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Poulson: We are where we are supposed to be

Andrew Poulson was sitting on the Lafayette bench next to fellow defensive tackle Ian Dell. They watched as their teammates on the offense drove toward the Colgate goal line in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon.

They watched quarterback Rob Curley throw a pass into tight coverage. They saw Colgate defensive back Uzu Idah intercept the ball. Turnover.

But before Poulson and Dell could get up and prepare to play defense again, they saw wide receiver Mark Layton punch the ball out of Idah’s arm and Lafayette tight end Michael Bolton alertly recover it.

“I looked at Ian, and the look on my face was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe what just happened,” Poulson, one of three Leopard co-captains, said as he told me what he thought might have been the watershed moment for the 2009 Leopards, who turned that fumble recovery into a go-ahead touchdown en route to a 56-49 victory over the Raiders.

“There have been a few other times when things like that happened. Wide receiver catches, balls stripped, all coming together. You get a sense this was meant to be and we are where we are supposed to be -- in the league championship game.”

The other two co-captains chimed in with their thoughts, too.

Offensive tackle Ryan Hart-Predmore was with Poulson.

“It was remarkable,” Hart-Predmore said of the interception-fumble play. “I told Layton after that play that he basically saved our season. It shows that maybe there’s something special here and it’s meant to be. The ball bounced our way for once"

Hart-Predmore had a second season-changing event – the 13-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a touchdown with 13 seconds remaining to lift Lafayette to a 24-21 victory over Columbia.

Linebacker Mark Leggiero went for a 30-minute watershed moment.

“I go back to the second half of the Columbia game,” he said. “They came out in the first half and they were scoring all over us and having their way. We came out the second half and tightened it up, and the offense got their job done, too. We shut them out in the second half and we scored in the last seconds. I think that was kind of a turning point for us as a team, that we could do this, we have the tools to make a run. It was a defining moment for me.”

Leopard Coach Frank Tavani didn’t have any particular play or series, but rather a collection of things that came together to make a team that was picked as a middle-of-the-packer in preseason into a potential champion in November.

“I felt in the preseason and as the season got going that this group of receivers combined with this group of running backs might be as talented a skill group that we’ve put out there,” Tavani said. I always remember after taking the job, changing from black shoes to white shoes just so we would look like we had better team speed. Our team speed is incredible. “I started seeing great plays.

"Layton made not just one one-handed catch, now he does it in practice. He really only needs one hand … Mitch Bennett I thought would be special, so big, so athletic, great hands … I always wait to see how we would come together as a team.

This team is very unselfish. Mark (Leggiero) got notoriety in preseason, but other than that, we’re pretty much a bunch of no-names, and a lot of those no-names have come up at different times and it’s a bunch of people contributing.”

No team gets to this point with this much success without having moments and performances like those mentioned by the Lafayette guys, so it’s not surprising that Holy Cross coach Tom Gilmore would have some turning points involving his Crusaders, too.

“Our whole Colgate game,” Gilmore said. “I don’t know if can pick out aparticular play or series. I felt our team came out and played with a lot of passion, executed well -- very well at times and pulled out a very big win. Coming in, Colgate was undefeated at the time, and they were playing like a confident team. Getting that win was important to us because of the way we played. I was impressed the way we prepared and played.

“Last week we had a situation, too. We threw an interception against Lehigh. Our defense was inconsistent, but we came back from that interception and held them to a field goal attempt, which they missed. I thought that was probably the turning point in the game. It was a real important play and series that kind of turned the tide. Our defense gave up only two first downs in the fourth quarter, and it really started with that series.”

CHECK THOSE EMOTIONS AT THE DOOR

Once the two teams square it up on Saturday, everything will take care of itself, but getting to the weekend may not be easy because of the importance of the whole thing.

"The hardest thing I'm gonna have to do is keep myself calm all week," Poulson said. "I'll try to focus on everything. I've been hyped up since the end of Colgate. Defensively, that wasn't an enjoyable game to be a part of. But this game means everything to me.

"I don't sleep particularly well. I think about the game, n ot individuals. I think about how I'm going to perform and how the team will perform. I don't lie awake at night and think about Randolph. I struggle with sleep the night before the game, like a lot of people do. I'm hyped up. I can't think about anything else."

Linebacker Mark Leggiero said, "I'm gonna try and keep it mellow all week. I know there's going to be some excitement in practice and I anticipate the guys having some high emotions. But until the sgame starts I don't want to outdo myself. It's more about getting your film study in and focus in practice and make sure you do stuff the right way."

DONOVAN VS. THE NFL

Holy Cross Coach Gilmore talked about the parade of NFL scouts that has worked its way through Worcester this fall and said, "It has been no distraction at all.

"They come in every single week. Some weeks we have four or five of them, and other weeks, it's just one or two. But pretty much every single team has been through, and we've had some teams that have been here four or five times for legitimate reasons. Dom is a legitimate prospect, but he's focused on winning football games. Right now, scouts come in during the day and watch film, then come out to practice and some are coming to games as well."

Here's a quickie capsule of Randolph's statistics to this time: 1,048 completions, 1,650 pass attempts, 43 interceptions, 12,489 yards, 111 touchdowns and a passing efficiency of 144.1. He also has rushed for 731 yards on 252 attempts and has scored 14 touchdowns.

Cleaning the Lafayette football notebook

THE REAL MICHAEL BOLTON

Michael Bolton had block-first responsibility on the play. As he released onto a checkoff route, he saw Colgate defensive back Uzi Idah intercept the Rob Curley pass.

"I tried to get into position to make a tackle," Bolton said, remembering one of the key plays in Lafayette's 56-49 Patriot League victory over Colgate on Saturday. "Mark (Layton) made a big play, and I just tried to jump on (the loose football)."

Leopard Coach Frank Tavani, watching from the sidelines, said, ""Their kid makes a great play, then I our guy get his arm on the ball and out it came. It was a tremendous play. A tomahawk chop, just like you want."

What could have been the end of a Lafayette offensive possession instead turned into a first down at the Colgate 12-yard line when wide receiver Layton popped the ball loose from Idah and the ball bounced right into the hands of Bolton, who smiled after the game and said, "Looking back on it when it was over, I thought I could have scooped and scored, but ..."

On second down at the 9, Bolton again left the line as a second or third option. This time, he was wide open, and Curley threw back to him for an easy touchdown. The score put the Leopards in front for good 49-42.

The game was huge for Bolton, a senior who also scored Lafayette's first touchdown on a 45-yard pass play on which a Colgate defender appeared to make a mistake in coverage and Bolton, who said, "First of all, I didn't think I ran the greatest route but when I turned around and was wide open, and Rob saw the window there and I said I can't get caught now."

CURLEY'S MAGIC RIDE CONTINUES

I asked Tavani on Sunday if, in his wildest dreasm, he ever would have predicted Curley would have a seven-touchdown game, and he said, "I have to honestly say no; but then I've been around some other great quarterbacks here, too, and I wouldn't have ever thought it of them, either."

