476 days after beating Lehigh, Leopards finally have another contest to play
When Lafayette takes the field against Colgate at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at Fisher Stadium, it will be 68 weeks or 476 days to the moment that the Leopards ended the 2019 season with a 17-16 win over Lehigh at Goodman Stadium.
The world has changed in so many ways since Jeffrey Kordenbrock kicked his game-winning 28-yard field goal to beat the Mountain Hawks.
But one thing hasn’t changed, and that’s the desire and passion of college football players to play the game they love.
That’s why you can expect a lot of intensity and emotion when the Leopards
begin this unprecedented fourgame Patriot League season, even if most sports fans associate this month with a very different of kind of March madness.
“This is a great opportunity for us,” said senior linebacker Major Jordan from North Schuylkill. “Watching all of the colleges in the fall and watching plenty of high school teams be able to do it was kind of devastating. But now it’s our turn and we get to embrace the challenge.”
Jordan said the Leopards will approach this abbreviated season with the same mindset they would have for an opener on Labor Day weekend.
“We have the same mindset, the same goals,” Jordan said. “We want to win the day and beat Lehigh. That hasn’t changed.
“That’s how this team has taken it and that’s how we’re moving forward.”
After playing Colgate, Lafayette travels to Bucknell and Fordham before returning home for the 156th meeting with Lehigh.
The six participating Patriot League teams — Georgetown has opted out — are separated into three-team divisions. Lafayette is in the South with Bucknell and Lehigh.
The division winner will play the North champ for the Patriot League title on April 17 with the chance of advancing to the FCS tournament.
A championship would be great, but the focus is on just getting back to the game the student-athletes came to College Hill for.
“It is just thrilling to be back on the field and being able to actually tackle and have contact,” said senior defensive back Otis Thrasher. “It’s like a lot of people say: You don’t really know what you have until you lose it.
“We didn’t have it for a fall semester and spring ball, and it just feels like you’ve lost a part of yourself. To be back at practice and work hard with your brothers feels great.”
While the win over Lehigh was a breakthrough for the program and capped a 4-1 record down the stretch, Lafayette still finished 4-8 overall in 2019.
Even though nearly 16 months have gone by, the Leopards are hoping to build on what they had started, albeit with different pieces.
“I’ve said it before, but you have to put the team back together every year,” Leopards coach John Garrett said. “It’s never the same team.
“I love when people say they have seven or eight returning starters, but they are not even the same guys. They’re a year older, they have different roles, they’re bigger and stronger hopefully, they may have to play a different position. So the teams are never the same.”
One thing that’s not the same about Lafayette is the starting quarterback. Keegan Shoemaker, who led the game-winning drive at Lehigh and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year in 2019, has transferred to Sam Houston State, where he’ll play for Emmaus native K.C. Keeler.
As for who will start at QB for Lafayette, Garrett didn’t commit during an online news conference earlier this week.
“We like our quarterback situation,” he said. “We’ve got some guys that can play, we’ve got some guys with experience and we’ve got some guys with talent. They’ve all shown they’re capable of going in. We’ll see who plays.”
The roster guessing game is part of college football these days, said Garrett.
“The NCAA has decided it’s going to do a transfer portal, so there’s going to be changes,” the fourth-year coach said. “We’ve allowed it so you can transfer for no reason. Plus, there’s COVID and all the different ways that affects the roster.
“We’re in a period in all sports that there’s more ways for your roster to be depleted, without knowing, than ever before. Every sport will go into the start of its season not knowing who’s going to show up on the first day because there are no limits to it.”
Lafayette was picked to finish fourth in the league in a preseason poll and Malik Hamm, a junior defensive lineman, was selected the preseason defensive player of the year.
Hamm, Kordenbrock, running back Selwyn Simpson and H-back Zadok Scott all earned preseason recognition.
While acknowledging the vast amount of challenges the team has had to overcome and persevere through, Garrett has liked what he has seen from his squad since he had its first practice a month ago.
“They’re playing with such great energy,” he said. “I’m proud of how our team has adjusted and embraced these challenges. I can’t believe it’s game week. We’re excited.”
Two tickets will be distributed to each Lafayette player and coach and there will limited alumni allowed in. There will be no tickets available to the general public, but the game can be viewed on numerous outlets, including RCN4 and WBPH60 locally and SNY, and NBC Sports Philadelphia.