College graduate is pursuing his baseball dream -- wherever it takes him. Last night, Boyd and his teammates on the Ohio Valley Redcoats were in Marietta, Ohio. Following the game against the Washington Wild Things, the Redcoats boarded the bus for the 540-mile journey to Illinois. "We spend most of our time on the bus," Boyd said. "We'll play three games in one town, hop on the bus around midnight and get in the next town around five or six in the morning." The travel isn't exactly first class, and the pay isn't exactly what someone with an engineering degree would expect. But Boyd, who graduated from Lafayette College last year, isn't complaining. He had to start somewhere, and somewhere is in the Frontier League, an independent league made up of 12 Midwest franchises.

Monday, June 6, 2005

FOOTBALL: Hundreds turn out for football, charity
The Morning Call/ By Keith Groller
Lafayette's Metzgar Fields were the ''Land of the Giants'' on Sunday, a place filled with big, bruising football players and many tough, hard-nosed coaches who were, in many cases, bigger than the players. But the person who brought them all to Lafayette was a sweetheart of a little lady who barely came up to some of the players' knees. Lauren Loose was in attendance for the second annual ''Lauren's First and Goal'' Football Camp, but as the huge contingent of high school-aged players and college coaches went through their drills, Lauren was busy with her friends doing what second-graders do -- coloring, playing games and looking forward to a trip to Dorney Park after school ends.

Monday, May 23, 2005

WOMEN'S SOCCER: Whitehall's Fink (Lafayette-bound) is soccer scholar-athlete
The Morning Call/ By Bryan Wald
Chalk up one more surprise for the Whitehall girls soccer team. After finishing with the best record in school history (13-7-1) and winning their first-ever district playoff game, the Zephyrs program earned an additional accolade Sunday night when The Lehigh Valley Soccer Scholar Athlete Foundation named Whitehall senior goalkeeper Hannah Fink the 2005 girls soccer scholar-athlete at a banquet held at the Fullerton Fire Company. ''I was not expecting this,'' Fink said. ''It was just quite a shock, amazing.'' The winner was chosen using a formula based on athletic ability, academic performance and extra-curricular activities. All 36 nominees had their impressive accomplishments read aloud as they walked to the podium to receive their plaques.

Thursday, May 5, 2005

TRACK & FIELD: Lafayette's Jones set to measure progress
The Express-Times/ By Bruce Buratti
EASTON -- Tyler Jones was destined to become a Lafayette Leopard as soon as he reported for indoor track as a freshman at Freedom High School. "It was either track or baseball and I wanted to find out what I could do in track," said Jones, wearing a T-shirt, lime-colored shorts and sandals during a mid-week interview outside Lafayette's track and field office on the third floor of the Kirby Sports Center. A 20-year-old sophomore at Lafayette where he's the top-ranked discus thrower in the Patriot League, Jones' first throwing coach was Harrison Bailey, a former Lafayette football and track athlete who holds the school record in the event (174 feet). As he developed in the Freedom program, he eventually was recruited by Michele Curcio, Lafayette's throws coach and an Easton High graduate. Jones will be in the discus competition out at Metzgar Field this afternoon on opening day of the two-day Patriot League meet. The discus and hammer throw, where Jones is seeded 10th, will take place at Metzgar with all the remaining events taking place at Fisher Field.

Thursday, May 5, 2005

TRACK & FIELD: Portland´s coach (Jill Corey '00) knows way around
Portland (Maine) Press Herald/ By Tom Chard
Ten years ago, Jill Corey was a record-setting sprinter at Portland High. Now she´s the Bulldogs´ head coach. After serving as an assistant for two years, Corey recently was appointed interim head coach for the girls´ track team to replace Buzz Maloney, a longtime track coach and educator who retired after the indoor season. Jill Corey always smiles when she thinks of her days as a Portland High athlete, and now she wants her new girls' track team also to have fun while improving. Earlier this week at a Portland High practice, Corey was as active as her athletes, hustling around trying to prepare her team for its first meet. Corey, 27, wants to impart the knowledge she learned in high school and at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa.

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

FOOTBALL: Lafayette's Bennett banking on a productive summer
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Before playing in his final Maroon and White Game on Saturday, linebacker Maurice Bennett learned he was elected one of Lafayette's two captains for the 2005 season. He'll spend this summer learning away from the football field. This winter, Bennett, a junior business and economics major, landed a 10-week internship through Sponsors for Educational Opportunity. He was placed at Credit Suisse Bank in New York, N.Y., where he will work in investment banking. Bennett learned about the SEO Career Program through Lafayette's Office of Career Services. The program, according to SEO's Web site, is ''the nation's premiere summer internship program for talented students of color leading to full-time job offers.'' Bennett came to Lafayette as an undecided major. Once he chose business and economics, he became interested in investment banking.

Sunday, May 1, 2005

FOOTBALL: Fade to Fisher returns on cue
The Express-Times/ By Michael Blouse
EASTON -- It's a play coach Frank Tavani plans to call often this fall. And it's a play wide receiver Archie Fisher hopes to make frequently this coming football season. The play is a simple fade pattern -- a call Lafayette College's coach prefers and the Leopards' 6-foot-2, 195-pound playmaker has mastered. The play was executed as planned in Saturday's Maroon-White spring scrimmage when backup quarterback Pat Davis lofted a perfect 8-yard strike to Fisher for the game's first touchdown.

FOOTBALL: Hall gets rewarded for adjusting well
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
After spending two years with Lafayette's junior varsity football team, Brandon Hall began to make the transition from quarterback to tight end last spring. Catching passes wasn't a problem for Hall. He always had his hands on the ball while playing quarterback at Oil City (Pa.) High School. Blocking defenders, something Hall never did at Oil City, took longer to learn. One year later, Hall's transition appears complete. The Leopards' coaches named him the most improved offensive player of spring practice at halftime of Saturday's rainy Maroon and White Game at Fisher Field.

Friday, April 29, 2005

FOOTBALL: Tavani's Leopards already cooking
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
While his team went through its final full-contact practice before the Maroon and White Game, Lafayette coach Frank Tavani mentioned three keys for Saturday's annual intrasquad scrimmage. Play well. Avoid injuries. Get to the postgame luncheon.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette to get six recruits; Douglas is leaving program
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
There appears to be good news and bad news coming out of the Lafayette College men's basketball program. The good news is Fran O'Hanlon's incoming freshman class has been bolstered to six with the oral commitments from guard Andrew Brown, the Colorado 5A Player of the Year, according to the Rocky Mountain News, and 6-8 forward Blake Nielson from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

FOOTBALL: Return of the playmaker: Lafayette's Fisher, trying to stay healthy, has had a solid spring.
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
On the final day of full-pad drills, Archie Fisher jogged from Lafayette's locker room to Metzgar Fields. It's a jog the Leopards make each day after dressing for practice. For much of the last 21/2 years, Fisher couldn't complete it without feeling pain in his right foot. The pain has subsided since Fisher had offseason surgery to repair a shattered bone in the foot, an injury that kept him sidelined for all but two games last season. It hasn't disappeared and could linger forever. The difference is Fisher, a junior wide receiver, can play through the aches now. He has throughout Lafayette's spring practices, his first live action since he started at Georgetown on Sept. 11, 2004. He plans to continue doing so, right through Saturday's Maroon and White Game and into the offseason.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

BASKETBALL: Thank Elgin (Lafayette '73) for bringing NCAA to St. Louis
St. Louis Post-Dispatch/ By Bernie Miklasz
In the early 1990s, Missouri Valley Conference commissioner Doug Elgin and his staff had this crazy idea: try to convince the NCAA to put a piece of the men's basketball tournament in St. Louis at The Arena on Oakland Avenue. The Arena was old, dusty and dilapidated. Birds swooped into the building through cracks in the ancient roof. Cats were turned loose to apprehend rats that had free run of the old barn. Rusty pipes were exposed, and the plumbing had more leaks than the Nixon White House. A date with the wrecking ball was looming. This was to be the wheezing Arena's last gasp. Somehow the meticulous, quietly driven Elgin convinced the NCAA to give St. Louis and the Arena a last shot. And the 1993 men's Midwest Regional was a surprising hit. The Arena was cleaned up and painted over, and the event went off without any structural failures or run-ins with vermin.

Sunday, April 10, 2005

BASEBALL: Army takes two from Lafayette on newly named field
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Before the first pitch Saturday, Lafayette renamed its baseball field. The change failed to alter the Leopards' fortunes against Army. The Black Knights ran their winning streak over Lafayette to 10 games with a doubleheader sweep at Class of 1978 Stadium, claiming 5-3 and 8-3 victories on newly-christened Hilton Rahn '51 Field. They did it with pitching, holding the Leopards to five earned runs in 16 innings. Army, the defending Patriot League champion, entered Saturday with a 2.80 team ERA. That number rose slightly, but only after Lafayette scored two ninth-inning runs in Game 2 to close within 8-3.