The difference between Curley and three Leopard quarterbacks who had five-touchdown games -- Tom Kirchoff (1991), Frank Baur (1987) and Paul Stuncius (1986) -- is that Curley made it happen. He said afterwards that he didn't realize he had thrown for seven scores until someone told him after the game.

"It's also a credit to the offensive staff for breaking down and seeing where we can take advantage of different formations," Tavani said. "It doesn't mean you're smarter. It means you were fortunate to execute at the right time."

Curley. who is now tied for second on then Lafayette list for TD passes in a season with 23 -- only Kirchoff had more (26 in 1992), said he never felt pressure to continue passing for scores in the wild game.

"The only thing you can control is that next play," he said. "I can't got out there and tackle Nate Eachus and I can't defend Greg Sullivan or Pat Simonds," he added, referring to Colgate's three top playmakers. "My job is to do my 1/11th for the offense, get us in the right plaqys and, if need be, throw the ball."

Curley called it "such a collaborative offensive effort. Everything Coach Fein called worked; we saw everything. Bolton opens up with a 45-yard touchdown; Jerome (Rudolph) gets a long one (35 yards); guys were making plays everywhere. It was just fun to be involved. Cjumming, 50 yards; I love Jeff to death, but if that was 52 yards, I don't think he scores. That's wbhy we have such a tight-knit offense and team."

Curley, who took a cortisone shot during the week to ease the pain in his shoulder, said that sitting out Saturday was "not a factor in my mind, although some coaches might have felt that way. I have only two games left, and I'm not going out without a fight."

Asked what percentage of 100 he was playing at, he added, "When the adrenaline takes over, it doesn't matter what the percentage is. The game is so long, Once you take that snap, you get into a rhythm and nothing matters. The crowd doesn't matter. Nothing matters at all. It's just you and the play vs. the defense."

COACH BIDDLE SPEAKS

Colgate Coach Dick Biddle, who came into Saturday's game with A 12-1 record against Lafayette, said Saturday's game could not be compared to the Raiders' 41-27 loss to Holy Cross a couple of weeks earlier.

"We weren't really in the game with Holy Cross," he said. "Here, we were tied with a chance to go ahead. I think they were two completely different games. I don't think we played particularly well against Holy Cross. We competed here, especially on offense. Nobody played well on defense, but obviously, Lafayette is a pretty good football team."

Biddle called Curley "a good quarterback who makes wise decisions, but I think we have a pretty good quarterback, too (Greg Sullivan). He's pretty exceptional, and I think ouor team is pretty good, too, the way they hung in there and came back. But you have to get a We had two or three busts like that where guys were wide open."

Tavani said Sunday that he has "such respect for" Biddle. "We are cut from the same cloth -- hard-nosed and physical and run the football." Tavani called the game "one of the finest games I've been involved in in my 23 years here, and certainly in my 10 years as head coach."

EXTRA POINTS

Tavani said the trainer's room was not quite as busy Sunday as it had been a week earlier. No new players seems to have suffered injuries in the Colgate game. In case you missed it earlier, Kyle Simmons, who had worked as a starter in the secondary, was injured in the last two minutes of practice last Wednesday and suffered a torn ACL that ends his season. When he gets the knee repaired has not yet been decided, Tavani said. Being able to rest Maurice White and his sore shoulder "could reap benefits the last two weeks of the season," Tavani said of his fifth-year senior. The same goes for wide receiver Greg Stripe.

Lafayette likes to talk about its Four Horses of College Hill -- the running-back corps -- but the wide-receiver pool may be even deeper now. Nathan Padia got the first touchdown of his career on Saturday, and another ball went off his hands in the end zone. Kyle Hayes adds to the depth, too. It's rare these days for Curley to complete balls to fewer than eight guys in a game. Pretty impressive stuff.

If you think people have been forgetting about Jerome Rudolph, think it no more. This kid is going to be an impact player the next two seasons. He caught that 35-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter; he carried six times for 30 yards for the tailback spot; and he had five kickoff returns for a total of 137 yards, including a 48-yarder that gave the Leopards the ball at the Colgate 45-yard line after the Raiders had taken a 7-0 lead. On the first play, Curley and Bolton hooked up for that 45-yard touchdown.

Brandon Ellis was the defensive leader in tackled with 14, including seven solos from his spot in the secondary. Andrew Poulson had 12, including the team's only sack. Mark Leggiero had 12, as sis Michael Schmidlein, returning to the lineup after sitting out against Bucknell. Ian Dell had 10 tackles, including 2.5 for losses.

Some interesting statistics: Colgate was an amazing 11-for-16 on third-down conversions ... each team made five trips into the red zone and came away with five touchdowns ... Sullivan was 16-for-21 passing for his 279 yards, and while Simonds made four catches for 89 yards and a touchdown, it was an off day for him ... When Davis Rodriguez makes him the way he did on Saturday, people tend to dismiss it as routine, but those six point were huge ... One of Curley'seatest completions doesn't show up on the stat sheet. It was the two-point conversion toss to Mark Layton, who was behind a defender and never saw the ball leave Curley's hand. It was a classic timing thing -- and timely, too ... I have to correct one error from Sunday morning's story. The seven Curley TD passes only tied Jeff Wiley's total against Lehigh more than 20 years ago. That by no means diminishes the effort. I had never seen anything like it ... The crowd of 8,937 was an improvement, but I am still disappointed by the Fisher Stadium turnouts. Oh, well, their loss.

Lafayette-Colgate Game Day report.

The big story before the start of this game is the avilability of Leopard QB Rob Curley. And tailback Maurice White. Both have been bothered by shoulder injuries this week, and White also has battled the flu.

Curley is on the field with the rest of the QBs, but there is no guarantee that he will be in the lineup come game. If he’s having trouble throwing, he must have a high threshhold for pain.

A couple of weeks back, Curley had the flu, and he said if it took playing with the flu to help Lafayette win, he was willing to do that the rest of the season.

But today it could be a matter of priorities. Do you play him hurt and risk further injury that could prohibit him from playing the final two weeks of the season, or do you hold him out and hope to get through this one with backup Ryan O’Neil, perhaps the most athletic of the Leopard QBS?

I don’t know I’d want to make that call, but that’s why guys like Frank Tavani and Mickey Fein get paid the big bucks.

White is also participating in the pregame, so I don’t know what to think about that. I know he is here this semester for one reason – to play football – and he will tough it out if he’s asked to do so.The Leopards will definitely be without the services of sophomore DB Kyle Simmons, who tore his ACL in practice this week. The McGovern brothers, Eric and Evan, are both coming back from bouts with the flu; Michael Schmidlein and Greg Stripe, who sat out last week with shoulder problems, are both back, although Stripe may not be in at the start, I’m told.

I’m watching now as Jim Finnen introduces the senior Leopards. Caoch Tavani is shaking hands with every one, and no doubt seeing lots of memories flash through his mind. As Lafayette warmup up, a huge group of visiting high school seniors were lined up in front of the Bourger Varsity Football House, watching. With 26 seniors graduating, a lot of those kids are needed to fill some pretty big shoes.

