No one knows the sting of defeat more intimately than the seniors on the Georgetown football team. Over their four years on the Hilltop, they have seen five Hoya victories and suffered through 37 losses. To add insult to injury, this season has been the worst—the Hoyas have lost every game, and have amassed a 0-10 record.
This Saturday, on Senior Day on Multi-Sport Field, the Hoya seniors will have a chance against Fordham (4-6) to earn their first win of the season, in the last game of their careers.
“I mean, obviously we had a tough season. We’re looking for a win here to send the seniors off right and end the season well,” senior offensive lineman Richard Hussey said.
Hussey and the rest of the seniors have obviously been through a lot of losing—especially this season—but that has not changed the work ethic of the team.
“It’s a lot harder to keep a team together when you’re losing than it is when you’re winning,” Hussey said. “Winning cures all wounds. When you’re losing, it’s just tough to stay together. But our team has stayed together through everything. Still working hard, still grinding out these last practices.”
The last practices of the seniors’ careers are focused on stopping Fordham, a team that shut out the Hoyas 17-0 in last season’s finale. This season, Fordham has beaten both Old Dominion and Bucknell, two teams that defeated Georgetown earlier in the year.
Fordham is led by senior quarterback John Skelton and its prolific passing game. Skelton averages 330.3 yards passing a game and has thrown for 21 touchdowns on the year. When the Hoyas played other top Patriot League quarterbacks—like Holy Cross’ Dominic Randolph—the defense has been prone to give up yards in abundance.
But at the end of the day, the game will be about the seniors trying to get one more win to end their college football careers. The team, a group that Hussey describes as “a bunch of crazed dogs,” is excited to have one more game on their home turf.
“Last year we played up at Fordham [in the season finale],” Hussey said. “I feel like a lot of the seniors lost a few of the people that support them down here because they couldn’t make the trip up there. So it’s good we’re going to have our family here, all our fans, so it’s definitely important to play down here.”
With family, friends, and fans in attendance, the seniors will take the field for one last time. Most of them—if not every one—will not play the sport competitively again.
“It’s depressing,” Hussey said. “I’ve been playing since I was six years old. It’s a little sad, but you just have to play as hard as you can for the last one and try to go all for it.”
Although the losses have been tough, the Hoya seniors have bonded over the past four years. After Saturday, that bond on the field will be over. The Hoyas would like to end on something that has evaded them all season—a win.
“In years past, the classes have only been like 13, 14 guys,” Hussey said. “We have 22 seniors that are going to be graduating. We have a very strong bond. I feel like I’m best friends with each kid. We have an extremely strong bond and that’s why we’re hoping to get a win for all of us.”
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Multi-Sport Field.