Friday, April 1, 2005

SPRING FOOTBALL: Lafayette's Hurt playing numbers game
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- When Jonathan Hurt arrived at Lafayette College as a freshman tailback, he was issued No. 34. For Hurt, No. 34 was the closest he could get to his old Boone High School jersey No. 35, which was occupied at Lafayette by upperclassman and defensive end Paul Ziska. Only after being indoctrinated into the Lafayette program did he come to understand the significance of wearing No. 34. "They told me it was Erik Marsh's number," Hurt said. Around Lafayette football, Erik Marsh, the Patriot League's career-rushing leader by way of Bethlehem Catholic High School, still walks on water. Marsh's position coach from 1988-92, Frank Tavani, is now the Leopards head coach and he's never had a better poster boy for Lafayette football than Marsh. The potential the Leopards see in Hurt, a junior-to-be, is limitless. Hurt was so impressive during the early portion of last year's Patriot League championship season that he unseated senior Joe McCourt as the starting tailback.

SPRING FOOTBALL: Leopards look to get O-line in order
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
When spring football practice opens Saturday, new faces will fill Lafayette's offensive huddle. Sure, center Rob Stroble will still snap the ball to quarterback Brad Maurer. Brandon Stanford, Joe Ort and Chad Walker will still run pass patterns for the Leopards. But when Maurer turns to his backfield, tailback Joe McCourt won't be there to take a handoff. Fullback Brendon Green won't be there to open a crease. McCourt and Green were key cogs in the power running game that helped the Leopards reach the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs last season. How the players competing to replace McCourt and Green perform over the next four weeks will be a major story line during spring practice. While the new faces in Lafayette's offensive backfield figure to garner the most attention this spring, the Leopards' offensive line has undergone the most change since last season. How the Leopards revamp that line will go a long way in determining whether or not they remain atop the Patriot League.

Thursday, March 31, 2005

BASEBALL: Leopards look to peak for Patriot League
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
FORKS TWP. -- The Lafayette College baseball team is young this spring. How young, you ask? First baseman/co-captain Adam Bucci looks up and down the dugout and sees only one other senior -- left fielder Rob Fioretti. The Leopards, coming off a 9-6 non-league loss to La Salle on Wednesday afternoon at Class of '78 Stadium, enter Patriot League play this weekend against Holy Cross with a starting lineup that probably will include the two seniors, five sophomores, a freshman and one junior.

SPRING FOOTBALL: Leopards' pride won't surprise opponents this season
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Before last season, Frank Tavani adopted the motto ''Pride, Purpose, Passion'' for his Lafayette College football team. The Leopards embraced those words and surprised everyone by going 8-4 overall, winning a share of the Patriot League championship and appearing in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the first time in school history. With the motto working so well, Tavani's players wanted to keep it for the coming season. But Tavani, the reigning Patriot League Coach of the Year, couldn't resist tinkering with it. The words ''Pride, Purpose, Passion'' are again emblazoned on the Leopards' workout T-shirts as they prepare to begin spring practice Saturday. This time, they are accompanied by a bull's-eye, a reminder that everyone in the Patriot League will take aim at Lafayette this fall.

Monday, March 28, 2005

BASEBALL: As pitching fades, triathlons beckon
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Ira Josephs
Jeremy Kacuba is doing it for the kids. But rather than a Catcher in the Rye, Kacuba is a "Pitcher in the Tri." How's that? As a pitcher at Lafayette College in the late 1990s, Kacuba attracted pro scouts with a 92 m.p.h. fastball. A right-shoulder injury dashed Kacuba's major-league dreams. But he's still aiming toward a career as a professional athlete. Make that a professional triathlete. Kacuba, a mechanical engineer by trade, quit his corporate job with pharmaceutical giant Merck last year to devote himself to triathlon training. He's not a professional yet, although he does have a handful of corporate sponsors. And a huge heart.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

BASKETBALL: Lafayette club pushes on for scholarships
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- Lafayette College's athletic support group, the Maroon Club, will send a recommendation to the Board of Trustees to convert 19 basketball grant-in-aid equivalencies into 19 merit-based -- or scholarship -- awards. Former Board of Trustees member and current Maroon Club executive board member Bill Rappolt (Class of '67) said the recommendation will be accompanied by results of a survey the club conducted over the past few months. The Board of Trustees will hold its spring meeting April 1-2.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

BASEBALL: Local college baseball teams head into conference play
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Watching his team drop four straight games in Florida didn't change Joe Kinney's belief in his players. This is only the opening portion of Lafayette's baseball schedule. For Kinney, the Leopards' sixth-year coach, it is the one that matters the least. Yes, Kinney wants to win. He wasn't happy to watch the Leopards commit six errors in losing a weekend doubleheader against Pittsburgh and Boston College. But more than anything, Kinney wants the Leopards to use their March schedule to prepare for the rigors of Patriot League play.

Thursday, March 10, 2005

MEN'S SOCCER: Barbieri signs to play soccer at Lafayette
Hillsborough Beacon/ By Rudy Brandl
Chad Barbieri knows his versatility will come in handy when he takes his soccer career to the next level at Lafayette College. Playing midfield all these years has allowed Barbieri to showcase his goal-scoring prowess and defensive ability. He'll need both to succeed on the college pitch. The Hillsborough High senior recently signed his official letter of intent to play for Lafayette, a Division 1 school in Easton, Pa. Barbieri also considered The College of New Jersey, Iona, Loyola (Md.), Bucknell and Lehigh but chose Lafayette for a variety of reasons. "Lafayette really stood out athletically and academically I don't think I can do better," said Barbieri, who plans to study business and economics. "There's a nice group of freshmen coming in and I think I'll be able to fit in nicely. The campus is gorgeous."

Sunday, March 6, 2005

After 12 years Lafayette leader leaves behind a rejuvenated vibrant college
The Express-Times/ By Jeff Schogol
Fund raising had dried to a trickle. Faculty was at odds with the administration. Colleagues were bickering and not listening to each other. It was cacophony. In the early 1990s, Lafayette College needed a new leader, someone who could tame the squabbling and lift Lafayette above the disarray of Robert J. Rotberg's three-year term as president of the Easton college. The college board of trustees began searching for someone who could broker peace among all of the college's constituencies, come up with a plan for the future and move the college forward. Lafayette needed a builder. Many agree the college had turned toward its current success when Arthur J. Rothkopf arrived as interim president. He came from the nation's capital, where he was working as an attorney and had served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. It was a rediscovery of sorts because Rothkopf was a graduate of Lafayette. Rothkopf said he took the job after consulting with his wife on the understanding that the venture would last only one year. One year evolved into a 12-year presidency during which he helmed building projects that brought the college off College Hill and led the most successful fund-raising campaign in college history.

President's college affiliation spans decades
The Express-Times/ By Jeff Schogol
Arthur J. Rothkopf grew up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn near the now demolished Ebbets field, home of the Dodgers. He said his college application process was "not very organized or methodical." He had applied to the University of Pennsylvania, but when he visited it as a high school senior, he noticed it was in a rundown area that resembled his own neighborhood, so he decided to look at smaller schools. A friend's cousin had gone to Lafayette College, so Rothkopf applied and was accepted, he said.

Saturday, March 5, 2005

FOOTBALL: Lafayette's McCourt earns football accolade
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Tom McGurk
Lafayette's Joe McCourt never ran away from the doubters, but he did take pleasure in running them over. When the Leopards were the only collegiate football program to offer him a chance to try out as a tailback, McCourt took the ball and never stopped running. Last fall, McCourt rushed for 1,193 yards - his third straight 1,000-yard season - and tied the school record with 16 rushing touchdowns. More important, McCourt led Lafayette (8-4) to its first NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth in the school's 123-year history and its first Patriot League championship in 11 years. For his accomplishments, the senior tailback was honored as the Tri-State Player of the Year last night at the Maxwell Football Club's 68th annual awards dinner at Harrah's in Atlantic City.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards' season ends with crushing defeat
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- To corrupt a Yogi Berra-ism, Friday night's Patriot League basketball tournament quarterfinal between Bucknell and Lafayette was over before it was over. The Bison's 70-34 humiliation of the Leopards was really over in the first five minutes, much to the delight of the partisan orange-clad crowd of 3,032 at Sojka Pavilion.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette offers little resistance to Bucknell
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
LEWISBURG, Pa. | Not long after stepping onto the Sojka Pavilion court Friday night, Lafayette crumbled. The Leopards missed layups and jumpers -- nine straight in all -- before senior forward Sean Knitter scored on a half-hook, six minutes and 44 seconds into the game. Then, there was the Leopards' rebounding, which was even sadder. Bucknell bullied, leaped over and outhustled Lafayette. When it was over, the seventh-seeded Leopards (9-19) had suffered their second-worst defeat of the season and established a Patriot League tournament record for fewest points in a game, losing 70-34 to the top-seeded Bison before a jacked-up home crowd of 3,032.