Colgate wins the toss and defers. Lafayette will receive.

FIRST QUARTER

Laf at 23. 3-and-out. All runs. Punt form C-36.

Colgate scored twice on its first possession. A Greg Sullivan run was nullified by a holding penalty, but then Sullivan hit Pat Simonds for the 14-yard TD – the 12^th of the season for Simonds. COLGATE 7-0.

Rudolph had a great KO return, and on first down, Curley hit a wide open Mike Bolton in the middle and Bolton romped for the 45-yard TD. Colgate defender had his back turned on the play. TIE 7-7. 9:29 left in 1^st.

Col at 23. Two holding penalties for Col, then a Sullivan fumble recovered by Ian Dell at the C-14. On second down, Curley to Layton for an 11-yard TD. LAFAYETTE 14-7.

A 5-yard penalty hurt Col, which punted to the Laf 1. A 15-yard pass interference penalty got Laf out of the hole before the end of the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

A 45-yard screen pass from Curley to Rudolph took the ball to the Col 23. Davis Rodriguez kicked a 33-yard FG. LAFAYETTE 17-7. Drive: 8 plays, 82 yards, 3:55.

Col from own 23. A 15-yard pass interference penalty against Laf helped, but Nate Eachus went over the 100-yard mark for the game with a 43-yard TD burst on the second play after the penalty. LAFAYETTE 17-14.

Laf at 40. Two straight sacks involving Colgate’s Paul Mancuso preceded an interception by the Raiders’ Coree Moses. Intended for Layton.

Col drives 64 yards on 11 plays, taking 5:49 before Eachus scores from the 1. COLGATE 21-17 with 2:40 left.

Mitchell Bennett and Nathan Padia, who had not been involved at all, came to life. Bennett had catches of 24 and 19 yards and Padia caught a 22-yard TD from Curley. LAFAYETTE 24-21.

Col at the 32. Lafayette calls timeouts after the first two plays, which picked up only four yards. Then a sack by Andrew Poulson is followed by Laf’s third TO. I would have sworn this was a bad move, but the Laf defense made it stick. Punt for Col.

Laf gets a Rodriguez FG with 14 seconds left after a 16-yard pass to Kyle Hayes and a 19-yard third-down run by Curley on a draw. LAFAYETTE 27-21.

Curley finishes the half with TDs to three different receivers. The stats will show a bunch of incompletions, but three of them were on the final possession, and on one of them, Padia got his hands on the ball in the end zone for what could have been a TD. Curley isd 9-16 for 196 yards. For Colgate Eachus has 154 yards on 24 carries and has scored twice. Sullivan is 5-for-6 passing for 74 yards.

The Raiders have been hurt bad by penalties -- three holds, a pass interference and a false start all figured prominently in the first half. But trhe Raiders are 5-for-7 on third downs.

Lafayette has only 30 yards rushing in the half.

THIRD QUARTER

Col at 11. The Raiders go for it on fourth down at the 20 and get a first down, but then have to kick.

Laf at 31.Curley completes for 18 to Layton and 15 to Hayes, then a short pass to Jerome Rudolph is turned into a 35-yard TD with a great open-field run. LAFAYETTE 34-21.

Col goes 74 yards on 10 plays in 4:40, with Eachus going the final 12. A big 17-yard keeper by Sullivan in there, too. LAFAYETTE 34-28.

Laf scores again on Curley's fifth TD pass -- to a fifth different receiver. Fulloback Jeff Cumming is wide open dowen the middle for 50 yards. two-point conversion to Layton, who never saw the ball eave Curley's hands. LAFAYETTE 42-28.

The track meet continues. Col goes 64 yards on just six plays, with Eachus scoring for the fourth time on a five-yard run. Sullivan ran for 17 on a third-and-one from the 22. LAFAYETTE 42-35.

Rudolph makes a good KO return to the 43, and the quarter ends after one play.

FOURTH QUARTER

After a Laf punt, Col marches 83 yards on eight plays, with Gigi Cadet getting a 32-yard TD pass from Sull. He was wide open on the throwback. A 31-yard pass to Simonds was also features. TD came on third down -- Col is 10-for-14 on third-down efficiency.

Curley sets a school record for touchdown passes with a 9-yarder to Michael Bolton with 6:52 left. But the big play was a pass interception by Colgate, then a fumble that was recovered by Bolton on the Col 12. Fitting that he gets the TD. LAFAYETTE 49-42.

Laf now scores its biggest total since a 2004 win over Holy Cross. Instead of playing itn safe, Curley throws another touchdown pass to Layton. The TD tied the Patriot League record of seven in a game set by Jeff Wiley of Holy Cross against Lehigh in 1987. LAFAYETTE 56-42

Eachus scores his fifth TD of the day with 42 seconds left as the Raiders keep winging it. LAFAYETTE 56-49.

And now, the onsides kick. Touched before it went 10 yards. Lafayette ball. Knee time.

One word says it all. WHEW!!!

Biddle's Raiders will be a load for the Leopards

Dick Biddle would never be considered a journalist’s dream interviewee, but the Colgate head coach brought, as he might say, his A game to Lafayette’s weekly media luncheon earlier this week.

Biddle was patient with us, and RCN sports director Gary Laubach even managed to get the usually vanilla coach to laugh out loud during his teleconference call.

The coach was asked what he thought it meant to the Patriot League to have three of its teams – including his own – ranked among the top 25 in the two most recognized FCS national polls.

“All the teams (Colgate, Lafayette and Holy Cross) have been pretty successful outside the league also. Us, Holy Cross and Lafayette have only one loss; we’re seven or eight and 1 is pretty good for the league. It would be nice if they gave us scholarships, and it would REALLY be good.”

At that point, Laubach chimed in, “Coach, so does that mean you’d like to see scholarships?” Laubach asked. It was a rhetorical question. It didn’t require an answer. Laubach intended it that way, and Biddle knew it.

After he chuckled, Biddle said, “Sure, why not? I’d love to have scholarships, I’ll tell you that right now. For Colgate, I think it would be great, and I think it would be great for the whole league. But they (the college presidents, who decide such things) are not going to listen to me, I’m lucky to have a job, after you lose a game, you know, you’re glad you have a job for another week.”

I doubt very much that job security is a problem for Biddle, whose coaching record at Colgate stands at 112-50 in his 14^th season.

But, then, we remember all too well the story of Pete Lembo. His 2005 Lehigh team lost to Lafayette in the final game of the season 23-19 as the Leopards won the league championship. A month later, Lembo, who had a five-year record of 44-14 on South Mountain, but a 2-3 record against Lafayette, left and took a job at Elon College, which was anything but a successful program at the time.

Lehigh athletic director Joe Sterrett said that Pete’s record was not an issue, but I never got the feeling that Sterrett did anything to keep Lembo, either. Perhaps those alumni angry with the losses to Lafayette tilted Sterrett in the direction of letting the decision totally in Lembo’s court.

Biddle has no single game that has the emotional impact of Lafayette-Lehigh, so he is not likely to be judged by any one set of wins and losses. He has six Patriot League titles on his resume, and he’s been to the FCS (then Division I-AA) national championship game. He has had only one losing season.

