1994 Football, 8-1-1
Many people thought it would take some time for the Hofstra Football program to develop into a serious competitor at the NCAA Division I-AA level. Fortunately, the 1994 Flying Dutchmen wouldn't listen to those people. They didn't really feel like waiting.
Hofstra finished 8-1-1 on the year, ranked 22nd in the nation in the final Sports Network Division I-AA poll, and nearly qualified for an NCAA Tournament berth in only the program's second official season playing I-AA. The Flying Dutchmen were still phasing into the higher level of competition, and the players on the 1994 team were still not on scholarship, but they did more than just hang with scholarship programs. They beat almost all of them.
Mike McCarty, who had the privilege of calling the plays for the Flying Dutchmen's high powered run-and-shoot attack as the offensive coordinator, remembers the 1994 Hofstra Football team fondly. He, Bob McIntyre and Greg Gigantino were all assistant coaches on that team for the late Joe Gardi, and all are currently at Bryant College. The 1994 Flying Dutchmen still come up often in their discussions.
"Coach McIntyre, Gigs and I often sit around and remember that team," he said. "I've been in this business for 23 years, and that was the best football team I've ever been a part of at any level. Nobody could compare to them in terms of mental toughness, and having the fortitude to take anyone on and believe they could win."
Led by a 16-member senior class, a run-and-shoot offense that featured standout wide receiver Wayne Chrebet and quarterback Carlos Garay, and a stifling run defense that ranked second in the nation (78.5 yards per game), Hofstra refused to accept being new to the Division I-AA level as an excuse for anything. In fact, they roared out to a 7-0 start to the season and made scholarship programs wonder how they could compete with them.
Only a 30-20 win over Fordham, in which Hofstra led 24-7 going into the fourth quarter, could have been considered a close one in those first seven wins. The Pride played that game without Garay, but Kharon Brown stepped in and threw for 380 yards and four touchdowns (all to Chrebet), as the high-powered offense didn't skip a beat.
It wasn't a case of the schedule being easy, either. One of those games came on October 1 against a New Hampshire team that was ranked sixth in the country and would go on to share the Yankee Conference title and win the Lambert Cup as the best team in the region. Hofstra was 4-0 going into that game, but the Wildcats posed the toughest challenge on the schedule.
What followed was a statement performance (which ranked tied for 22nd in Hofstra's vote of the greatest games in school history), as the Flying Dutchmen throttled UNH in a 28-6 win. New Hampshire's vaunted running game was completely snuffed out by Hofstra, as the Wildcats gained 35 yards on 30 carries, and the Flying Dutchmen nearly earned the shutout before a late fourth quarter touchdown gave UNH its only points.
After rolling through Central Connecticut (62-7) and Buffalo (34-21), Hofstra hit its only speed bump in an otherwise flawless season, falling at home to Towson State 24-21. It was the one day all year that the Flying Dutchmen's aerial attack couldn't get out of the hangar the way it liked, managing only 341 yards of total offense. The Tigers used two long pass plays, including a back-breaking 80-yarder in the third quarter to take a 24-7 lead. Hofstra still almost kept its undefeated season going, as it rallied late to pull within 24-21, had a go-ahead touchdown called back, and went for the win rather than the tie on fourth-and-goal at the five in the final minute, but had its final pass fall incomplete.
The Flying Dutchmen could have accepted the tie and remained unbeaten, but it just wasn't in that team's make-up not to go for the win when it had a chance.
Hofstra took out its frustrations the next week against Rhode Island, leading 35-0 at the half on its way to a 42-16 win, and then played the biggest game in its young Division I-AA history at Delaware. The Flying Dutchmen stood 8-1, and Delaware, one of the most storied programs in I-AA, was 6-3. Both teams had legitimate NCAA Tournament aspirations. A tough schedule meant that Delaware would likely get in with a win, while Hofstra could add another signature victory to its resume to go with the UNH win and probably earn a bid.
The game ended up so entertaining that it was voted the second best game in Hofstra history in the 75th anniverary fan poll, despite ending without a winner. Chrebet caught 14 passes for 245 yards and five touchdowns, tying Jerry Rice's NCAA Division I-AA record for receiving touchdowns in a game. The two teams combined for 1,050 yards of offense and 82 points, and Dave Ettinger's 48-yard field goal with four minutes to go tied the score at 41-41, which is how it ended.
Unfortunately, the tie left both teams out of the postseason, as Hofstra would have to wait one more year to earn its first appearance in the Division I-AA tournament. Once the 1995 season rolled around, though, everyone on the Hofstra schedule knew that they were facing one of the toughest teams in I-AA, a remarkable ascension for the Flying Dutchmen in a short period of time.
Hofstra also defeated three conference champions as part of its 8-1-1 season, all by wide margins. The Flying Dutchmen defeated Pioneer League champion Butler 41-0 in the opener, Patriot League champion Lafayette 27-6 in week four, and Yankee Conference champion New Hampshire 28-6 in week five.
Following the 1994 season, safety Brian Clark was named the program's first Division I-AA All-American after leading the nation in interceptions with nine. Linebacker Joey Driver led the Hofstra defense with 93 tackles, including 17 in the season finale against Delaware, and helped the Flying Dutchmen finish second in the nation in rushing defense. Garay ended the year with 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions (two on tipped balls and one on a jump ball in the end zone at the end of a half).
Chrebet, meanwhile, finished his Hofstra career with a signature performance in the Delaware game and the school records for most receiving yards in a game (245) and season (1,200), as well as receiving touchdowns in a game (5), season (16) and career (31). He would go on to make the New York Jets as a free agent and have an 11-year NFL career.
According to McCarty, though, statistics and awards don't define the 1994 Hofstra Football team as much as the intangibles.
"That team would be perfectly willing to go play Alabama at Alabama right now," he said. "And then be really ticked if they lost. That was just the way they were. They always thought they should win. They had a level of mental toughness you just never see."
