By Alex Clark’05
Hamilton, NY — º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ sophomore tailback rushed for a personal best 179 yards and three touchdowns, as the Raiders toppled visiting Georgetown, 44-22, at Andy Kerr Stadium.
º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ (8-3 overall, 5-1 in the Patriot League) remains in a first place tie with Fordham in the Patriot League standings with one game left in the regular season.
On a snowy day in Hamilton, the home team jumped out to a 7-0 lead 50 seconds into the second quarter and never looked back. º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ got on the board when fullback powered his way three yards into the end zone to cap an 11-play, 68-yard drive.
Following ‘s second interception of the season, the Raiders’ knocked home his 11th field goal of the season to extend the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ lead to 10-0 midway through the second quarter.
Schwarzberg finished the day with five extra points and a field goal, giving the sophomore a team-leading 66 points on the year setting the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ record for points in a season by a placekicker.
The Raiders cashed in on another turnover after a interception of a fake punt. º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ proceeded to march 63 yards on 10 plays, and LaMonica slipped through the Hoyas’ defense for 14 yards and the score to give the Raiders a 17-0 lead at the half.
º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½â€™s Mike Chrystie gave his team wonderful field position at the start of the second half, returning the kick to just short of midfield. The Raiders took advantage and traveled 51 yards on four plays. LaMonica’s second touchdown rush of the game made the score 24-0 and put him over the 100-yard mark for the fourth time in five games.
Georgetown finally got on the board when quarterback David Paulus launched a 33-yard touchdown strike to Luke McArdle, cutting the Raider lead to 24-7.
The º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ offense answered back when Polk capped a 67-yard, eight-play drive with his second touchdown carry of the game.
Georgetown’s William Huisking pounded a goal line rush past the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ defense to draw the Hoyas to within 21 with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Near the end of the third quarter, caught a 14-yard pass that pushed him over 1,000 yards receiving on the season. He became only the fourth receiver in Raider history to accomplish this feat. Graham finished the game with nine receptions for 113 yards.
The Raiders continued their rout when fullback powered ahead for two yards and a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Schwarzberg missed the extra point, marking the first time in 33 attempts that he failed to convert such a try.
Georgetown answered right back when Luke McArdle returned the ensuing º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ kickoff 84 yards to the Raider end zone. A successful two-point conversion put the Hoyas within two scores with over 10 minutes remaining in the game.
But º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ managed to kill time off of the clock and orchestrated an 11-play, 61-yard touchdown drive that put the game out of reach for the visitors.
LaMonica scored his third touchdown of the game on the drive, and the extra point helped the Raiders to double up the Hoyas 44-22. LaMonica kept busy throughout the game, rushing 36 times in the winning effort.
º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ had 491 yards of total offense while Georgetown managed 274. The Raiders held the Hoyas to 26 yards on the ground in 18 carries. It was the seventh time this season º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ held its opponent to under 100 yards rushing.