In their final game of the season and on Senior Day, the Georgetown football team (5-6, 2-3 Patriot League) failed in their attempt for consecutive winning seasons, as they lost in blowout fashion to Jesuit rival Holy Cross (2-9, 2-3 Patriot League) 24-0.

The Crusaders dominated the Hoyas throughout the game, especially on defense, as they held the Hoyas to just 196 yards of total offense. The Hoyas punted on 11 of their 13 possessions and never crossed the Crusaders’ 35-yard line.

“It’s kind of an understatement to say that they took it to us,” said Head Coach Kevin Kelly. “It wasn’t a very good day for the Hoyas.”

Once again the Hoyas played musical chairs at quarterback, giving junior Aaron Aiken, sophomore Stephen Skon, and freshman Cameron MacPherson snaps under the center in an effort to provide a spark to a struggling offense that only gained 96 yards through the air.

In contrast, the Holy Cross quarterback platoon of Ryan Laughlin and Steven Elder was very effective for the methodical Crusader offense, which possessed the ball for 34:14 of the game. Laughlin completed 12-of-15 passes with 1 touchdown pass, while Elder matched the touchdown output, completing 7-of 10 passes in the process. Holy Cross wide receiver Gerald Mistretta also had three touchdowns on the day, two receiving and one rushing.

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After a disappointing 36-57 loss against Colgate (4-3, 2-0 Patriot League) where they allowed 707 total yards of offense, the Georgetown football team (3-5, 0-2 Patriot League) looks to bounce back in this Saturday’s game on the road against the Lafayette Leopards (5-2, 1-1 Patriot League) in Easton, Pa. at 6 p.m.

“By no means are we pleased with the final result against Colgate,” said Head Coach Kevin Kelly. “Defensively we had a poor performance. We did some real nice things on offense and we hope to build on that going into another tough opponent against Lafayette.”

The Hoyas will look to focus all their energy now on the Leopards, who have won their last two games against Yale and Holy Cross, 20-10 and 30-13 respectively.  Lafayette will have vengeance on their minds this Saturday as Georgetown has won the last two meetings between these two teams by a combined seven points.

“Lafayette is a very a talented, well-coached football team,” said Kelly. “I’m sure a lot of the guys on their team have a big red circle on this date since we’ve come out on top in our last two meetings. This will be a big game for us and our guys will be excited to play up there on Saturday.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Leopards are led by senior quarterback Andrew Shoop, who has completed 63.3 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and two interceptions heading into Saturday’s matchup against the Hoyas. Shoop’s favorite receiving target is junior wide receiver Mark Ross who has a team-leading 46 receptions.

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Yean Do reminds us that the colder weather is not necessarily a bad thing. The beauty of dying flora offsets the early onset of sweater season.

With fall we also receive the joys of football, though Patrick Curran dampens the excitement by pointing out the recent NFL referee kerfuffle.

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Junior kicker Matt MacZura is making a habit of coming up clutch for the Hoyas. His 33-yard field goal with 14 seconds left clinched the Hoyas’ third win of 2012 last night, as Georgetown (3-1) defeated Princeton (0-2) 21-20 in front of a national television audience on ESPNU.

For MacZura, in his first year as a placekicker, Friday night marks the second time this season he’s come up clutch, having sealed the Hoyas’ home opener against Wagner two weeks ago in similar fashion. There’s also a valid argument that he should have had a similar opportunity last week against Yale, before an aggressive passing play led to an interception in the end zone, dooming the Hoyas.

But for MacZura and the rest of the Hoyas, there really was never a doubt once the junior stepped in for that final attempt. “I kind of knew we were going to make it,” MacZura said with a laugh. “I don’t know if it ever becomes old habit, but [the Wagner field goal] it makes the next one a little easier.”

I knew he was going to make it,” added Head Coach Kevin Kelly. “I told him before he went out, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’re going to make it, they don’t have any timeouts and can’t ice you, just like practice.’”

Despite the victory, the final result belies the adversity Georgetown faced in its comeback. The Hoyas found themselves in a 14-3 hole early in the second quarter, unable to stop a steady dose of sophomore Will Powers. But up to that point, their offense was able to move the ball downfield, with junior quarterback Aaron Aiken completing eight of nine passes for 68 yards. Then, Aiken hurt his ankle on a sack.