Friday, March 4, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette, Lehigh must turn up the 'D'
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
Here are the story lines for the Lafayette and Lehigh men's basketball teams as they storm into tonight's Patriot League tournament quarterfinals: Lafayette has won three of its last four games, but all the momentum the Leopards possess may matter little against a Bucknell team playing on its home court -- where it's unbeaten against league opponents over the last two seasons. ( Lehigh is the defending tournament champion but is playing anything like a champion. Despite a lineup featuring four starters from that title team, the Mountain Hawks (13-14, 7-7) come into their game against Colgate (12-15, 7-7) on a four-game losing streak.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Holy Cross ousts Lafayette
The Express-Times/ By Jorge Bannister
WORCESTER, Mass. -- It was history repeated for the Lafayette Leopards women's basketball team Thursday night. No. 1-seeded Holy Cross (18-10, 13-2) overwhelmed the eighth-seeded Leopards 74-61 to advance to the semifinals in front of 676 fans at the Hart Center on the picturesque campus of College of the Holy Cross. The loss is Lafayette's 19th straight against the Crusaders and the 14th straight at the Hart Center. Holy Cross will face fifth-seeded Navy (11-17), a 62-40 winner over American in the first game of the doubleheader, at 1 p.m. Saturday in a semifinal match. Lafayette closes its season 5-23 and 3-12 in the Patriot League. "Holy Cross is a great team," Leopards head coach Tammy Smith said. "They're tough to play when they are at home. Unfortunately, we didn't get the job done offensively or defensively."

Sunday, February 27, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Douglas makes a last stand
The Express-Times/ By Bruce Buratti
EASTON -- Jamaal Douglas wasn't drawing a line in the sand, so to speak. He didn't have to. It was already drawn for him. And it was 19 feet, 9 inches from the basket. Douglas, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, had only 10 3-point baskets for the season but he nailed three Saturday in a 16-point performance that helped carry Lafayette to an 81-76 win over rival Lehigh before a rowdy crowd of 3,500 at Kirby Sports Center. The victory had no bearing on Lafayette's fate in next week's Patriot League tournament. The seventh-seeded Leopards' 8 p.m. first-round meeting Friday at second-seeded Bucknell was already set in stone. But it was still a chance for coach Fran O'Hanlan's Leopards (9-18 overall, 5-9 league) to give rival Lehigh (13-14, 7-7) some grief while also dropping the Mountain Hawks from a three-way tie for the No. 3 to the No. 4 spot where they'll meet fifth-seeded Colgate in the opening round Friday at Holy Cross.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette holds off Lehigh in regular-season finale
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lehigh did not die easy. And Lafayette refused to die on its own court. The Leopards had an 11-point lead with 1:48 remaining, which dwindled down to one, before settling for an 81-76 victory Saturday afternoon at Kirby Sports Center. Lafayette had lost its previous game by 19 points to Navy because it did not have enough fight, especially on the boards where the Leopards were embarrassed by a 71-33 margin. But Lafayette had plenty of mettle for Lehigh, even though the Leopards had to hold on for the victory in the Patriot League regular-season finale before a crowd of 3,500. Lafayette (9-18, 5-9 Patriot) had already secured the No. 7 seed in the league tournament before the game and will meet No. 2 seed Bucknell at 8 p.m. Friday in Lewisburg.

Saturday, February 26, 2005

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette soph rides highs, lows of 5-21 season
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
What Kara Stetler has learned about life and about herself over the past two basketball seasons at Lafayette College will carry her farther than anything she'll absorb in the classroom on College Hill. The ups and downs the 5-foot-7 sophomore guard has endured would've sent a weaker person spiraling out of the sport. Stetler admits frustration but has never given a thought to removing the athlete portion from her title of Division I student-athlete. "It definitely questioned my confidence, but I never thought of quitting," Stetler said. "It could beat you down loss after loss. We'd come to practice, work so hard and what were we getting out of it?" For Stetler and the 5-21 Leopards, they think they're beginning to see the light. Lafayette is coming off a win over Navy on Wednesday and lost by just two points at American last Saturday.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

FOOTBALL: Club judges McCourt region's best
The Morning Call/ By Bryan Wald
The name Joe McCourt probably isn't the first one that jumps out at you when you look at the list of this year's Maxwell Football Club award winners. Peyton Manning, Jason White and Marty Schottenheimer are likely to catch your eye first. But on March 4 at Harrah's in Atlantic City, the Lafayette senior tailback will share a stage with them -- and others -- when he accepts the 2004 Maxwell Football Club Tri-State Player of Year award, an honor given to the top local college football player. ''It's just awesome,'' McCourt said. ''To be in that kind of company is something really special. It's great to be able to put Lafayette on the map a little bit, so it's really a tribute to my teammates and my coaches.'' But McCourt won't be awestruck at the ceremony; this isn't new to him.

Monday, February 21, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette playing like a team ready to make a run
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Teams that make postseason runs in March usually start to play harder and smarter and win more convincingly at this time of the season. Lafayette has done that in its last two Patriot League games. Teams that have short runs in March usually do what Lehigh has done over its last two games, which is play erratically and confused and get beaten. In the standings, Lehigh (13-12, 7-5 Patriot) is in third place and Lafayette (8-17, 4-8) is tied with Navy (8-17, 4-8) for sixth place. The third- and sixth-place teams meet in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament March 4 at Bucknell. The host Bison are the No. 2 seed. Lafayette can prove it's better than Lehigh even before the tournament begins when the Leopards play the Hawks at 1 p.m. Saturday at Kirby Sports Center. Lehigh won the first meeting, 66-55 on Jan. 12 at Stabler Arena.

Sunday, February 20, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Hilliard finds his mark in mission
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON -- A slight adjustment was all it took for Jamaal Hilliard to show significant improvement. The sophomore guard, on a mission to become more assertive, scored a career-high 23 points while classmate Marcus Harley added a career-best 22 points Saturday to lead Lafayette College to an exciting 93-89 overtime victory over Patriot League rival American before 2,493 at Kirby Sports Center. Hilliard was nearly perfect for the Leopards -- making 6 of 7 shots from the floor and each of his 11 free-throw attempts.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards show they can break hearts, too
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Heartbreak City no longer has Lafayette as a tenant. Jamaal Hilliard, who ranks ninth in the nation in free-throw shooting, made sure of it. Hilliard made two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to clinch a 93-89 Patriot League overtime victory over American Saturday before a crowd of 2,493 at Kirby Sports Center.

Monday, February 14, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Holy Cross and Bucknell sitting pretty for playoffs
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
If the Patriot League men's basketball season were to end today, Holy Cross and Bucknell would host quarterfinal and semifinal tournament games.The Crusaders' big win over Lehigh on Sunday put them in clear control of first place and will reward them with homecourt advantage through the tournament. Bucknell enters the final three league games with a one-game advantage over defending champion Lehigh. The Bison can afford to lose a game -- most likely it would be Feb. 23 at Holy Cross -- finish in a tie with Lehigh and still emerge with the No. 2 seed. Lehigh could finish no higher than third because Bucknell owns a win over Holy Cross. The Mountain Hawks and Bison split their regular-season meetings. The next tiebreaker criterion is record against league opponents, starting at the top and working down the standings. If Lehigh is the third seed, it would face the No. 6 team in the quarters and then get the No. 2 team (Bucknell) if form holds. If the Hawks slip to No. 4, then they would be placed in the Holy Cross bracket. Lafayette could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth. Regardless, the Leopards will draw a difficult first-round matchup and possibly against a home team. Men's first two rounds are Friday and Sunday, March 4 and 6, with the title game 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 11 on ESPN.

Saturday, February 12, 2005

FOOTBALL: Lafayette's Bono wins scholar-athlete award
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
Lafayette College senior guard Stephen Bono on Friday was named the Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Bono is a civil engineering major with a 3.82 grade point average. He was a four-year starter at right guard and helped lead the Leopards to the league title and the program's first NCAA Division I-AA playoff berth last fall. He was a co-captain. Bono was named to the all-league first team. He also was named to ESPN Magazine's Academic All-America first team and selected for the third consecutive year to both the CoSIDA Academic All-District II team and the I-AA Athletic Directors' Academic All-Star team. He's made the dean's list every semester.

Wednesday, February 9, 2005

FOOTBALL: Lafayette fills out depth chart with talent from New Jersey
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- Lafayette College coach Frank Tavani sat in his office Monday night and surveyed his depth chart hanging on the wall. The 2004 Patriot League Coach of the Year liked what he saw. "We have upperclassmen returning at every position so we'll be able to put them (incoming freshmen) at the bottom of the depth chart to start with," Tavani said. "I remember what it was like when we first took over here. It wasn't like that at all. Some of the freshmen had to step in and play right away." The Leopards have come a long way since Tavani's first season in 2000 because this recruiting class, although it currently includes just 21 players, possesses some real gems, especially from New Jersey.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette football names 21 recruits
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Frank Tavani spent Tuesday afternoon adding the names of his new recruits to his color-coded depth chart. ''I sat here looking at it and said, 'Wow, this is a five-year project I'm looking at,''' Tavani said. Tavani's project -- rebuilding Lafayette College's football program -- took what he hopes will be a step toward sustained success during the recruiting season. The Leopards announced Tuesday they have secured commitments from 21 high school seniors, with several more possible in the next week. With only 12 seniors graduating from a Lafayette team that went 8-4, claimed a share of the Patriot League title and earned the program's first-ever NCAA playoff berth last fall, Tavani didn't have room for a large class. He was happy, however, to nab the players he did. Thirty-six recruits visited campus, with 30 getting offers from Lafayette.