He’s definitely doing something right. It’s amazing to me how many quality athletes are willing to commit to four years in Hamilton, N.Y., which is about as close to nowhere as you can get.

Colgate probably should have been a little weaker this season after taking some big hits through graduation. Biffle even mentioned that on Tuesday.

Speaking about the Raiders’ only loss of the season – 42-28 at Holy Cross on Oct. 24 – he said, “I’m proud of the team in the fact that we had a lot of players graduate, lost our leading rusher, four of the five starting offensive linemen, our best defensive player decided not to play, (Nate) Eachus hasn’t played and our kicker’s been hurt.”

In the Holy Cross game, the Crusaders broke away from a 7-7 tie with a score late in the first period and another early in the second. From there on out, every time Colgate scored, Holy Cross answered with a score.

“We got behind the 8-ball when we got down more than one score,” Biddle said. “When we get way behind, we have a tendency to not be in our game plan. They were 6-for-8 on third downs.”

Then he talked about field position and came up with another unexpected gem.

“Their average start was on the 44-yard line, ours was on the 30,” Biddle said. “When you have a proficient offense and you get the ball on the 45 every time, the (Pittsburgh) Steelers aren’t even going to stop you.”

I loved that. I don’t know if everyone in the room caught it, but that, to me, seemed so unlike the Dick Biddle you watch standing almost passively on the sidelines.

Biddle’s team will be anything but passive. The Raiders want to ram the ball down your throat, no matter what. That’s why they come to Easton today with three players who have rushed for more than 600 yards – Jordan McCord 863, QB Greg Sullivan 638 and Eachus 604 despite missing three games.

But they are more than a running team. Sullivan, as good as there is at executing the belly option, has completed 107 of 189 passes for 1,461 yards and 14 touchdowns. Pat Simonds is a big-time receiver with 53 catches for 756 yards and 11 of those scores.

Leopard defensive end Allan Whitesell agreed that the Colgate offense requires defensive linemen like himself to be patient rather than committing too quickly.

“I’d say yes, you have to be more patient, because most of the time last year, they were reading me. I have to make sure I take my responsibility and be patient with the option. (Colgate) is really physical, so we have to come out and match their intensity and try to out-physical them because they are going to come out swinging in this game.”

Biddle tried to do his best to downplay any idea that his team might be favored today.

“Right now, I don’t want to ruffle anybody’s feathers, but I think (Lafayette is) playing the most consistent and best football of any team in the league,” Biddle said. “They are not one-dimensional. Their offense, obviously, the quarterback (Rob Curley) has done well, they’re balanced on offense, they’ve done well on defense, and I think they’re good in all three phases of the game. I’ve seen them on tape, and they will be difficult for us. They come at you with a tough hard-nosed game. They are a legitimate threat to win the league and a legitimate threat to do some damage in the playoffs if they get there.”

EXTRA POINTS

CURLEY HONOR – In case you didn’t see it earlier in the week, Curley, in addition to being the Patriot League’s offensive player of the week for his 30-for-35, 333-yard performance against Bucknell last week, was named the ECAC offensive player of the week. He had a 242,.9 QB rating for the game, threw for three touchdowns and was not intercepted. It was the fifth time in eight weeks that a Patriot League player earned the honor.

GEROWSKI A FIRST-TEAMER – Doug Gerowski is one of those guys the Patriot League people like to single out when they talk about the priorities of the student-athletes. The senior defensive end has been named to the first team on the District II All-Academic team picked by ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America. Gerowski has a 3.61 grad-point average, majoring in economics and business. Gerowski will now be placed on a national ballot, and ESPN The Magazine will announce its Academic All-America team Nov. 24.

SENIOR DAY AT FISHER – Twenty-six seniors will be playing their final home games today, which means that more family and friends may be on hand. Actually this game should draw the largest crowd of the season because, for a change, it is expected to be dry and sunny. These seniors were members of the Leopards’ league championship team in 2006, but they have been saying all along this season that the goal is to get a title of their own. The Raiders are standing directly in their path. It should be interesting.

A BLACKOUT – The Lafayette Web site calls this day Black Out 2009 and is encouraging all the Lafayette fans to wear black. A film clip shows the Leopards at work in their black uniforms. However, Coach Frank Tavani told me a week or two ago that there will be no uniform changes this year. The Leopards have been wearing their maroon jerseys and white pants for every home game, ane that’s what I’m expecting today. The color of the uniforms is not going to be a factor in the performance of the guys wearing them.

Muppet Takes Manhattan ... and other phan creations

Some people really like music -- and with the Phillies back in the World Series for the second time in as many years, our ears have been assaulted with songs ranging from polka to country. (My personal favorite? Whiskey Falls "Load Up the Bases")

But others have turned from bars and guitars to poetry and photoshop to show their Phillies pride --to some pretty humorous results.

Take this photo (left), from the 700 Level blog, which depicts the Phillie Phanatic shooting lasers from his nose at the Empire State Building.

"Muppet Takes Manhattan" is available via Facebook and prints on an ash grey t-shirt. (Sizes available range from XS to 2XL and cost $15).

Meanwhile, @andyodore showed off this gem today on Twitter (image below), which he calls "Philly Takes NY." So far no word on t-shirt availability but it's still a pretty cool Twitpic.

And finally, a piece I received via email this afternoon called "Twas the Night Before Game 6." (Author unknown, but if you wrote it let me know!)

Twas the night before Game 6, and all through the Bronx, not a car horn was stirring, not even a honk.

The syringes were hung by the ballpark with care, in hopes that Rodriguez soon would be there.

The fans were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of 27 Championships danced in their heads.

With Mariano in the bullpen, tucked under his cap, he soon settled in for a long Game 6 nap...

When out on the mound, there arose such a clatter,
Alex sprang from the bench to see what was the matter.

When what to his watering eyes should appear,
but a pitcher named Pedro, and 8 Phillies in gear.

On Jimmie, on Pedro, on Ryan, on Chase,
on Carlos, on Jayson, on Raul and on Shane !!!

And as old Charlie bobbled his head past eleven,
he said with a yuk-yuk, " I'll see you in Game 7."

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Senior Day will be emotional for these 3

Among the photographs on display in Lafayette’s Bourger Varsity Football House are the annual official team photos.

When he looks at the ones in which he is included, senior linebacker Spencer Brown said Tuesday, he realizes how much things have changed since his freshman year in 2006.

“When I look at the pictures of when I was a freshman, sophomore and junior and see how many kids we’ve lost, it’s amazing,” said Brown, a three-year letter winner and a part-time starter last year and this year.

“We’ve had a lot of kids quit; we’ve gotten rid of a lot of problems we had on this team. I think it shows. We’re 7-1 because of what we’ve worked for and how hard we worked in the off-season and every day in the weight room.

“Some of those guys are in the stands. They come to our games and say ‘good job’, and I say, ‘You could have been a part of it.’ I look at guys who just couldn’t do it. The fact that we’ve gone through all this as a team makes us even tighter.”