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Georgetown (2-0, 0-0 Patriot League) won its home opener against Wagner (0-2), 13-10, on Saturday. Junior kicker Matt MacZura paced the Hoyas, knocking through the game-winning 35-yard field goal with one minute and 42 seconds left.

Wagner started out on fire by driving 66 yards and scoring on a passing touchdown to make the score 7-0.

“I think we came out a little flat.  I don’t think we were ready to play,” senior linebacker Rob McCabe said. “After that, we corrected it real fast.  We knew this game was going to be on the defense.”

The Hoyas used its rushing attack to answer back on the next possession.  MacZura finished the drive with the first of his field goals, a 21-yarder that made it 7-3. The junior has punted for the Hoyas since he stepped on campus as a freshman, but his two field goals on the day were the first of his collegiate career.

Georgetown and Wagner went back and forth, but no one could score again until the end of third quarter.  The Hoyas were able to pin Seahawks inside their own one-yard line, forcing Wagner to punt from inside its own end zone. Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Macari returned the ensuing punt to the Wagner 12-yard line. On third down, junior quarterback Aaron Aiken ran the ball into the end zone from 12 yards out, tying the game at 10-10.

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At yesterday’s Patriot League media day, the Hoyas were at the forefront of the preseason awards. Senior linebacker Rob McCabe was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year for the Hoyas, following a junior season that saw him break the school record for tackles with 134.

In the process, McCabe was also named to the league’s first All-Preseason Team, along with senior Jeremy Moore (named twice at cornerback and return specialist) and sophomore left guard Mike Roland.

McCabe’s announcement marks the first such major preseason accolade for Georgetown since the Blue and Gray joined the Patriot League back in 2001. For him and Moore, the day marks a continuation of numerous preseason accolades. Both players have earned a reputation as elite players with a humble disposition, tending to defer their individual honors to their teammates and Head Coach Kevin Kelly.

“I think any defensive player will tell you there are no individual awards on the defensive side,” McCabe said in a statement. “It takes 11 guys, especially our front seven who do a great job, making it easy to run around and make plays.”

Roland earns the award after a stellar freshman season, where he cracked the startling offensive line at left guard and played there for seven games. He returns to his position as the youngest member of one of the most stable offensive lines in the conference.

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Though Hoyas have been done with finals for over a month now, athletes on the sailing and track and field teams did not get a break. This past weekend, both teams finally concluded their respective seasons with historic wins.

Sailing

Georgetown’s sailing team traveled to Austin, Texas for the ICSA/GILL Coed Dinghy National Championship. With their strong season to date, it was no surprise when the team came away with the national title. The Hoyas finished the event 32 points ahead of their closest competitor in Roger Williams University, while also beating out traditional powerhouses Yale and Harvard.

Mike Callahan, Georgetown’s head coach, lauded his team’s approach throughout the weekend. “Georgetown approached each day of the event like three different regattas. The sailors started each day fresh and did not worry about other teams, they just focused on their own sailing”.

Adding to the team’s list of accomplishments, junior Chris Barnard was awarded the Everett B. Morris Trophy for College Sailor of the Year.

More on Track and Field, football after the jump!

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UPDATE: The Patriot League has released statements from the presidents of all of its football schools, including DeGioia’s:

“Georgetown offers 29 varsity sports and is committed to Division I football as part of its broadbased approach to intercollegiate athletics. Since 2001, Georgetown has been committed to competing in the sport of football as an associate member of the Patriot League.  This has allowed the University to compete with institutions that shared the same academic values and need-based financial aid philosophy.

“Georgetown will continue its membership in the Patriot League in the sport of football and explore all of its options, including our ability to compete as a need-based aid program.  We remain committed to our goal of providing our student athletes with an unparalleled academic experience and an athletically competitive football program.”

ORIGINAL POST: Today, the Patriot League announced that it will allow its member schools to begin to offer football scholarships for the first time. The conference already allows its schools to offer scholarships in all other sports.

The change in policy resolves the quandary created by Fordham’s decision to offer football scholarships, beginning with the class that enrolled in 2010. As a result, Fordham has been ineligible for the league championship game for the past two seasons and none of its games against conference opponents counted toward league standings.

According to a statement from the league’s Council of Presidents,

Starting with the class entering school in the fall of 2013, each school will be permitted to award no more than the equivalent of 15 athletic financial aid awards each year to incoming football student-athletes, including transfer student-athletes. The total amount of all countable financial aid awarded to all football student-athletes may not exceed 60 equivalencies in any year.