Monday, February 7, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: A Distress Test - Pat Brogan's devotion to basketball is a distraction from his daily pain
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Mike Jensen
TAMAQUA, Pa. - The pain, Pat Brogan said, is like having hammers continually pound the back of your neck. On a recent day, as he talked to his high school basketball players about being in position and ready to shoot, Brogan pushed the palm of his hand against his forehead. Was this a bad day? No, a good one. Over Christmas, Brogan said, it was as if "you had a blowtorch going into my spine." For the last 31/2 years, Brogan has endured one physical trial after another, since the early morning of Sept. 25, 2001, when a bicycle ride in Easton almost cost him his life - and changed it forever. After being knocked to the road by a hit-and-run driver, Brogan has been afflicted with dystonia, a neurological movement disorder that causes muscles to continually spasm. Brogan, a 37-year-old former assistant at Lafayette and Penn State, and a volunteer assistant last season at Georgia Tech, has always been one of the most approachable guys in the college game, a coach who treats the game with reverence. He has seen his world both expand and contract because of the pain he can't ignore. Even his wife and parents thought he was crazy to take a coaching job at a small high school not far from his upstate hometown. But he knew what the game could offer.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Reed's late foul shot denies Leopards
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON -- Of Lafayette College's 16 basketball losses this season, none was more heartbreaking than Sunday's 62-61 Patriot League setback to Colgate before 2,184 enthusiastic fans at Kirby Sports Center. Sophomore guard Alvin Reed's free throw with one second remaining was the difference in a game that saw Lafayette (6-16, 2-7) rally from a 12-point deficit to take a six-point lead midway in the second half. The loss spoiled a strong performance by Leopards' sophomore forward Jamaal Douglas, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Saturday, February 5, 2005

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Bison women lose another second-half lead, lose to Lafayette
The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.)/ By Todd Stanford
LEWISBURG -- Bucknell is still learning how to win tight games. But Friday's lesson must have been especially painful, seeing as how it came at the hands of fellow Patriot League cellar-dweller Lafayette. The Leopards erased a 13-point second-half deficit to rally for a 68-62 victory at Sojka Pavilion. Lafayette is now 4-17, 2-6 in the Patriot League. Bucknell, which has held a second-half lead in six of its seven league losses, drops to 7-14 and 1-7.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Bison back on track -- rip Leopards
The Express-Times/ By John Bruns
EASTON -- Could the Bucknell team that came into the Kirby Sports Center on Friday night possibly be the same one that lost to Navy last Sunday? These Bison looked more like the team that had won 11 games in a row before losing to both American and Navy last weekend, a team which numbered Saint Joseph's and Pittsburgh among its victims during that run, both on the road. Bucknell (15-6, 6-2 Patriot League) led from start to finish in dealing Lafayette (6-15, 2-6) a sound 89-69 thrashing before 3,112 fans in Kirby. It was a game that saw the two teams miss only one of 35 free-throw attempts. The Bison went 20-for-20 at the line to establish a league record.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Bison men get coach, shooting touch back in victory
The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.)/ By Tom Housenick
EASTON -- The head coach was back and so was Bucknell's shooting touch. Kevin Bettencourt had a season-high 29 points and the Bison set a Patriot League record by making all 20 free throw attempts en route a convincing 89-69 win over Lafayette in front of 3,112 fans Friday at the Kirby Sports Center. Bucknell head coach Pat Flannery returned after a three-and-half game medical leave to see his club shoot 59.2 percent from the floor in putting up its highest point total this season.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Bettencourt leads Bucknell past Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
As John Griffin drove the baseline with the clock ticking down in the first half, Kevin Bettencourt popped free near the Lafayette bench. The seated Leopards had a better chance of stopping Bettencourt than their five teammates on the floor did. Griffin whizzed the ball back to Bettencourt, who swished a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the half. A trend was established. Sometimes Bettencourt created space by beating his defender off the dribble. Sometimes a teammate crushed an unsuspecting Leopard with a screen. Wherever Bettencourt went, points followed. He drilled his last six 3-pointers Friday in Bucknell's 89-69 win over Lafayette.

Friday, February 4, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette, Lehigh ready for important weekend
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
Super Bowl Sunday? Forget pro football because there's a smorgasbord of college basketball this weekend in the Lehigh Valley. Lafayette and Lehigh both entertain Bucknell and Colgate in Patriot League doubleheaders Friday and Sunday. Tonight at 7, the Leopards host Bucknell while Lehigh engages Colgate at Stabler. At 1 p.m., Sunday, the local teams switch opponents.

Monday, January 31, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Fast start sparks Lafayette victory
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
The 3-pointers kept flying, smacking the floor like dumbbells dropped from a second-story window. For 27 minutes, not one shot from behind the arc fell for the Lafayette men's basketball team. What mattered were the makes the Leopards sandwiched around their many misfires. Two Matt Betley 3s in the first five minutes allowed Lafayette to take a rare early lead. A trey by his cousin Pat Betley with 8:26 to play ended the Leopards' string of 17 straight misses from beyond the arc. Two more late 3s, by Jamaal Hilliard and Jamaal Douglas, prevented Army from mounting a comeback in Lafayette's 66-49 win Sunday at Kirby Sports Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Wednesday-Saturday format a better fit for Patriot
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
The Patriot League's current scheduling format -- featuring five weekend doubleheaders -- is in its second season. From what I'm hearing, the two-year experiment using travel partners won't be renewed, at least if the coaches and players are polled. Other than Holy Cross, which has a minimum three-hour drive to every league opponent, the remaining schools, I'm told, would prefer returning to the old Wednesday-Saturday setup. The players would rather give up Wednesday class time than lose Sundays, which they utilize to catch up on all their school work.

Saturday, January 29, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Hamilton helps Holy Cross earn a share of Patriot lead
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- If Holy Cross junior guard Keith Hamilton made his 22 points, six rebounds and three assists look easy in the Crusaders' 74-57 victory over Lafayette on Friday night, there's a good reason. Lafayette and few others in the Patriot League simply do not have anyone as talented as the player Hamilton faces in practice every day.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Crusaders too much for Leopards to handle
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
Coming out of a timeout, Andrei Capusan turned to the Lafayette student section and raised his arms, imploring the fans to aid a comeback. The Leopards never allowed the crowd's excitement to build. Credit Holy Cross' offensive execution. Blame Lafayette's scrambling defense. Either way, the Leopards never produced enough stops to threaten the Crusaders, who cruised to a 74-57 Patriot League win Friday at Kirby Sports Center.

Sunday, January 23, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Dunphy leaves a parting shot
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
The University of Pennsylvania Quakers came to Kirby Sports Center last Tuesday and dealt Lafayette an 85-63 defeat in the Leopards' final non-league contest. Fran Dunphy's post-game press conference was winding down when the following question was posed to the veteran Penn coach and long-time friend and colleague of Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon: "Considering its youth and athleticism, how is this Lafayette team different than ones O'Hanlon has had in the past?" Dunphy's initial response was predictable. "I've watched a lot of film on Lafayette, especially the last couple of weeks, and I like their team. It is different (than past teams), but it is well-coached." End of answer? Not quite. Dunphy was just warming up.

Saturday, January 22, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Bison men struggle, but take over Patriot League league lead
The Daily Item (Sunbury, Pa.)/ By Tom Housenick
LEWISBURG -- Friday night's game went from a run to a walk, sometimes a crawl, in a hurry. Most of the crawling was to the free-throw line (43 combined fouls) or the other end of the court (41 turnovers) as Bucknell and Lafayette combined for just 40 field goals in the Patriot League contest at Sojka Pavilion. In fact, it kept Bison coach Pat Flannery in the lockerroom at halftime, again leaving assistant Nate Davis to take charge of the struggle. The game was a lot of things, but most importantly for Bucknell, it was a win, 71-53, in front of 3,502 fans. It was Bucknell's 10th win in a row and gives them sole possession of first place at 4-0, after Colgate beat visiting Lehigh (3-1), also Friday night.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Coach leaves at half for apparent health reason
The Patriot-News (Harisburg, Pa.)/ By David Jones
Basketball is a simple game. The goal is to score more than the opponent, and that is accomplished by making shots. LEWISBURG - Eleven months ago today, Pat Flannery left the bench at Bucknell's Sojka Pavillion in the first half of what would become a 50-point blowout of Army, afraid he was suffering a heart attack. He was hospitalized, underwent a battery of tests, missed two additional games and was eventually cleared of heart problems. The diagnosis was sketchy. According to Flannery and Bucknell officials, an acute gastrointestinal event was the conclusion. "It scared the crap out of me," said Flannery two weeks after the attack. "Until they got the nitroglycerine in me, I was seeing stars." Last night, Flannery again left the arena, this time at halftime of a 71-54 defeat of Lafayette.

