Sept. 15, 2007

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GALLERY

Washington, D.C. - When it was all over, Georgetown University Head Football Coach Kevin Kelly said that he had a knot in his stomach. The knot came from the fact that his Hoya team had close so close to not only picking up their first win of the season, but to pulling off a win over the defending Ivy League Champions and a team ranked among the top-25 in the country.

In the end, however, No. 21 Yale picked up 157 yards on the ground and four touchdowns from junior Mike McLeod and the Bulldogs were able to escape the Multi-Sport Field on the Hilltop with a 28-14 win that was much closer than the score indicates.

"As I told the kids, I've got a knot in my stomach right now because I thought they played their hearts out and I really thought we had a chance to win that ball game," Head Coach Kevin Kelly said. "I see a lot of positive things from this ball game. That team (Yale) is a good football team, they won the Ivy League and they're picked in the top-25. I think we can win some football games. I told them that our next game is at Holy Cross and we've got to take it from there."

The Bulldogs led 14-7 at the half and added McLeod scoring runs in the third and fourth quarters, but had to hold off a pair of Georgetown drives in order to escape with the 28-14 win.

A sellout crowd of 2,674 was on hand for this first meeting between Yale and Georgetown, football programs that have history dating back to the late 19th century.

The Hoyas won the opening coin toss and received the ball, but punted after three plays. Yale promptly moved the ball 60 yards on six plays in a quick 1:52, taking a 7-0 lead when McLeod ran it in from nine yards out. Yale quarterback Matt Polhemus threw a 16-yard pass to McLeod on the opening play of the drive, McLeod ran for three and then sophomore John Sheffield took a 20-yard pass, moving the Bulldogs to the 21-yard line. McLeod carried once for 12 yards and then again for nine yards to cap the drive.

Georgetown would take the ball again twice in the quarter, but both times could not put together a drive. The Yale lead grew to 14-0 after the Hoyas punted for the third time. Taking over at their own 25-yard line, McLeod scored from one-yard out with 3:06 to play, capping an eight-play, 75-yard drive.

Early in the second quarter, the Hoya offense came to life. Taking the ball over at their own 32-yard line, senior quarterback Matt Bassuener (Port Edwards, Wis./Port Edwards) engineered a 12-play, 68-yard drive that was capped by a 10-yard scoring pass to freshman Mychal Harrison (Atlanta, Ga./Westlake). On the drive, Bassuener completed 5-of-5 passes for 28 yards, including a 12-yard completion to senior Kyle Van Fleet (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock). Sophomore Charlie Houghton (Toronto, Ontario/St. Michael's) had four carries for 18 yards as well.

Yale marched to the Georgetown 14-yard line on the next drive, taking 5:20 off the clock, but a 31-yard field goal from Alan Kimball went wide left, giving the Hoyas the ball on the 20-yard line. Bassuener threw an eight-yard pass to Harrison and Houghton ran for three yards for a first down. After an incomplete pass, Bassuener threw a seven-yard pass to sophomore Rick Cosgrove (Chalfont, Pa./LaSalle College H.S.) to set up a big third-and-three. The senior signal called from Wisconsin found Cosgrove across the middle for 21 yards as the Hoyas moved to the Yale 41. After a six-yard run from Houghton, Bassuener found senior Brent Craft (Jupiter, Fla./The Benjamin School) racing down the near sideline and hit him for a 25-yard gain, putting the Hoyas on the three-yard line. A pair of attempts, however, were stopped by Yale as the Bulldogs went into the half with a 14-7 lead.

Like they did at the start of the game, the Bulldogs came out strong and went 64 yards on 11 plays over 4:22 to take a 21-7 lead on a one-yard run from McLeod. The Hoyas, however, responded with a long drive and were on the doorstep to pull within 21-14. Taking over the their own 26-yard line, Bassuener led the Hoyas on a 15-play, 73 yard drive and were on the Yale eight-yard line after a seven-yard run from Houghton. Bassuener completed a four-yard pass to Harrison and Van Fleet ran for three yards on the next play, but the Hoyas were stopped on third and fourth down, respectively, and Yale took over on downs.

After trading punts, the Blue and Gray pulled to within 21-14 when Bassuener completed a seven-yard pass to junior Anthony Homsey (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) early in the fourth quarter. Houghton carried the ball four times for 30 yards on the drive, while Bassuener threw three passes to Harrison for 14 yards.

Yale, however, responded quickly. Taking over at their own 42-yard line after a 28-yard kick return from Reid Lathan, McLeod carried the ball six times for 36 yards, capping off an eight-play drive with a 14-yard scoring run, giving the Bulldogs a 28-14 lead with just over two minutes left to play.

Bassuener finished the day completing 27-of-37 passes for 181 yards with two touchdown passes and carried the ball nine times for 35 yards. Houghton, the 2006 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, had 19 carries for 98 yards, while Harrison finished with 12 receptions for 70 yards and returned one kickoff 44 yards. Van Fleet had eight carries for 52 yards and caught four passes for 27 yards.

Georgetown gained a season-high 191 yards rushing and finished with 372 yards in total offense, while Yale had 205 yards on the ground and 398 yards in total offense.

Sophomore Travis Mack (West Chester, Pa./The Hill School) and sophomore Chris Rau (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) Georgetown hits the road next week, returning to Patriot League play with a game at Holy Cross on Saturday, September 22. Kickoff at Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass. is slated for 1 p.m.