Georgetown University is one of the league’s seven football-playing members, but it has not supported moving to scholarships. ”I am not supportive of moving to a scholarship program. I don’t believe that fits the ethos and the culture of Georgetown,” University President John J. DeGioia said in August. DeGioia’s full statement on scholarships is available below.

This fundamental shift in the nature of the Patriot League comes after Georgetown football’s first winning season since 1999. In November, head coach Kevin Kelly said, “No one will ever forget this football team. They might not realize it today, but someday they will understand it. We have to celebrate this season.”

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Update, 7:45 p.m., January 11: In a statement, Kelly withdrew his name from consideration for the position:

I’m flattered to have been considered for the position, but have decided to withdraw my name from consideration and will remain at Georgetown. We are coming off of our best season since I’ve been here and with a tremendous group of young men returning, I look forward to continuing to build this program and compete for a Patriot League Championship in 2012. My family and I enjoy being a part of the Georgetown community and we love living in Washington, D.C. We really want to finish what we’ve started here at Georgetown.

Original post: Kevin Kelly, Georgetown’s head coach since 2006 and reigning Patriot League Coach of the Year, is reportedly one of the top candidates to fill the vacant head coaching position at Yale University. Yesterday, the Hartford Courant reported that Don Brown, defensive coordinator at the University of Connecticut, had been offered the position but turned it down.

According to the Yale Daily News, Kelly’s remaining competitors for the position are Dave Cecchini, currently Lehigh’s offensive coordinator, Harvard assistant coach Tony Reno, and former UCLA head coach Karl Dorell. Because the upcoming holiday weekend is expected to be a crucial recruiting weekend for Yale, both the Courant and the New Haven Register expect a new head coach to be announced by the end of this week.

Though Georgetown’s football program may not be as prestigious as those of his competitors for the position, he does have some things going for him. Of those being considered, he is the only current head coach with experience recruiting in the Northeast. His time at Georgetown also prepares him well for the academically rigorous environment of Yale, an aspect of the position that Yale Athletic Director Tom Beckett has highlighted.

“We are looking for an extraordinary leader with great communication skills who is an excellent teacher, who understands the Yale community, understands the academic rigor of Yale and the passion of student athletes,” Beckett told the Yale Daily News.

Last season, Kelly led Georgetown to its best record since 1999. Finishing 8-3, the Hoyas doubled their win total from the 2010 season and would have made the Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs had they beat Lehigh in the final game of the season. Under Kelly’s award-winning leadership, the Hoyas finished 15th in the FCS in scoring defense, and the offense was a model of efficiency, scoring on 92 percent of its red zone opportunities, good for third in the nation. Kelly was also named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson FCS National Coach of the Year award.

Photo: Matthew Funk

Georgetown’s football season may have ended with a disappointing 34-12 loss to Lehigh, but that hasn’t stopped the Hoyas from continuing their new-found winning ways. The Patriot League announced its post-season awards yesterday, naming Hoya defensive end Andrew Schaetzke Defensive Player of the Year and head coach Kevin Kelly Coach of the Year.

Expectations were high for Schaetzke this season after being named to the Patriot League First Team last season, and the senior didn’t disappoint. Schaetzke anchored the stout Hoya defense, leading the Patriot League with 22.5 tackles for a loss and 13 sacks. He finished his career with 30.5 sacks, good for second all-time at Georgetown. The defensive end also had three forced fumbles and an interception on the season.

Kelly, who entered his sixth season at the helm of the Hoyas with a 9-45 record, earned Coach of the Year honors by leading Georgetown to its best record since 1999. The 8-3 Hoyas doubled their win total from last season and would have made the Division I Football Championship Subdivision playoffs had they beat Lehigh. Kelly helped Georgetown realize major improvements on both side of the ball–the Hoyas finished 15th in FCS in scoring defense, and the offense was a model of efficiency, scoring on 92 percent of its red zone opportunities, good for third in the nation.

Both Schaetzke and Kelly will have the opportunity to pick up more hardware, as they were named finalists for the Buck Buchanan FCS Defensive Player of the Year and Eddie Robinson FCS National Coach of the Year awards, respectively. Joining Schaetzke on the Patriot League first team defense are juniors Robert McCabe and Jeremy Moore, who also made the first team offense as a return specialist. Cornerback Jayah Kaisamba, running back Nick Campanella, offensive lineman Mike Roland, and kicker Brett Weiss all made the conference second team.