Friday, January 21, 2005

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards looking to change spots
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
The week without games arrived at the right time. For three weeks the Lafayette women's basketball team did nothing but prepare for and play games. That left coach Tammy Smith little practice time to work with the Leopards on the basics of their new offense and defense. So even with her team in the midst of an 11-game losing streak, Smith has enjoyed the week without games. It has allowed her to focus on teaching dribble handoffs and backdoor cuts, a staple of Lafayette's work-in-progress offense. And it has given her a chance to reflect on where the Leopards are headed. Her message: Don't compare the 2004-05 Leopards to last year's team.

Thursday, January 20, 2005

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Van De Venter having an impact for Leopards
The Pocono Record/ By Pete Nevins
When Tammy Smith, Lafayette basketball coach, recruited Vanessa Van De Venter out of Pocono Mountain East High School, she says "I knew she would help us." Smith didn't realize, however, how much help the 6-foot forward from Tannersville would provide for the Leopards' basketball team. Although only a freshman, Van De Venter leads the squad in scoring with 10.6 points per game and is tied for the team lead in rebounding with 5.9 per contest.

Wednesday, January 19, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: 10th annual sportsperson of the year to be selected (Mike Farrell '04 a finalist)
The News-Journal (Daytona Beach, Fla.)/ By Ed Plaisted
Basketball is a simple game. The goal is to score more than the opponent, and that is accomplished by making shots. Who will be selected The News-Journal's West Volusia Sportsperson for 2004? That question will be answered Monday night during an awards banquet for the 10th annual event at the DeBary Golf and Country Club. The Sportsperson program was created in 1995 to honor West Volusians from all walks of life for their positive contributions to local sports. A winner is selected each month by a blue-ribbon committee and honored at a luncheon at Wally & Julie's restaurant in DeLand.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Begley, Penn earn passes vs. Lafayette
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- Guard Tim Begley, the University of Pennsylvania's leading scorer, made just one of his seven shot attempts and scored but three points Tuesday night against Lafayette. Yet, the shaggy-haired 6-foot-5 senior dominated the Quakers' 85-63 victory over the Leopards before 2,011 Kirby Sports Center spectators.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Quakers find the range, down Lafayette
Philadelphia Daily News/ By Mike Kern
EASTON - Sometimes, it's about evolution. In his first six games this season, Penn's Eric Osmundson was shooting just over 33 percent from the field and averaging 3.7 points. In his last seven games he's shooting a little better than 50 percent from the floor and averaging 14. Last night at Lafayette's Kirby Sports Center the junior guard tied a career high by scoring 20. Sometimes, it doesn't have to make any sense. In the last three games, the Quakers' Ibrahim Jaaber had made all but 11 of his 12 three-point attempts. For the season, he was 9-for-52, which computes to 17 percent. So naturally, the sophomore guard converted his first four from the arc against the Leopards, en route to a career-best 24 points.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Penn prevails on 2d-half surge
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Kevin Tatum
EASTON, Pa. - Ibby Jaaber scored a career-high 24 points and Tim Begley tied the school record for assists with 13 as Penn pulled away in the second half for a dominating 85-63 win over Lafayette in a nonleague basketball game last night.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Guards heat up at Lafayette
The Daily Pennsylvanian/ By Jeff Shafer
EASTON, Pa. -- Despite the frigid temperatures outside, Penn's perimeter shooters needed only two minutes to catch fire. Eric Osmundson set the tone with a trey and Ibby Jaaber followed suit as the Quakers rolled to an 85-63 victory over Lafayette last night at the Kirby Sports Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Begley's points not essential
The Daily Pennsylvanian/ By Michael Gertner
It is important to see that the Quakers can win big against the teams they are supposed to defeat. But it is even more important to see that the Quakers can maintain their offensive attack without much contribution from their major scoring threat. Penn received a very balanced scoring effort against Lafayette last night, and it showed in the stats. The Red and Blue was able to tally its second-highest scoring output this season, and the team did it with only three points coming from senior Tim Begley. True, the Leopards were a more offensive-minded team, and seemed confused with Penn's inside cuts and high screens. But the Quakers were able to balance their attack with sufficient scoring from inside the paint as well as from three-point range.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Up-tempo half paves way for Penn rout
The Daily Pennsylvanian/ By Josh Hirsch
EASTON, Pa. -- With one half to go, the Penn men's basketball team led Lafayette 47-39, but they still had much to improve. The Leopards had been shooting 54.2 percent from the field, including going 5-of-8 from three-point range. Penn had turned the ball over nine times. Eight minutes and 14 seconds later, the Quakers led by 20, 63-43. They only committed three turnovers during the run while causing five, and held Lafayette to two field goals. They scored 16 points themselves on 6-for-11 shooting from the field.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette no match for Penn
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lafayette knew what was coming, but could not stop the Penn Quakers Tuesday night. That's because the Quakers constantly scored off sharp cuts into the lane, dominated the boards, chalked up their share of steals and flew all over the Kirby Sports Center hardwood as if it were an airport runway. The pilot of Penn's attack was 6-6 senior guard Tim Begley, who tied a school record with 13 assists in leading the Quakers to an 85-63 non-league victory before a crowd of 2,011.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

FOOTBALL: Kats Release Flora and Royle
OurSportsCentral.com
Basketball is a simple game. The goal is to score more than the opponent, and that is accomplished by making shots. NASHVILLE - The Nashville Kats waived defensive specialist Joey Flora and lineman Chris Royle on Tuesday as head coach Pat Sperduto trimmed the team's roster in order to meet the AFL league maximum of 24 active players by Sunday, January 23.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: M. Hoops looks to build off road win
The Daily Pennsylvanian/ By Jeff Fisher
Basketball is a simple game. The goal is to score more than the opponent, and that is accomplished by making shots. Penn has learned that the hard way over the past six games. During a five game losing streak, coach Fran Dunphy said the Quakers had been "playing relatively well," and attributes the losses to not making shots. In an 89-62 win at Siena, on the other hand, Penn was on fire from the outside, scoring a season-high point total and looking like a far different team from the poor shooting squad that had showed up the previous five games. "We haven't made any shots," Dunphy said. "And against Siena we made shots so it's a great equalizer when you can put the ball in the basket. Obviously we did that in Siena and hopefully we can do that again in Lafayette."

Sunday, January 16, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Clutch Shot By Ingram Lifts American
The Washington Post/ By Kathy Orton
With the score tied and time running out, American appeared on the brink of letting another game slip away. The Eagles had squandered a six-point lead in the final 30 seconds, but had possession with a chance to win. Andre Ingram got the ball, nearly lost it, then sank a jump shot from the right wing with one second remaining to lift the Eagles to a 76-74 victory over Lafayette at Bender Arena yesterday before 1,476.

Thursday, January 13, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh defense stands up tall
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
BETHLEHEM -- The reason for Lehigh's 63-55 Round 1 victory over rival Lafayette on Wednesday night at Stabler Arena was simple: the Mountain Hawks produced the game's last big defensive stand. Lehigh held the Leopards to zero points over the final 5:05 of the first half. Then, when they were trailing 53-49 with 6:07 to go, Billy Taylor's crew handcuffed Lafayette and threw away the key.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: DePalo has Lehigh off to notable start
The Express-Times/ By Paul Sokoloski
EASTON -- Over the past decade, Sue Troyan has never had a faster start to a college basketball season. Which is why Lehigh University's 10th-year women's basketball coach is ready to declare the 2004-05 Mountain Hawks her best team. "It probably is, since I've been here," Troyan said. "I don't know about most talented, but it's a team that's got great chemistry and got senior leadership." "It's very special for us," senior Jess DePalo said. "This is the closest, I think, our team has ever been." While both talked about unity and togetherness, it was DePalo who turned Lehigh's 58-48 Patriot League victory over archrival Lafayette into a one-woman show Tuesday night at Kirby Sports Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh 'D' dumps Lafayette
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Neither Lehigh nor Lafayette won style points on offense, but they might have impressed a boxing promoter with the way they battled in their first Patriot League meeting of the season Wednesday night in Stabler Arena. In one fierce second-half flurry, Lehigh's Nick Monserez and Lafayette's Bilal Abdullah blocked shots so hard that their victims agonized in pain on the floor for a short time before slowly rising. But Lehigh had more handcuffs. Led by junior transfer guard Joe Knight, the Mountain Hawks ball-hawked the Leopards, holding them to just two points over the final 5:03. The tough defense enabled Lehigh to pull out a 63-55 victory before a crowd of 2,675.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lehigh, Lafayette men meet tonight for 201st time
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Perhaps the person who makes up the Patriot League schedule overlooked the fact that Lehigh and Lafayette are two neighboring teams with a storied rivalry. Otherwise, the first league meeting between the two would not have been scheduled for 8 tonight at Stabler Arena while both school's student bodies are still on semester breaks. The women's matchup between Lehigh (9-4, 1-0) and Lafayette (2-11, 0-1) will be played at 5:30 p.m. at Kirby Sports Center in Easton. That game had traditionally been part of a doubleheader with the men's game until the league changed its formats for men's and women's games following last season.

