Staten Island, NY – Wagner and Lafayette square off on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. on Homecoming at Hameline Field with both teams in search of their first win of the 2015 season. This contest will be televised live on RCN in the Lehigh Valley, and also available via satellite, and online at espn3.com and necfrontrow.com.

Fourth All-Time Meeting, First On Grymes Hill
The matchup with the Leopards of the Patriot League will mark the fourth all-time meeting between the schools and first-ever on Staten Island. On October 2, 1976, Lafayette posted a 44-21 home victory. The teams met for a second time in Easton, PA 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. Some 35 years, later, Wagner and Lafayette reconnected on September 27, 2014, with the Leopards posting a 35-23 home win.

Two Teams Searching For Victory
Both Wagner (0-2) and Lafayette (0-3) will be going after their first win of the season on Saturday after facing top competition in the early-going of 2015. The Seahawks opened the 2015 campaign with a 56-16 loss at Rice on Sept. 5. Following a bye week, Wagner dropped a 31-16 home decision to local rival Monmouth on Sept. 19. The Leopards, meanwhile, are 0-3 on the young season, having lost to at home to William & Mary on Sept. 5 (34-7), at Delaware on Sept. 12 (19-9) and at home to Princeton on Sept. 19 (40-7).

The Coaches
Jason Houghtaling (say it Ho-tail-ling) is in his first season as the head coach of the Seahawks, taking over for 34-year head coach Walt Hameline, who announced last November that he would be stepping down while remaining as Seahawk athletic director. Houghtaling was the Seahawks' associate head coach and offensive coordinator last season and has spent seven years as a Wagner assistant. In his last three years as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks amassed a 16-6 NEC record with league titles in two of the last three seasons. In 2014, the Seahawks' offense ranked No. 4 nationally in time of possession and did not commit a turnover in the last three games of the season.

Frank Tavani is in his 16th season as head coach and 29th on the Lafayette coaching staff. Since taking over the head coaching reins in December 1999, Tavani has accumulated the second-most coaching wins in Lafayette history and holds an 81-91 mark through 15 seasons at Lafayette. From 2004 through 2009, the Leopards spent time in the Top 25 each season and were the only Patriot League program to boast a winning record in every regular season during that span. During this run, Lafayette boasted a 26-10 Patriot League record. Lafayette won three consecutive Patriot League championships from 2004 to 2006 and finished a game out of the title hunt in 2009.

Homecoming
Annually at Homecoming, two Seahawks are selected to receive special awards for outstanding play with the James Robb Memorial Trophy presented to the outstanding offensive player, while the Nick Lia Memorial Trophy is awarded to the Seahawks' outstanding defensive player. Established in 1949, the Robb Trophy was named in memory of James Robb, a Seahawk gridiron star who was killed in action during World War II. It was presented to Wagner's outstanding individual player in the annual homecoming game until 1969. In that season, the Lia Trophy was introduced in honor of another Wagner football player, Nick Lia. The 1965 recipient of the Robb Trophy was killed in the Vietnam War. An outstanding defensive player and team captain, the Staten Island native was a graduate of Curtis High School. In 2000, Lt. Nick Lia was honored for his athletic achievements by being inducted into the Wagner College Athletics Hall of Fame. Lia helped lead the 1964 football team to an undefeated season and captained the '65 team. This year's winners, as selected by an alumni panel, will be announced at the end of this season's Homecoming contest. Each recipient receives an award and his name is added to the standing trophies which will be on display in the Hall of Fame Room in the Spiro Sports Center.

Wagner Last Time Out
Wagner dropped a 31-16 decision to Monmouth in the 2015 home opener on September 19 at Hameline Field. The Seahawks, who had a bye the previous week following a season-opening loss at Football Bowl Championship (FBS) Rice on September 5, fall to 0-2 while the Hawks improve to 1-2 on the season. Wagner's first touchdown came on an 83-yard fourth-quarter kickoff return by senior Otis Wright (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Dillard). For the speedy 5-10, 180-pound Wright, it was his third career kickoff return for a touchdown. The electrifying return by Wright cut the deficit to 31-10. Senior quarterback Chris Andrews (Queens, NY/St. Joseph's/Valley Forge) was Wagner's leading rusher with 11 carries for 64 yards while Wright finished with 57 yards on the ground on 12 carries. Through the air, the mobile, left-handed Andrews completed 11-of-20 passes for 112 yards. Sophomore quarterback Alex Thomson (Keyport, NJ/Keyport) came on late in the game and led Wagner on a sharp eight play, 69-yard drive in 1:37, which capped by the 6-4, 220-pounder's second career touchdown pass, a four-yard score to fifth-year senior wide receiver Anthony Carrington (Toms River, NJ/Toms River North)with 49 seconds remaining in the game.The two-point try failed, which crafted the final score at 31-16. On the drive, Thomson completed 5-of-6 passes for 62 yards with a long completion of 29 yards to junior wide receiver Lloyd Smith (Willingboro, NJ/Valley Forge). Thomson also showed good speed in rushing the ball two times for 16 yards. For the Wagner defense, senior linebackers Stephon Font-Toomer (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) and Greg Hilliard (Brockton, MA/Suffield Academy/UMass) paced the Seahawks with six tackles apiece. Monmouth quarterback Cody Williams completed 23-of-34 passes for 243 yards ith his favorite target being wide receiver Darren Ambush who wound up with seven receptions for 117 yards. Hawks' running back Lavon Chaney tallied a team-high 66 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Lafayette Last Time Out
Princeton racked up 573 offensive yards while handing Lafayette a 40-7 loss at Fisher Stadium. The Leopards never found their offensive stride, rushing for 58 yards on the night before finally getting on the scoreboard late in the fourth quarter. Tackling was an issue early on, as Princeton rushed for 137 yards en route to 23 first-half points. The most telling stat was third-down conversions with Princeton converting 14-of-18 (77.7) while the Leopards managed 5-of-14 (35.7%). Princeton ran 20 more offensive plays than Lafayette while time of possession was even. Lafayette head coach Frank Tavani has pointed to junior punter Ryan Forrester and sophomore long snapper Michael Shiffert as two of the more consistent performers for the Leopards in the early going. Forrester has punted 17 times for 37.9 yards. The height and placement of his punts have resulted in just six returns. There isn't a stat to quantify Shiffert's contribution, but the fact that his name hasn't been called, other than for a special teams tackle, speaks volumes about his play.

Bill Russo's Wagner-Lafayette Connection
The name Bill Russo is intrinsically intertwined between Wagner and 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. Now in his 33rd years as Wagner athletic director, Hameline stepped down as head coach after 34 seasons in which he compiled a 216-135-2 record (.615). Russo, meanwhile, served as Lafayette head coach from 1981-1999 (118-113) before Tavani took over for the 2000 season. Hameline's successor is Jason Houghtaling, former longtime Seahawk assistant, offensive coordinator and associate head coach. A 2004 Binghamton graduate, Jason Houghtaling began his collegiate career at Lafayette in 1999. The coach that recruited him? Bill Russo.

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