Togetherness has been a benchmark of the 2009 Leopards, who will play their final home game on Saturday when Colgate comes to Fisher Stadium for an important Patriot League game.

The 26 seniors on the team have provided the leadership and the motivation for the younger players on the squad. Three of them – Brown, center Michael Wojcik and defensive end Allan Whitesell – were featured at Tuesday’s media luncheon.

All three agreed that Saturday will be an emotional one – and one that has come around entirely too fast.

“I haven’t really thought about it being the last home game because we have two more games after it,” Brown said. “But these are the last three league games of my career and it’s going to be over. Three weeks left of football and it’s going to be done and I’m going to be a mess because I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself.”

“Yeah, the season is going really quick,” said Wojcik, who has been a starter since his sophomore year. “People tell you that all the time. I didn’t think it would, but it obviously has. This is crunch time. These are the three games that are going to determine how people look at us after this season.

“It’s been great to play here. There’s always a great crowd to play in front of. They are into the game, and I hope we can give ‘em a win. I think (crowds this year) have been down a little. The weather hasn’t helped. But doesn’t matter to us if there are 10,000 people in the stands or one person in the stands. We have to do this as a team.”

Whitesell, who was named Lafayette’s Most Improved Player in 2008, said, “There’s going to be a lot of emotion to play in Fisher Field the last time, but I’m going to try to keep the emotions in check because its just another championship game. There definitely will be some (emotion) there, and our team’s going to feel it, but we’re going to have to overcome those first emotions and play level-headed football

Whitesell again will be wearing the “South Fork Football 2005” T-shirt that he has worn for every practice and every game last year and this year.

“Yes, I’m still wearing it,” he said. “My (high school) friends have all moved on from college ball, at least the ones I stay in touch with, so I’m carrying them with me.”

Brown has a personal ritual, too.

“I always write my family’s initials on my wrist, and I always try to do the same stuff,” he said while admitting to being a bit superstitious. “I have all my family on my right side -- my son, my daughter, my fiancé, my mom and dad and uncles and aunts who had an impact on my life and football career. My friends, teammates from high school, guys I played with that had an influence on the way I play, they go on my left arm. I’ll have 10 or 12 sets of initials on each arm.”

Brown said that as he looks at those initials, it helps him focus on the task at hand – “every day is important,” he says.

Whitesell’s dad, James, will make the trip from Tequesta, Fla., and he’ll be wearing the #50 Lafayette ersey. Some aunts and uncles from New Jersey will be at Fisher Stadium, too, swelling the Whitesell rooting section to about 10 people.

But mother Amy won't make it.

Why" Her studies come first..

"My mom wishes she could be here, but she’s in graduate school and she has a test she has to do, so she’s doing that,” Whitesell said. “She’s going to be a guidance counselor. It’s just something she felt she wanted to do. She’s been in teaching for a long time. We’re both in school; it’s kind of funny.”

Brown will have a cheering section that none of his teammates can match. He has two children: son Gavin is 3, and daughter Faith is 1.

“They’re both rotten,” Brown said – but definitely in love. “They’re both in trouble. They’re very busy, always wanting to color or do balloon animals or whatever it may be. It always keeps you busy. They want to watch movies with you. They help me when Ihave a lot going on. My grades have gotten better since I have them up here.”

Brown’s fiancé, Krystal, who lives up here, too, will be on hand, as will Brown’s parents.

"They've been coming (from Newport Richey, Fla.) for every game," Brown said. "My dad (Joda) threw out his back last week. My mom (Beverly) is making him come, so he'll be here. They always fly. He's a tough guy so I'm sure he'll give me the whole speech. I always make fun of him for being old."

Wojcik;s parents, Michael Sr. and Donna, have a much shorter trip -- from Philadelphia. His grandmother and grandfather and a couple of uncles will be here, too.

"My mom and my grandmother have jerseys and en joy wearing them. I should have a good number of people here for me last home game."

Lafayette-Colgate comparisons

It's hard to believe we've come to the month of November already, but all you have to do is look at the Patriot League standings to get some idea of the importance of the next three weekends.

It all begins on Saturday when Colgate comes to Easton. As Leopards coach Frank Tavani said tonight (Sunday), "This is the third straight team that's coming through the gates at our field knowing it has to win or it is out of the race.That's not the case for us, but we have to play like it is."

Lafayette took an unbeaten league mark to Hamilton, NY, last year and dominated Colgate for more than two quarters. But when it turned the ball over when it was just five yards away from what might have been a 17-0 lead, the Raiders grabbed the opportunity and started the Leopards on a downhill slide that, with the exception of a game at Bucknell, lasted right through the game with arch-rival Lehigh.

Aswe start this week, I offer a reprint of my story from last year's Lafayette-Colgate game. Then, we'll take a look at a couple of comparisons between the Leopards and the Raiders and present some other notes.

THE 2008 GAME STORY

The game, the way Nate Eachus saw it, was pretty simple. Give Greg Sullivan "a soft pocket" for the football and let him do his thing.

For two quarters Saturday, it looked like Lafayette was inside the head of Sullivan, Colgate's quarterback. He was pressing and very little was going right. The Raiders had just 43 rushing yards on 17 attempts and Sullivan completed only two of nine passes - one of them to the Leopards.

And still, Lafayette led by only 10 points.

Then, given life when Lafayette fumbled after having a first down on the Colgate 5 in the third quarter, Sullivan either gave the ball to Eachus or pulled it back and made a play himself as the Raiders literally ran the proud Leopards defense into the ground in a 21-13 victory.

The loss left Lafayette in a win-or-else situation the rest of the Patriot League season.

"The key was that we were down by just 10 points at halftime," Colgate coach Dick Biddle said, giving his defense a great deal of the credit. "They moved the ball, but we made them kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns. The second half, we went back to what we're good at."

Colgate drove 92 yards for one touchdown, turned a botched Lafayette kickoff into a second score, used up 8 minutes, 26 seconds while driving for a fourth-quarter TD - oh, yes, and turned in the best defensive effort of the season to choke the Leopards' offense.

The win was Colgate's third in a row, all in the league. It was Lafayette's first league loss.

Eachus, the former Hazleton Area High star who may have turned a lot of football coaches away because it looked like he might prefer to be a college wrestler, carried the ball 34 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He had six carries on the first TD drive and 13 on the third one.

"It's his call," Eachus said of Sullivan. "If he wants me to run, he gives it to me. If he wants to run, he takes it. I don't know if I'm getting the ball; if I do, I run."

Sullivan, who had only one yard in the first half on four runs and completed one pass for three yards, wound up with 61 yards on 10 carries. He threw for only 59 yards, but every completion was a dagger for Lafayette.

"After we got that turnover in the red zone, we just stepped it up," Eachus said. "The holes started getting bigger and bigger. We got first down after first down."

Lafayette controlled the game in the first half, running 45 plays to Colgate's 26. However, the Leopards had just 25 offensive plays in the final two periods as compared to the Raiders' 38.