Monday, January 10, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette and Lehigh were ready, after all
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
Lehigh faded in the second half. Lafayette never made it out of the starting block. Momentum? Who needs momentum? Lafayette's and Lehigh's final non-league tune-ups last Tuesday did not portend what was to come in Saturday afternoon's Patriot League openers. Both teams exuded confidence early last week and claimed they were ready for Saturday's league openers. They proved to be right despite suffering ugly losses last Tuesday -- Lehigh 55-45 to Cornell and Lafayette 79-64 to St. Francis (N.Y.).

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lange makes sure Navy doesn't have sinking feeling
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
The excitement is slowly returning to Navy basketball. Though the Midshipmen's 4-9 start has included a 75-69 loss to Division III Gettysburg on Dec. 18 in Annapolis, first-year coach Billy Lange is not discouraged. A stale offense was the main reason the Midshipmen compiled a 23-63 record the last three seasons, but they now lead the Patriot League in scoring at 70.4 points per game. That's a drastic improvement from the next-to-last 56.2 points they averaged while going just 2-12 in league play last season. The problem is Navy surrenders a league-high 77.6 points per game, seven more points than it allowed last season. Navy has allowed 90 or more points three times, including Saturday in a 90-80 loss to Lafayette at Kirby Sports Center.

Sunday, January 9, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards win on Douglas' career game
The Express-Times/ By Paul Sokoloski
EASTON -- The worst fear of Navy's new basketball coach Billy Lange came true Saturday. And it led Lafayette straight to an opening-day victory in the Patriot League. Using superior strength and unbridled determination under the basket, Jamaal Douglas cut loose for career highs of 18 points and 17 rebounds, and Sean Knitter added 12 points in key stretches as the Leopards lashed Navy 90-80 at Kirby Sports Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette overpowers Navy, 90-80
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
The real Patriot League games began Saturday. For Lafayette, no more top-25 teams like Louisville and Georgia Tech, both of whom drubbed the Leopards by more than 30 points. Lafayette will now only play teams more on its level, but those teams are more familiar with the Leopards, and they made be more scrappy. That's what Navy tried to do, but the Midshipmen couldn't slow Jamaal Douglas and the Leopards. Douglas was too potent in the lane, posting career highs in points and rebounds to lead the Leopards to a 90-80 victory in the Patriot League opener for both teams at Kirby Sports Center.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: O'Connor continues his education at Georgia Tech
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
ATLANTA | For the first time in his life, John O'Connor is far away from Philly cheesesteaks and the City of Brotherly Love, in which he grew up. His living situations, not to mention diet, are much different these days. His job as Georgia Tech's director of basketball operations is also much different than the job he held the previous three years, that of being the top assistant coach at Lafayette College.

Tuesday, January 4, 2005

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards commit 37 costly turnovers in loss
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- If the Lafayette College women's basketball team can achieve any respectable level of offensive proficiency, watch out. Until then, the Leopards will continue to struggle like they did Monday night in a 61-50 non-league loss to Howard, which dropped them to 2-8.

Monday, January 3, 2005

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards putting pieces together
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- With only one other non-league game remaining before the Patriot League season starts this Saturday, Lafayette College senior forward Sean Knitter said it was imperative the Leopards beat Columbia on Sunday afternoon. Knitter emerged from a scramble under the basket to put in the go-ahead field goal with 30 seconds remaining, and Lafayette held on for a confidence-boosting 65-62 triumph over the Lions before 1,877 in Kirby Sports Center.

Friday, December 31, 2004

FOOTBALL: Lafayette rewards Tavani with deal that runs through 2010
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
EASTON -- An historic football season at Lafayette College got even better Thursday for Leopards coach Frank Tavani. The man chosen to resurrect football in the aftermath of a study by the college to examine the future of its athletic program, was rewarded with a contract extension that will keep him on the Leopards' sideline through the 2010 season.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards' solid start melts into a rout at Georgia Tech
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
ATLANTA | The speed and leaping ability of No. 9 Georgia Tech was unlike anything Lafayette College contends with in the Patriot League. But for 29 minutes Tuesday night, the Leopards were not overwhelmed by the Yellow Jackets. Lafayette actually held a four-point lead in the first half and trailed by just eight points with 11:24 remaining. The rest of the non-league game, however, was just a blur. Georgia Tech stepped up on both ends of the hardwood to dismantle the Leopards 92-58 before a near-capacity crowd of 9,191 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Morrow shoots his way to career-high night - requires registration
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/ By Rana L. Cash
Anthony Morrow has a constant reminder for Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt: "I'm a shooter. I'm a shooter," Morrow says. Tuesday night, he proved it once again. The freshman swingman poured in a career-best 20 points --hitting 6-of-9 from 3-point range -- to help lift No. 9 Tech to a 92-58 victory over Lafayette at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

MEN'S BASKETBALL: It's Betleys all around as Lafayette pulls away
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- Lafayette's 73-56 victory over visiting Moravian on Wednesday night was more than a college basketball game between two local schools. With three Betleys on the court at the same time and the son of Lafayette's greatest scorer wearing a Moravian uniform, the game took on the feel of a family affair, much to the delight of the 1,225 Kirby Sports Center spectators. "There were a lot of interesting stories out there, weren't there?" offered Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon. "I wonder if this is the first time Tracy Tripucka rooted against Lafayette."

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Lafayette trounces Moravian for non-league win
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
For the first six minutes of the first half, Division III Moravian was taking it to Division I Lafayette Wednesday night at Kirby Sports Center. Jumpers were falling, turnovers were being forced, and the Greyhounds had a five-point lead. The talent disparity then set in as Lafayette went on a 17-0 run and stayed in control in easily winning, 73-56. It was the first meeting between the two college's since 1989 and Greyhounds veteran coach Jim Walker isn't in a rush to set up another game soon.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards survive in overtime
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- When is one win more important than another? Put Monday night's 95-89 overtime conquest of Cal State Northridge in the category of a potential season-maker for the young Lafayette Leopards. The essentially same Matador team drilled last season's more experienced Leopards by 23 points. At the time, members of Fran O'Hanlon's team proclaimed CS Northridge to possess more athletic talent than Southern California, the other team to beat the Leopards during their two-game California swing over the Christmas break

Sunday, December 5, 2004

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Cardinals leave Leopards seeing spots, 98-57
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Ky.)/ By Brian Bennett
Late in the first half of the University of Louisville basketball team's home opener against Lafayette yesterday, fans were treated to this special Colombian blend: First Juan Diego Palacios hit a turnaround jumper in the lane. About a minute later he got loose for a layup. Then he pulled down a rebound, dribbled to midcourt and threw a 25-foot bounce pass to Perrin Johnson for a dunk attempt. The sequence had little effect on the outcome, which UofL (4-1) decided in a hurry by zipping out to a 17-1 lead on its way to a 98-57 victory. Still, a breakout performance by Palacios was encouraging news for the depleted Cardinals and the 18,398 fans in Freedom Hall.

Friday, December 3, 2004

FOOTBALL: No. Highlands grad passing all the tests
The Record (Bergen, N.J.)/ By John Rowe
The next time the NCAA is looking for an athlete to feature in one of its television spots, it should recruit Stephen Bono. Lafayette College's 6-foot-3, 275-pound offensive guard from Upper Saddle River is the perfect student-athlete. Bono completed his college football career Saturday when the Leopards lost to defending Division I-AA national champion Delaware, 28-14, spoiling Lafayette's first-ever playoff appearance. On and off the field, however, Bono has been a winner.

Thursday, December 2, 2004

FOOTBALL: Lafayette on target to maintain its success
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
With Lafayette College's football season extending a week longer than normal this year, coach Frank Tavani hasn't had time to reflect on the 2004 season. He won't until the week of Christmas, a silent period for recruiting. Tavani and his staff have spent the past three days prepping for recruiting trips, something they normally do the week after their annual clash with Lehigh. This season, the Leopards spent the week after their win over the Mountain Hawks preparing for the first NCAA Division I-AA playoff game in program history. That game, a 28-14 loss Saturday to defending national champion Delaware, ended a season in which the Leopards won a share of the Patriot League title and finished 8-4 overall. So Tavani doesn't mind that his recruiting prep work was compressed.

