A victory over Lehigh means postseason berth The side benefits of playing football at Georgetown were clear Thursday morning. After practice, players swarmed the sideline as boxes of Girl Scout cookies were distributed.
“Seniors only!” scolded one of the young women who brought the treats to Multi-Sport Field.
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| Georgetown at Lehigh |
| When » Saturday, 12:30 p.m. |
| Where » Goodman Stadium, |
| Bethlehem, Pa. |
Defensive end Andrew Schaetzke arrived just in time to snag one of the few remaining boxes of Tagalongs, his reward for a season in which he leads the Patriot League in sacks (11) and tackles for a loss (20.5).
The work of Schaetzke and the Hoyas isn’t done yet. When Georgetown (8-2) travels to Lehigh (8-1) on Saturday, the Hoyas will try to win their first Patriot League title and advance to the FCS playoffs for the first time.
“They’re jacked up,” coach Kevin Kelly said. “My job now is to get them settled in, relaxed and go out there and play.”
The task is daunting. Defending conference champion Lehigh has beaten Georgetown 10 straight times since the Hoyas joined the Patriot League.
But the Hoyas have broken down several barriers this season, beating Colgate for the first time. Last week’s 30-13 victory over Fordham broke a five-game skid against the Rams.
“Going into every game, we know we can beat every team,” senior wideout Jeremiah Kayal said. “We didn’t always have that.”
It’s all heady stuff for a team that went 0-11 in 2009.
“It was really important for the guys from my class — I’m a senior — to pull through it,” quarterback Isaiah Kempf said.
Saturday will be a matchup of the offense of Lehigh (480 yards a game), which ranks first in the FCS, and the defense of Georgetown, which ranks ninth in points against (17.8).
Lehigh’s Chris Lum (341 passing yards a game) has thrown for more than twice as many touchdowns (30) as any quarterback in the conference. Wideouts Ryan Spadola (71 receptions, 1,215 yards, 10 TDs) and Jake Drwal (64 receptions, 732 yards, nine TDs) rank first and second in the league in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns.