Shaun Adair tied his personal single-game mark for catches with 10 for a career-high 129 yards, but no touchdowns. Davis Rodriguez kicked a career-best 47-yard field goal and had a 35-yarder, but he missed one from 29.

"Me personally, I take it as a big punch in the face," Adair said afterward. "I put this whole game on our offense and on my own shoulders."

Fullback Joe Russo, who scored the only Lafayette touchdown, added, "We found a way to beat ourselves."

"We'll bounce back; it's not over," a disappointed Frank Tavani said after his team lost for only the second time in eight games overall. "It's a double-elimination tournament. Anything can happen. There's a lot of football to be played."

But the fact is, Lafayette now is in the losers' bracket. It still has a game against co-leader Holy Cross, and not in control of its destiny.

SOME 2009 STATISTICAL COMPARISONS

Col Laf

Points/game 29.3 26.5

FD-running 133 58

FD-passing 66 91

Rushing ypg 246.6 130.4

Passing ypg 162.3 258.0

Passes int. by 8 6

Fumbles-lost 11-6 4-2

3rd-down conversions 49% 46%

4th-down conversions 63% 50%

Sacks by 23 15

Red-zone scores 28-33 28-34

COLGATE: Rushing leaders-- Jordon McCord 182-863, 5 TDs; Greg Sullivan 133-638, 6 TDs; Nate Eachus 118-604, 10 TDs. Passig leader -- Sullivan 107-189-3, 1461 yds, 14 TDs. Receiving leaders -- Pat Simonds 53-756, 11 TDs; Doug Rosnick 24-310. Defensive leaders -- Greg Hadley 54 tackles (5 TFL); Uzi Idah 49 tackles (6 TFL); Garrington Spence 46 tackles (9.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks).

LAFAYETTE: Rushing leaders -- Maurice White 107-492, 5 TDs; DeAndre Morrow 57-259, 2 TDs. Passing leader: Rob Curley 169-245-7, 2059 yds, 16 TDs. Receiving leaders -- Mark Layton 48-586, 8 TDs; Mitchell Bennett 30-413, 3 TDs. Defensive leaders -- Mark Schmidlein 76 tackles (5 TFL, 1 INT); Mark Leggiero 69 tackles (1.5 TFL); Ian Dell 29 tackles (6.5 TFL, 4.5 sacks).

COMMON OPPONENTS

Fordham -- Laf W, 26-21; Col W, 20-12.

Georgetown -- Laf W, 28-3; Col W, 31-14.

ODDS AND ENDS

About a dozen Leopards paid visits to the training room Sunday morning, so the group did not eat all of the Easton Baking Co. doughnuts Tavani brought with him. "Whenever you have under 15, that's a good thing," the coach said. ... Tavani will not know until Tuesday's practice just which players might not be available to practice or play this week. Anthony Scriveri was hurt on Saturday, and it looks lke a torn ACL, Tavani said. Scriveri will have an MRI today. Mo White, who was standing on the sidelines with his arm in a sling in the second half, is expected to be OK. Same with Mark Schmidlein and Greg Stripe, who missed the game on Saturday. The X-factor for the week is the flu. It has not yet made its way through the entire team, and Tavani certainly is hoping it will not. But it is weakening a group of players. ... Tavani said he was pleased with the debut of freshman running back Vaughn Hebron. Hebron had practiced all week and might have had even more time if Jerome Rudolph had not returned from his bout with the flu. "He's going to be a big kid," Tavani said of Hebron, son of former Eagle running back Vaughn Hebron, "He'll put on at least 10 pounds of muscle. He'll be 205 or 210. He has great instincts. He's got all the right genes." ... Tavani has been a lot of film of Colgate while preparing for other foes, but he won't get the real breakdown until today. He sees a typical Dick Biddle team that makes no secret of its intention to run the football, and Colgate has the guys to make it happen, starting with QB Sullivan who, Tavani said, "makes the right read every time in their offense." Sullivan is the second leading rusher on the team. ... The Lafayette jayvees had a full game Sunday against the Military Academy Prep School and won 34-7. Tavani said freshman QB Andrew Shoop of Danville threw four touchdown passes in an impressive performance.

Lafayette-Bucknell game day report

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going" is more than locker room jargon.

Today, some Lafayette football players will have a chance to prove their toughness. Injuries and the continuation of a flu situation will have a number of key Leopards watching -- at least one of them from home because he's too sick to be at Fisher Stadium.

Linebacker Michael Schmidlein, the team's leading tackler, will rest his injured shoulder. Sophomore wide receiver, a legitimate big-play guy catching passes, running and returning kicks, will also be out with a shoulder injury. Senior free safety Eric McGovern, who is coming off perhaps the best game of his career, has a really bad case of flu and was sent to his Harrisburg home for rest. And finally, senior running back Tyrell Coon was on the sidelines, also suffering from the flu.

The flu kept a number of other players, including starting tackle Anthony Buffolino and backup tailback Jerome Rudolph, out of practices during the week, but they are available -- if not totally healthy -- to play.

And in the warmups, Rudolph was getting a lot of snaps, which means he could be one of those reserves who will be called on in this one. Last year, he was called on in the Fordham game and responded with 140 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard the Frank Tavani line about the absolute necessity for his reserves to be ready at a moment's notice, particularly at this time of the season, when the normal wear and tear of the season is also a factor.

Tavani will be on the sidelines, although he, too, is somewhat on the mend after having oral surgery on an absessed tooth on Thursday in Bethlehem. I talked to him that day, and he said to me, "Where do you think the guy went to school?" My guess: Lehigh. "Bucknell," Tavani said.

The coach invited the surgeon, Dominic Rachiele, to the game as his guest. I don't think he gave the doc any Lafayette merchandise to wear. I'm wondering which side of the field Rachiele will be sitting on.

Bucknell won the coin toss and de... actually elected to receive rather than deferring to the second half.

FIRST QUARTER

Bison 3-and-out.

Laf 5 plays, 42 yards for a Jeff Cumming TD from the 1. The opening play was a 22-yard pass completion from Rob Curley to Mitch Bennett. A third-and-four pass to DeAndre Morrow was good for 13 and put the ball on the 1. LAFAYETTE 7-0. 1:28 left in the 1st.

Bison at 27. 16-yard pass on first down for a FD. Then 3-and-out.

Laf at 19. 3-and-out. Kondash gets off a 50-yard punt.

Bison at 29. 3-and-out. Punt to Laf 36. Laf player hurt -- Anthony Scriveri helped off.

Laf gets a FD on a penalty, but then gives one up on a hold and has to punt. For the second time in the game, Morrow makes a great open-field tackle on the return man just as he got the ball.

Bison get a first down on three runs, then a 21-yard run on the option by Justin Pulgrano. But a sack by Nick Oliver and a good defensive play by Brandon Ellis end it and the Bison kicks.

Laf at 32. One 7-yard run by White ends the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

Laf at 39, 2nd-and-3. No go. Punt on fourth down to B-21.

Bison gets one FD on a QB draw by Trigg, but then has to punt after Kyle Simmons makes his second good play on a pass but can't quite hang on for the INT.