Wednesday, December 1, 2004

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Drexel turns up the volume
The Express-Times/ By John Bruns
EASTON -- Playing with four senior starters last season, Lafayette lost only twice at Kirby Sports Center. Often playing with one senior and up to three or four freshmen, the Leopards already are 0-2 this season at Kirby after dropping a 78-67 decision to visiting Drexel on Tuesday night. Now all the young Leopards, 1-3 with three straight losses after winning their opener at Duquesne, have to do is prepare to play at 17th-ranked Louisville on Saturday. Taking command in the second half, Drexel won its first game after suffering road losses at Penn and Rider. Playing without their top returning scorer, Sean Brooks, the Dragons got a career game from Phil Goss, who scored 26 points, including five 3-pointers. Jeremiah King finished with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting that included 3-for-3 on 3-pointers, and Chaz Crawford chipped in with 10 points.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Drexel's Goss leads Dragons to first win
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Mel Greenberg
EASTON, Pa. - Drexel did not have to improvise much inside last night due to the absence of forward Sean Brooks. Senior guard Phil Goss compensated nicely on the outside with a career-high 26 points to propel the Dragons to a 78-67 victory over Lafayette at the Kirby Sports Center, its first win this season. Goss shot a little better than 50 percent from the field, going 9 for 17. That included a 5-for-11 effort on three-point shots that moved him into third place on Drexel's career list with 236.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Leopards meet another quality foe, lose another game
The Morning Call/ By Andre D. Williams
Lafayette may be in for a long and frustrating season. And the Leopards' 78-67 non-league loss to Drexel Tuesday night at Kirby Sports Center may not be the worst of their woes. The Leopards (1-3) still have to play at No. 17 Louisville in the Cardinals' home opener Saturday and at No. 4 Georgia Tech Dec. 28. Following a season-opening win at Duquesne of the Atlantic 10, Lafayette has now lost three straight. However, they succumbed Tuesday to a Dragons team that is considered a contender for the Colonial Athletic Association title and lost to Ivy League favorite Princeton 40-38 on Saturday in Easton. ''We are playing good teams,'' said Lafayette coach Fran O'Hanlon. ''We are going to play one of the national favorites. We just have to get better.

Tuesday, November 30, 2004

FOOTBALL: Tigers even record with low-scoring win over Leopards
The Princeton Packet (Princeton, N.J.)/ By Bob Nuse
EASTON, Pa. -- Joe Scott isn't overly concerned that his Princeton University men's basketball team managed just 40 points in its win over Lafayette on Saturday. What matters most to the first-year head coach is what his team did on the defensive end. The Tigers challenged every shot, limited the Leopards to 15-for-43 shooting, and came away with a 40-38 win to even their record at 2-2. "It was a pretty hard-fought game and I thought both teams played extremely hard," said Scott, whose team will be back in action Wednesday night at Holy Cross. "Fran (O'Hanlon) does a great job preparing his team and getting them to play hard. I'm most happy with our defense. All we've been working on in practice is defense. We've even forsaken working on our offense to work on the defense, with the understanding that we need to do that to win."

Monday, November 29, 2004

FOOTBALL: Leopards have come long way quickly
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
NEWARK, Del. | As they sat in the Bob Carpenter Center for their postgame press conference, Lafayette seniors John-Frank Stubits and Joe McCourt patted one another on the shoulders. The gesture was as much about acknowledging what their class accomplished over the last four years as it was about consoling one another following a 28-14 loss to Delaware in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. No football team in Lafayette history played a postseason game before the 2004 Leopards did Saturday. That it took the Blue Hens, the defending national champions, 57 minutes to vanquish the Leopards added to the resume of Lafayette's seniors. Before Saturday, Lafayette's 14 seniors helped the Leopards win a share of the Patriot League title for the first time since 1994. They also posted the most wins since the Class of 1995, which won 24 games and two Patriot League titles from 1991 to 1994.

Sunday, November 28, 2004

FOOTBALL: Delaware Closes Out Lafayette With Hard Hit Near End of Game
The New York Times/ By Dave Caldwell
NEWARK, Del., Nov. 27 - Delaware linebacker Mondoe Davis has his own cheering section. It covers most of Delaware Stadium. He makes a tackle, his name is announced over the loudspeaker, and the fans on each side sing out, "Mondo-o-o-o-e." Davis made 14 tackles as the Blue Hens opened defense of their N.C.A.A. Division I-AA national title with a 28-14 victory over Lafayette on Saturday. No tackle was as big as the one he made as the Leopards threatened to tie the score with three minutes left. On second down from the Delaware 15-yard line, Delaware cornerback Sidney Haugabrook hit Lafayette quarterback Brad Maurer on a draw play. That hit loosened Maurer's grip, then Davis slammed into Maurer and knocked the ball free.

FOOTBALL: Delaware ends Lafayette's season
The Philadelphia Inquirer/ By Ron Reid
NEWARK, Del. - For more than 57 minutes through a cold and sunless afternoon, Delaware and Lafayette battled each other with great intensity and erratic execution yesterday in a first-round matchup of the Division I-AA playoffs. Long gainers on offense would usher in no-gainers. Sacks were prelude to 20-yard completions, with inconsistency the norm on both sides of the ball. So it both stunned and delighted most of the 13,707 partisan fans in Delaware Stadium when the game was decided in their favor by a late Lafayette fumble. The big turnover of the day ended in Garron Bible's 87-yard fumble return for a touchdown inside the final three minutes. The play by the senior free safety gave Delaware a 28-14 victory that will send the defending I-AA champion (9-3) to William and Mary next week. It also ended the hopes of a courageous Lafayette team, playing its eighth game on the road and finishing its season at 8-4.

FOOTBALL: Leopards proud of the effort
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
NEWARK, Del. -- Coach Frank Tavani and players Joe McCourt, John-Frank Stubits, Maurice Bennett and Brad Maurer all came into Saturday's postgame press conference with red eyes, but they were all proud of the team's performance in the 28-14 loss to Delaware in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. Seniors McCourt and Stubits played their final games in a Leopard uniform. McCourt leaves as the program's career all-purpose yardage (5,631) and scoring leader (326 points). Stubits was a significant defensive contributor for three seasons before switching over to tight end as a senior. He scored his first career touchdown, a 3-yard pass in the second quarter. They were recruited after Tavani's first team went 2-9 and they endured a 2-8 season as freshmen. Since then, the Leopards have posted seasons of 7-5, 5-6 and 8-4, with a Patriot League co-championship and the school's first playoff appearance this fall as their ultimate legacy.

FOOTBALL: Fumble return in closing minutes turns away upset-minded Leopards
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
NEWARK, Del. -- Don't be fooled by the final margin of Delaware's 28-14 victory Saturday over Lafayette. The Leopards nearly shocked the college football world in their first NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearance. They took the defending national champion Blue Hens down to the wire before losing the first-round matchup before a partisan crowd of 13,707 at Delaware Stadium. Lafayette was 12 yards away from scoring a tying touchdown with a little more than three minutes to go in the game when sophomore quarterback Brad Maurer tried to find running room around right end on a designed draw play.

FOOTBALL: Laubach: Lafayette's back, ahead of schedule
The Express-Times/ By Ed Laubach
An assistant college coach was out sowing fertile December recruiting ground in central Pennsylvania the day his school suddenly pulled the plug on its proud football program. If Frank Tavani didn't consider himself a lame duck then, in 1998, he certainly did the following November when his boss, Bill Russo, announced during the week of the season-ending game with Lehigh that he was giving up Lafayette's head coaching job. As Russo's top aide, Tavani sensed he, too, was history after 13 years on the Leopards' sideline.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Princeton hangs on to defeat Leopards in defensive struggle
The Express-Times/ By Tom Hinkel
EASTON -- Limiting your opponent to 10 field goals in a college basketball game gives you a good chance of winning. Unless the opponent happens to be Princeton. The Tigers roared into Lafayette's Kirby Sports Center with their usual cast of blue collar athletes Saturday afternoon and escaped with a hard-fought 40-38 victory over the Leopards before a crowd of 2,431. Lafayette (1-2) had a chance to tie and possibly win in the final seconds, but sophomore guard Marcus Harley missed a pair of desperation shots before the buzzer.

FOOTBALL: In defeat, Lafayette stands tall - Leopards prove they can play with I-AA's big boys
The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)/ By Martin Frank and Kevin Tresolini
NEWARK -- There were no tears from Lafayette over a tough 28-14 loss to Delaware in the first round of the playoffs. Quite the contrary. The Leopards were ecstatic, knowing that, even by losing, they made a statement that heavily favored Delaware and certainly the rest of the Patriot League heard loud and clear. The statement is that Lafayette has turned the corner and is ready to be a Patriot League contender in the years to come, just like its perennial rival, Lehigh. "Not too many people gave us a chance," Lafayette coach Frank Tavani said. "People said we couldn't even compete in the Patriot League. ... But we beat the No. 8 [team in the country in Lehigh last week], and we certainly didn't embarrass ourselves here." The Hens found that out. They prepared for a relentless Lafayette running game behind Joe McCourt and instead got a passing attack that the Leopards hadn't shown all season.

FOOTBALL: Hens find way to survive - Late-game heroics end Lafayette's upset dreams
The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)/ By Kevin Tresolini
NEWARK -- Despite its status as an old hand at postseason football, the University of Delaware found itself in an unusual state of vulnerability Saturday against Johnny-come-lately Lafayette. Had a week of warnings not to take the Patriot Leaguers lightly been unheeded? Had whispers about the Blue Hens' presumed supremacy been incorrectly accepted as fact? "We heard things like that," said Mondoe Davis, Delaware's perceptive middle linebacker. "We didn't take that mentality, and it paid off because, if we did, we would have lost the game." Lafayette showed it certainly did belong in its NCAA Division I-AA playoff debut at Delaware Stadium. But only Delaware remained in the hunt for the national title after pulling out a hair-raising 28-14 win over the Leopards in a first-round game of the 16-team tournament.

