Pictured Above: Senior Inside Linebacker Matt Wassel Enters the Lafayette Game Tied for Team Lead in Tackles with fellow senior linebacker Greg Hilliard - both have 14 tackles. (photo by Dave Saffran)

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Seahawks to Face Lafayette For Third Time Ever, First Meeting in 35 Years

Easton, PA - The Green & White will navigate the 73-mile West to Easton, PA on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 6:00 pm to meet Lafayatte of the Patriot League in the first meeting between the schools since 1979. Both teams enter the contest with 1-2 records.

Lafayette Leads All-Time Series 2-0
When the Seahawks and Leopards square off on Saturday, this will mark the third all-time meeting between the schools. On October 2, 1976, Lafayette posted a 44-21 victory. The teams met for a second time on November 30, 1979 and again the Leopards came away with the win, this time by a 21-3 count in what was the season finale for both teams.

October 2, 1976
Easton, PA
Lafayette 44, Wagner 21

November 30, 1979
Easton, PA
Lafayette 21, Wagner 3

Head Coaches In Two Previous Meetings
When Wagner and Lafayette met two times in the mid-1970's, Lafayette was coached in both games by Neil Putman, who in 10 seasons, from 1971-1980,  posted a record of 44-55-3 (.446).

In the first meeting between the schools, in 1976, Wagner's head coach was Bob Hicks, who was in his 15th season of a 16-year Seahawk career that spanned from 1962-1977. The 1976 Seahawks went 2-7-1 while Lafayette went 5-5 that year.

Hicks was one of the most successful coaches in Wagner history, posting a 77-64 (.544) record, guiding the Seahawks to undefeated campaigns in 1964 (10-0) and 1967 (9-0), and was inducted to the Wagner Hall of Fame in 1992. His 1967 club captured the Lambert Trophy as the top team in the East. At the upcoming October 11 home game vs. Saint Francis U, Wagner will recognize and honor the 1964 team on the 50th anniversary of its special season. Regarded as  excellent developer of talent, Hicks coached former NFL Player and Eagles and Jets Head Coach Rich Kotite. A number of Hick's players were also selected All-American as well as All-East and his 77 victories are the second-most behind only current head coach Walt Hameline.

In the November 30, 1979 matchup, Wagner wss guided by Bill Russo, who was in the second year of this three-year tenure on Grymes Hill. The season-ending loss at Lafayette left the Seahawks with a 5-5 record while the victory gave the Leopards an identical final mark of 5-5.

Bill Russo's Wagner-Lafayette Connection
The name Bill Russo will ring familiar to long-time followers of Lafayette football. Prior to taking over as head coach of the Leopards in 1981, Russo spent three seasons (1978-1980) as head coach at Wagner., compiling a 15-15 (.500 record). After going 2-8 in Russo's first season of 1978, the Green & White improved to 5-5 in 1979. His top season was his third and final one at Wagner, when he guided the Seahawks to an 8-2 record. Russo's departure paved the way for his offensive line coach, Walt Hameline, to take over as head coach in 1981. Some 34 seasons later, Hameline remains at Wagner, as both athletic director and head coach. One of six active FC coaches with 200 or more wins, Hameline enter's Saturday's tilt vs. Lafayatte with a career record of 217-137-2.

Bill Russo at Wagner
1978    2-8
1979    5-5
1980    8-2
           15-15

Following his three seasons at Wagner, Russo went on to coach 19 seasons at Lafayette, compiling a record of 103-98-4 (.512) spanning 1981-1999.

Wagner All-time History vs. Patriot league (13-8)
The Seahawks boast an all-time record of 13-8 vs. teams that currently comprise the Patriot Football League, including the 21-3 season-opening win at Georgetown on August 30. Of the seven current members of the Patriot League, the Seahawks have played five.

The most noteworthy win over a Patriot League opponent came on November 24, 2012 when NEC Champion Wagner hosted Patriot League Champion Colgate in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs. History was made that day, as Wagner came away with a 31-20 triumph in becoming the first NEC team to ever win an NCAA FCS Playoff game.

Two weeks earlier, the Seahawks posted a thrilling 31-30 come-from-behind win over Holy Cross in the first-ever meeting between the schools.
 