Laf at 25. Laf offense gets its first FD since the opening series and also converts on a fourth-down play, but a 19-yard loss on an errant snap from center ruined the drive and Davis Rodriguez was wide left on a 44-yard FG try.

Bison get frisky. Shaun Pasternak, without a catch to here, gets three. Bison go 73 yards on 15 plays and score a touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Trigg to Kizekai on a third-and-16 play. Leroy Butler makes three great defensive plays on the drive, but they go to waste with Trigg's perfect strike. TIE 7-7.

Laf ends the half with a pass from Curley to Layton, who laterals to Rudolph. But time ran out on the play, which wound up at the Bison 18.

I'm glad I'm not in the locker room right now. I'm wondering who might be yelling the loudest. This is not an inspired half by the Leopards. They allowed Trigg to go 6-for-11 in the air in the final drive and also run a nine-yard QB draw. Trigg had been 2-for-9 passing before that one drive, which accounted for nearly half the Bucknell yards for the half.

The half is even uglier when you look at the stats. The Leopards have just four -- right, FOUR -- yards rushing on 13 plays. Bucknell has 69. Bucknell converted 5 of 11 third downs and ran 38 plays as compared to Laf's 30. Pulgrano gained 22 yards on his only rush. Even Marlon Woods had more yards (9) on his own carry than Laf had as a team.

Curley was 13-for-17 in the half for 150 yards, but that got lost in all the bad stuff. The top player on the field was Butler, who had eight tackles to go along with his pass break-ups. He's getting increased time with Schmidlein out.

Lafayette QB Rob Curley motions to one of his receivers as game referee Dennis Crim throws a penalty flag in the third period.

LAFAYETTE 7, BISON 7

THIRD QUARTER

Laf will get the ball.

Laf at 32. White runs for 17, Morrow for 26 and the Leopards go 68 yards on 6 plays, scoring on a pass from Curley to a wide open Michael Bolton for the last 13 yards. The bad news: White apparently suffered a shoulder injury on his run and left the game. LAFAYETTE 14-7.

Bison moves from 24 to Laf 34, where Brandon Ellis intercepts a pass for the Leopards. Close call on the play.

Laf marches 82 yards on 13 plays, slowed once by a holding penalty. A two-yard run by Cumming for the score. Curley 6-for-7 and also ran for a FD in the drive. Cumming got his second TD. LAFAYETTE 21-7.

Bison 3-and-out after a 15-yard penalty for an illegal block.

Laf ball on 44. Quarter ends with ball on the Bison 40.

FOURTH QUARTER

We don't see White on the sidelines. Oops, there he is with his arm in a sling. He's out with a shoulder injury. (Tavani says later that Mo could have played but wasn't necessary on this day). It doesn't matter. Curley is on target for 29 yards to Kyle Hayes as Laf goes 56 yards on eight plays with Curley throwing to Bennett for the final four. LAFAYETTE 28-7.

BOOM! A.J. Kizekai got behind the defense, and only a great close by Brandon Ellis kept him from scoring. But Trigg scored on second down from the 4. LAFAYETTE 28-14.

For the second time this half a holding penalty stalled the drive, but Curley refused to be stopped. He took apart the Bison piece by piece and finally hit a wide open Layton for a 6-yard TD. The 66-yard drive used 10 plays and covered 6:24. Curley now has a career high 333 yards on 30-for-35. LAFAYETTE 35-14.

3-andout for the Bison.

Ryan O'Neil at QB now, and Vaughn Hebron gets his first action at TB. Dumb penalty costs 15 and the Pards punt on fourth dow

LAFAYETTE 35-14 -- and the 7 wins tie last season. However, the three remaining opponents are teams to which the Leopards lost in 2008.

SOME FINAL STUFF

Holy Cross' Randolph was 23-for-35 for 314 yards and should not be a Player of the Week candidate. Fordham's Skelton was 43-for-67 for 427 yards, but his team lost 41-27, so was he truly effective? Curley should be POW after his career-best effort. This is his team every bit as much as Holy Cross is Randolph's team and Fordham is Skelton's team. Curley likes to deflect the credit sometimes, but the truth is, he is an outstanding quarterback this season. He did not play against Bucknell last year because he was hurt the previous week at Colgate.

I've been waiting for Nathan Padia to make a statement. He was a first team big-school all-stater in high school in Kansas; and at 6-3, he is a perfect complement to the 6-4 Bennett. His four catches today equal his total for the season in six previous games. He didn't score, but he made a couple of hard-nosed catches. The Leopards' receiving corps just continues to grow, and when you add in a couple of running backs who have good hands, too, it's no wonder Curley is having so much fun.

Tom Housenick, who covered Bucknell regularly before coming to The Morning Call, was in the press box as a stringer for the Daily Item in Sunbury. At one point of the game, when Curley completed his 11th cionsecutive pass, Tom said he me, "He's making it look like practice." And, he was right. Curley was making great reads all day. He threw on ball high over a receiver's head in the first quarter, and he threw one ball into double coverage in the end zone in the second period and was nearly picked off.Everything else was either caught or at least catchable.

As the Leopards move to the Patriot League's big stage for the next three weeks, I tink they will have to pay closer attention to one thing: penalties. Not always the number, but the timing. A hold in the first quarter wiped out a first down at the Bison 32 and left the 'Pards with third-and-20 and they wound up punting. In the third period, a hold at midfield might have hurt, but Curley was able to complete back-to-back 13-yarders to Bennett and Layton to negate it; and in the fourth period, still another hold on a 17-yard completion might nhave been a drive-killer, but Curley came back with a 19-yarder to Padia and a 13-yarder to Bennett and Rudolph added a 15-yard run to the Bison 9 en route to the final touchdown. The fourth flag was a 15-yarder for a personal foul. Against the good teams, those mistakes might be fatal.

We got a glimpse of a pony who might be a nice complement to the Leopards' Four Horses of College Hill. Vaughn Hebron, a 5-11, 185-pound freshman who is the son of former Eagle running back of the same name, got two series with the reserves after the game was in hand. He ran four times for a total of 26 yards, and he made a couple of nifty moves in the process. With three of the Four Horses graduating, it will be important for guys like Hebron to catch on quickly. Also during mop-up time, freshman Eric Jones and sophomore Mike Grimaldi combined for a sack, and Donald Ellis -- no relation to Brandon -- had an interception.

Gutsy effort of the day might have gone to sophomore Evan McGovern. Inserted into the starting lineup when his senior brother Eric was sent home Thursday with a severe case of the flu, Evan took sick this morning but played anyway and had four tackles. Honorable mentoon in that department goes to tackle Anthony Buffolino, who did not practice all week because of the flu, but who did start and play the game. Coach Tavani said he doesn't look forward to phone calls these days because they could be from the health center, informing him of an other player on the sick list.

