By Brian Bohl
Training camp is always a time for optimism. With the first real games weeks away, it’s easy for players to say they are primed for a breakout season. Every team is undefeated and in contention for a winning season in August.
Sitting in his office on the first day of summer practice, Dave Cohen said he expected his team to be more comfortable in the system he implemented in his rookie season. Entering his second year as the Pride head coach, Cohen was coming off a 2-9 campaign with a new quarterback, rebuilt offensive line and the loss of last season’s best player in receiver Shaine Smith.
Entering Week 1 against No. 9 Furman, the Pride’s feel-good rhetoric had a chance to quickly dissipate. Instead, Hofstra pulled off the upset and continues to pile up the victories. After starting the year unranked and unheralded, Cohen’s team is 5-0 and in contention for the school’s first playoff appearance since 2001.
Before October, the 12th-ranked Pride already won more games than last season, jumping out to a half-game lead over Massachusetts for first place in the CAA North Division. They are 2-0 against the conference and face the Towson Tigers this Saturday at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
Kareem Huggins has been the big-play catalyst, combining for over 500 all-purpose yards the past two weeks against Maine and Stony Brook. His 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown provided Hofstra with momentum in the first-half against the Black Bears in a homecoming win.
Huggins also rushed for 138 yards on 18 carries, helping him earn a share of the CAA Player of the Week award. Towson’s defense is allowing 162.4 rushing yards-per-game and will need to contend with the senior running back to sustain momentum from last week’s upset victory over Richmond. Huggins has rushed for over 100 yards in four of five games.
“Kareem stretches practice about 7-8 minutes longer than it’s supposed to be because even in short-yardage situations, he will not stop any play until he runs through the end zone,” Cohen said. “He’s just that hard of a worker. I’ve been blessed to be around some hard-working athletes, but there’s something special about that young man.”
Even another strong Huggins’ effort won’t ensure a victory over the Tigers. Towson junior quarterback Sean Schaefer also is coming off a Player of the Week performance, completing 29-33 passes to set a new school record for a single-game completion percentage. Hofstra’s defense limited Maine’s red-shirt freshman quarterback, and will need linebackers Luke Bonus and Gian Villante to limit Schaefer’s ability to connect on short-and-midrange throws.
“We treat them [quarterbacks] all the same: just get after them,” said Bonus, a sophomore who recorded two straight double-digit tackle games.
Schaefer completed 15 straight passes at one point last week, capping his afternoon by completing a 14-yard game-winning scoring strike with time expiring to improve Towson to 1-3 against the conference. Hofstra will counter with a defense that ranks second in the 12-team CAA, surrendering just over 300 yards a game while holding opponents to just 10 touchdowns.
After a disappointing 2006 campaign, Kareem Huggins and the Pride are all smiles as they continue to prove doubters wrong. (Sean M. Gates)