Team                Record    Last Meeting
Bucknell            0-0                N/A
Colgate             1-0                11/24/12: NCAA FCS 1st Rd. Playoffs: Wagner 31, Colgate 20
Fordham           8-3               11/28/87: Wagner 21, Fordham 0
Georgetown     3-3                8/31014: Wagner 21, Georgetown 3
Holy Cross       1-0                11/10/12: Wagner 31, Holy Cross 30
Lafayette           0-2                11/10/79: Lafayette 21, Wagner 3
Lehigh               0-0                N/A
                          13-8

Lafayette 1-1 This Season vs. NEC Foes
Lafayette has already played two Northeast Conference opponents, dropping a 27-14 season opener at Sacred Heart on August 30 before routing Robert Morris 50-3 on September 13.

Road Warriors
The Lafayette game ends a four-game road stretch to open the 2014 season for the Seahawks as Wagner hosts NCAA Division II Alderson Broaddus on October 4  at 6:00 p.m. (Hall of Fame Induction weekend). The 2014 NEC opener against Saint Francis U will be the following week (Oct. 11) as the undefeated 1964 team is honored on its 50th anniversary.

Wagner's six-game NEC slate also includes home games against defending champion Sacred Heart and Duquesne, and road games against Central Connecticut State, Robert Morris and Bryant.

About the Seahawks
Wagner enter the Lafayette game with a record of 1-2, coming off a bye week. The Green & White last played on Sept. 13, falling  21-16 at former NEC and current Big South foe Monmouth.

• Wagner returns seven starters on each side of the ball for the 2014 season after finishing tied for 6th in the NEC with a 3-8 record last year.

• Senior QB Brian Gehring is 46-of-77 for 456 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. His favorite target, senior WR Ralph Greene, has nine catches for 118 yards. Gehring and Greene were high school teammates as well in Tigard, Ore.

• Junior RB Otis Wright, who sat out the Monmouth game with a leg injury, leads the Seahawks' ground attack, carrying 32 times for 102 yards and two scores on the season. His backup is sophomore RB Matthias McKinnon (22 carries for 86 yards).

• Defensively, senior LB Greg Hilliard leads the team with 14 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. Against Monmouth, senior DT Al Page, a transfer from Rutgers, recorded six tackles, including three tackles for loss and one sack.

Walt Hameline 5th Among ACTIVE FCS Coaches in Career Victories
1. Al Bagnoli, Penn.........................................    237
2. Rob Ash, Montana St. ...............................    235
3. Andy Talley, Villanova ..................................  233
4. Jimmye Laycock, William & Mary ............   225
5. WALT HAMELINE, WAGNER..................       217
6. Joe Glenn, South Dakota...........................  194
7. Mike Ayers, Wofford ...................................   188
8. K.C. Keeler, Sam Houston St..................... 174
9 Tim Murphy, Harvard .................................     170
10. Rick Comegy, Jackson St. .......................  164
(Through game of 9/20/14)

Walt Hameline on the Matchup vs. Lafayette
"We're going to have to be able to run the ball a little bit, control the clock on the offensive side of the ball and if we do get into the red zone we have to put some points up. Defensively, we have to stop the run against Lafayette without question. And the special teams side of it, I think they do a good job on special teams and I think that'll be a battle that we'll have to win if we're going to win this particular football game."

Seahawk Plusses and Minuses - Team
Wagner enters the Lafayette game ranked Ranked No. 1 in the NEC in three categories:

Time of Possession        33:10 per game
PAT Kicking                        14-14    1.000
Kickoff Coverage               41.6 net average

Conversely, the Seahawks are ranked 7th in the NEC in three categories:

Scoring Offense                13.3
First Downs                        48
4th-Down Conversions    0.00 (0-3)

About the Leopards
Last time out, on September 20, No. 13 William and Mary scored 24 unanswered points to rally for a 33-19 win over Lafayette. Tribe QB Steve Cluley was the difference maker in the second half. After being held to minus-10 rushing yards in the first half, Cluley carved his way through the Lafayette defense after intermission, finishing with 87 rushing yards and two running scores. Cluley also completed a four-yard TD pass to start the decisive third quarter. The Leopards' kicking game left points on the board in the first half, missing one PAT and having another blocked and returned for a defensive two-point conversion while also missing a 29-yard field goal early in the second quarter. With 160 rushing yards at William and Mary, senior RB Ross Scheuerman moved into fifth place for career rushing yards. Scheuerman has 2,709 career yards and recently passed Ryan Priest '87 (2,597 yards). Scheuerman needs 228 yards to eclipse Tom Costello '91 (2,936) and could advance as high as third all-time with a healthy senior season. Scheuerman has led the team in rushing the past three seasons and carried for 1,113 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2013 as the first player since 2006 to rush for 1,000 yards.

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