FOOTBALL: Fan asks for big play; UD answers
The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)/ By Doug Lesmerises
NEWARK -- Daryl Brown, Class of 1994, the leading rusher in University of Delaware football history, was just another fan in the stands at Delaware Stadium on Saturday. After Lafayette, driving for the tying score, converted a fourth-and-21 pass to the 12-yard-line late in the fourth quarter, he was just another worried fan. So, he asked for a favor. "Mondoe, give us a turnover," Brown said to his friend Jon Council. "We've been screaming your name all day. We need you now, Mondoe." Senior linebacker Mondoe Davis couldn't hear Brown. But he delivered anyway. Two plays after Blue Hens fans began bracing themselves for possible overtime, Leopard quarterback Brad Maurer took off on a draw. As he skittered toward the sideline, cornerback Sidney Haugabrook hit him low. Davis, chasing him on an angle, hit him high. Out came the ball, which bounced into the arms of safety Garron Bible. Bible sprinted down the sideline for an 87-yard touchdown and a 28-14 win in the Division I-AA playoff game. And that sick feeling in the stomachs of so many Blue Hen fans evaporated.

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Defense rescues Princeton
The Times (Trenton, N.J.)/ By Craig Haley
EASTON, Pa. - Freshman Noah Savage laughs at how in the preseason Princeton basketball coach Joe Scott never told him he would begin his career as a starter. All Savage knew was that he kept being told to wear a first-team black jersey in practice. Eventually, Savage figured out his good fortune. Now Princeton is learning the benefit of starting the 6-foot-5 forward from the Hun School. The Tigers have focused so much on learning their new matchup zone that the offense has suffered - enough so that it needs Savage's outside shooting. Savage's 13 points at Lafayette yesterday not only was his second straight career-high, but it was the game-high as the Tigers' defense rescued the offense in a 40-38 victory.

FOOTBALL: Gifted and grounded: Maurer handles playoff loss with grace
The Morning Call/ By Mark Wogenrich
NEWARK, Del. | After fumbling away Lafayette's chance at the unthinkable, quarterback Brad Maurer picked himself up, patted the Blue Hens on the back and went about the rest of his evening. He even smiled. ''In Spanish there's a slang verb, torear, meaning 'to do the bullfight move,' to handle everything that comes at you gracefully, and look good doing it,'' Sidney Donnell, Maurer's Spanish professor at Lafayette, said recently. ''That's Brad.'' Boy, does this kid have it all together. He waved a red cape at Delaware for 33/4 quarters, bringing the Leopards to within 11 yards of tying the score against the defending NCAA Division I-AA champ in their first postseason football game in school history. And then... Maurer found himself racing toward the inevitable, 20 yards behind Delaware's Garron Bible, who returned Maurer's late fourth-quarter fumble 87 yards for a touchdown. Lightning struck Lafayette's season to a close, 28-14.

FOOTBALL: Delaware's Bible writes last verse in 28-14 victory
The Morning Call/ By Stephen Miller
NEWARK, Del. | Brad Maurer lay helpless on the ground, the ball squirting out of his arms after Delaware's Sidney Haugabrook and Mondoe Davis converged on him. Garron Bible benefited, scooping up the ball with nothing but empty grass in front of him.Bible then derailed Lafayette's dream season by racing 87 yards. When he reached the end zone with 2:56 to play, he clinched Delaware's 28-14 win over the Leopards in the opening round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. The Blue Hens (9-3 overall) advanced to the Division I-AA quarterfinals against William & Mary, a 42-35 winner over Hampton. Lafayette (8-4) finished one of the best seasons in school history knowing it came within minutes of beating the defending national champions.

Saturday, November 27, 2004

FOOTBALL: McCourt, Lafayette know what's ahead
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
NEWARK, Del. -- Lafayette went through its final dress rehearsal Friday for its NCAA Division I-AA playoff debut this afternoon against defending national champion Delaware. Kickoff for the first-round game at 22,000-seat Tubby Raymond Field at Delaware Stadium is 3:05 p.m. A crowd of at least 15,000 is expected, and the game will be televised live by RCN-4 and WBPH-60. Coach Frank Tavani's squad, wearing gray sweatsuits and helmets, ran through a one-hour session on practice fields adjacent to the stadium. The Leopards weren't allowed to practice on the stadium turf because the grounds crew just had completed spraying down the yard markers and sidelines. Tavani did walk the team over to the stadium and gathered the Leopards at midfield for a final word. "Tomorrow," the Patriot League Coach of the Year said, "this is where we start playing for the national championship." The 24th-ranked Leopards (8-3) are the league's representatives in the playoffs. No. 10 Delaware (8-3), the Atlantic 10 Conference co-champion, received an at-large bid and will be playing in its 10th straight home playoff game, not counting its appearance against Colgate in the national championship game last year in Chattanooga, Tenn.

FOOTBALL: McCourt gets chance, runs with it for Lafayette
The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)/ By Kevin Tresolini
Joe McCourt can identify with the nobody-gives-us-a-chance attitude that has motivated his Lafayette College football team. McCourt was a football, basketball and baseball standout at Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High. He had some collegiate opportunities in baseball, but football was his passion. "There's no sport better than football," he said. And to McCourt, there was no position better than running back. But the schools that recruited him most diligently - Villanova, Lehigh and Buffalo - wanted him to play defense. Only one thought he could play running back, which is why he went to Lafayette. The Leopards were right. McCourt, a 6-foot-1, 225-pound senior, comes into Lafayette's playoff debut against Delaware today with 4,431 career yards, No. 2 on Lafayette's all-time list.

FOOTBALL: Raymond recalls loss to Leopards
The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)/ By Kevin Tresolini
NEWARK -- Leave it to the coach who won 300 games, ninth most in college football history, to remember one that got away. Tubby Raymond was still a University of Delaware assistant coach under Dave Nelson when Middle Atlantic Conference rival Lafayette visited Delaware Stadium on a sunny day on Oct. 11, 1958, that attracted 5,181 fans. Asked what he remembered about UD-Lafayette meetings, that one stuck out. "Dave was on the rules committee and that was the year they put the two-point conversion in," said Raymond, who replaced Nelson in 1966 and coached UD through 2001. "Our first game that year we'd lost to Lehigh 8-7 because they scored the last touchdown and went for two. When we played Lafayette [two weeks later], we weren't going to let that happen again."

Friday, November 26, 2004

FOOTBALL: Tavani's Leopards fighting long odds
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
The Lafayette College football team that will meet defending champion Delaware in the opening round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs Saturday afternoon at Delaware Stadium believes anything is possible. No one gave the Leopards a chance to win the Patriot League. Frank Tavani's 8-3 squad tied Lehigh for the league crown despite being predicted to finish fifth out of seven teams in the preseason poll. Nearly everyone picked Lehigh, then No. 8 in the I-AA Top 25, to defeat the Leopards last Saturday. Instead, it was Lafayette putting a 24-10 hurting on the Mountain Hawks to earn the league's automatic playoff bid. Now, the newly-anointed 24th-ranked Leopards face their biggest challenge of the season. Again, no one's giving them a snowball's chance in hell of upsetting the 10th-ranked Blue Hens (8-3), coached by Emmaus native K.C. Keeler.

Thursday, November 25, 2004

FOOTBALL: Lafayette stays put on holiday
The Express-Times/ By Corky Blake
EASTON -- Members of the Lafayette College football team will be home for Christmas, but moms and dads will not be able to count on them for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, the newly-minted 25th-ranked Leopards will be on campus today preparing for their first-ever NCAA Division I-AA playoff appearance Saturday afternoon at defending champion Delaware. Kickoff for the nationally-televised contest at Delaware Stadium is 3:05 p.m. "I can go home anytime, but you never know when you'll go to the playoffs again," said sophomore quarterback Brad Maurer of Loveland, Ohio.

FOOTBALL: Lafayette football back on its feet
The News Journal (Wilmington, Del.)/ By Kevin Tresolini
The fear that Lafayette College's football program could be de-emphasized or dropped entirely, though not likely, was enough to realize how important it was to the Leopards' followers. Six years later, Lafayette has rewarded itself for the faith and greater commitment it showed in football. When the Leopards come to Delaware Stadium on Saturday, it'll be their first appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs, which were launched in 1973. In Delaware, making its 18th NCAA appearance since then, they encounter an opponent of significant pedigree. Yet, it's a challenge they welcome and for which they have strived against some difficult odds. Defending I-AA champion Delaware, ranked No. 10 nationally, and No. 25-ranked Lafayette both bring 8-3 records into the 3 p.m. game. "This is a dream come true, a dream come true," Lafayette coach