Kyle Nolan (#13) completed 20 passes for 185 yards |
New head coach. Same results. The Georgetown Hoyas ushered in the Rob Sgarlata era with a relative thud, falling to NEC rival the Wagner Seahawks 21-3 in front of a crowd of 1981 at Multi-Sport Field. The visitors outgained the Hoyas on the ground by a whopping 167-19 margin, and dominated time of possession (35:43) on their way to a second straight opening day victory.
Seahawks senior QB Brian Gehring completed 13 of 19 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, out-dueling his Hoyas' counterpart Kyle Nolan (20-41, 185 yards, 0 TDs.) The Hoyas struggled to get their running game in motion, opting to pass on 45 of their 63 offensive snaps. Junior RB Jo'el Kimpela led Georgetown with 10 yards on 7 carries. That kind of production isn't going to win you many games (if any.) Sgarlata's speciality is defense; but he has to fix this sooner (at Dayton, this Saturday) than later.
DL Alec May (#90) lays the boom on Wagner's Brian Gehring |
The Hoyas' defensive effort was comparatively better. They held Wagner to a paltry 3.2 YPC on the ground; and came up with a huge interception (Garrett Powers) midway through the second quarter, that prevented an early two-score deficit. Senior lineman Alec May took a huge step towards first team All-Patriot League honors this season, accounting for two sacks and nine tackles.
Brian Gehring tosses a 20-yard TD pass to Anthony Carrington |
The first half stumbled along for the home team... three false starts, numerous high snaps from center, in addition to 17 and 19-yard punts (back-to-back) from Harry McCollum before the Hoyas made some noise just before halftime. Henry Darmstadter took advantage of an offsides penalty on a 40-yard missed field goal, regaining his composure to connect on a 35-yarder to cut Wagner's lead to 7-3.
Tough day for Hoyas RB Jo'el Kimpela (#22) |
Down only four to start the third quarter, the Hoyas D held Wagner to a three-and-out; but Nolan & co. returned the favor, then watched helplessly as the Seahawks drove 67 yards in just over 2½ minutes. Otis Wright (23-74-2 TDs) converted his fifth straight carry for a three-yard touchdown; and just like that, the Hoyas were down 14-3.
Kyle Nolan connects with TE Matthew Buckman (#88) |
Sophomore QB Tim Barnes relieved Nolan for the next series, scampering 8 yards for a first down; but a two-yard loss and two incompletions led to yet another (seven total) McCollum punt. Less than five minutes later, Wright was on the scoreboard again... this time from five yards out. Wagner led 21-3, and never looked back.
K Henry Darmstadter (#38) nails a 35-yard field goal |
The Hoyas travel to Dayton this weekend, where they'll face an experienced Flyers team that went 7-4 last season: Dayton returns 11 starters from that team, including seven on offense. After that, Georgetown visits Marist before returning home to host Brown on Saturday, September 20th at noon. Click here to purchase tickets ($10, $5 for children 3-17) online.
Click here for yesterday's box score.