Brandon Ellis, sophomore corner back, ran a 10.7-second 100 meters and a 22.5-second 200 meters in high school. He turned on the jets in the fourth quarter when Bucknell's A.J. Kizekai got behind the Lafayette secondary and took a perfect pass from Marcello Trigg for what appeared to be a sure 74-yard touchdown. Ellis caught the speed Kizekai from behind at the 4. I think A.J. was stunned to find himself going down. Unfortunately, Bucknell scored two plays later in a four-yard run by Trigg.

The attendance of 5,549 was disappointing for me again, but these rainy Saturdays are taking their toll on any possible walkup business, I'm sure. Lafayette has not yet had what I would consider to be a crowd worthy of the product on the field. I'm not sure what the Leopards have to do to get in better touch with the Easton community. Maybe a bunch of them need to pay a visit to kids in hospitals and other such humanitarian deeds to get more attention. With Colgate coming in, there's no reason the crowd should be less than 12,000. I'm sure Raider running back Nate Eachus will have a nice group from Hazleton; I'd hate to think his fans would rival those of the home team.

A look back, then on to Lafayette-Bucknell

I know I’m violating Frank Tavani’s 24-hour rule here, but I can’t resist the chance to look back one more time at a play from last week’s game against Fordham.

Fordham football coach Tom Masella did a lot of chirping after the game about how the officials stole the game from him. I've heard since then that this was not the first time this season Masella has lambasted the guys in pin stripes. Seems he's feeling picked-on because Fordham will be moving to athletic scholarships next year.

Hogwash! The charge is preposterous. That Fordham team deserved every penalty, just as Lafayette deserved to be penalized when Jerome Rudolph ran into a Ram kick returner.

And as for the officials' no-call on a Fordham punt that I originally thought should have been ruled a touchback because the Fordham player was in the end zone when he downed the ball, it turned out I didn't know the rule. In the college game, unlike the NFL, the ball is all that counts, and it was not in the end zone.

Over the last couple of days I've come across two photographs that show an interesting play involving Lafayette receiver Greg Stripe (12) and Fordham DB Bryson Wilson. This was not one of the plays Masella was complaining about, and no wonder.

Notice in the photo above, taken by a Lafayette College photographer, that Bryson's right hand is jammed inside the front lip of Stripe's helmet as the Leopard receiver's head snaps back.

Now take a look at the second shot, which was among the Lafayette-Fordham photos that were posted on The Morning Call's Web site. Denise Sanchez of The Call caught Bryson a tick or two later, with the helmet clearly in his hand after having been pulled from Stripe's head.

Now, that's a successful pick, isn't it? Worthy of an official's call, perhaps? Well, none was made. Hey, Coach Masella, what do you say to that one?

Inadvertent? I doubt it. Brutal? You bet. These two photos should be evidence enough for the Patriot League to take some kind of action against someone. Yes, football is a rough game; but the play you see here could have resulted in a broken neck for the receiver, and there's no call for that.

As for Masella's actions, we have not heard word one from league officials about any disciplinary action against the Fordham coach. The tirade he directed at the officials was bad enough; his comment that a blind man should have noticed the calls he was complaining about was insensitive and uncalled for.

I noticed today that the Southeastern Conference, which has been having problems with coaches ripping officials, announced Friday that it would institute fines and suspensions in addition to its current reprimands for future incidents.

"The Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, Pac-10 and Mountain West conferences also use public reprimands, fines and suspensions as penalties for coaches who are publicly critical of officiating," the story said. Carolyn Schlee-Femovich please note -- if you don't already have something more than a slap on the wrist on your books in the Patriot League, it's time to tighten the noose on the blabbing coaches.

Interesting stuff.

Now, back to today. I have to admit I’m having a hard time getting focused on the Bucknell Bison. I’m looking at the raw numbers, and they scream Leopard rout.

Bucknell is 3-4 overall and 1-1 in Patriot League play, but only two of their seven opponents have winning records at this point of the season. Penn is best at 4-2, and the Quakers defeated the Bison 21-3 and lost to the Leopards 20-17 in overtime. Marist, which was beaten by Bucknell 17-16, is 4-3

Bucknell’s other victories came against league foe Georgetown (0-7) 14-6 and Robert Morris (1-6) 26-21. The Bison has lost to league opponent Lehigh (2-5) 35-16 in its most recent start and to Duquesne (1-6) 24-19 and Cornell (2-4) 33-9.

So, overall, Bucknell’s opponents have a combined record of 14-33.

On Tuesday, at the weekly media luncheon, Tavani did his best to make a case for the Bison. “By this time, they have usually lost a quarterback or two in that triple option, but not this year,” Tavani said. “They do throw the ball a lot more than they used to, and thast means a lot of one-on-oneand if somebody misses an assignment or a tackle, there goes a big play down the sidelines. They’ve been able to do that against almost everyone.

“They are well-prepared, particularly defensively. They play pretty good defense, good enough to win. For our offense, part of defending them is not letting them have the ball. Time of possession will be important; the offense has to be consistent.”

There is no doubt that the offense is built around the two different quarterbacks, even though Coach Tim Landis said “it’s not that we feel we want to play two, but it’s out of necessity.” The runner is C.J. Hopson, who has gained 310 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the Bison in rushing. The passer is Marcello Trigg, who has passed for 642 yards and five TDs. Hopson has started three games, Trigg four.

The Bison has run the ball 249 times and passed 191 times. The running game has averaged 3.1 yards per carry, the passing game 9.9 yards per reception. But the leading scorer for Bucknell is kicker Drew Orth, He is 4-for-5 on field goals but has not attempted one longer than 33 yards. He is 10-for-11 on points after touchdown.

The Bucknell defense has allowed just 112 yards pergame, while allowing 232.7 yards passing. Perhaps the best throwing QB the Bison has seen to date is Lehigh’s B.J. Clark, who had a big day last week but who, to this point, can’t compare to Lafayette’s Rob Curley and Co. Curley is coming off a game in which he had a career high 305 yards passing, and he has a host of capable receivers.

The equalizer today, if what I’m hearing is true, could be the flu. When I talked to Tavani on Thursday for an update on linebacker Michael Schmidlein’s shoulder injury (still a game-time decision, he says), Tavani admitted that many players had missed practices during the week. He couldn’t – or, maybe, wouldn’t – be any more specific than to say we might see some different people on the field.

I can’t help but think, though, that if the flu bug is working its way through the Lafayette locker room, Bucknell is probably not exempt from it, either. So, we wait and see.

Lehigh's Hall, Kutztown men are top picks

Lehigh senior guard Marquis Hall has been has been named the Patriot League men’s basketball player of the year.
Led by Hall and 6-foot-7 senior forward Zahir Carrington, the defending league rebounding champion, Lehigh was picked by the coaches and sports information directors to finish second in the league behind Holy Cross.
Lehigh went 15-9 overall and 5-9 in league play last season.
In Division II, the Kutztown University men’s basketball team, coming off a school-record 28 wins and first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region final, was picked to finish first in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East division for the first straight season.
The Golden Bears, who only lost five games last season, senior guard and All-Amereican candidate Stephen Dennis and 6-foot-7 junior forward Ryan Washingtonton.
Both were named to the PSAC pre-season first team.