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Basking in the afterglow; Game Balls; Weekend Prediction Recap

Basking in the Afterglow
Lehigh Football Nation is stil basking in the afterglow of the Colgate win. What an incredible game. Lehigh fans everywhere are happy that Lehigh has survived their toughtest test of the year against a very good Colgate team, and put them squarely in charge of their own destiny for the Patriot League title. All that remains is taking care of business in the last 3 regular-season games.

I'm going to do the press roundup tomorrow, along with a special "playoff scenario" piece concerning the Patriot League teams still in the running for the title and the playoffs.

Game Balls
I don't think some of these are big surprises, but here they are:
Offense:
Sophomore RB Marques Thompson (112 all-purpose yards, 2 TDs)
Sophomore RB Eric Rath (124 all-purpose yards, 1 TD)
Junior QB Mark Borda (134 yards passing, 2 TDs)
Special mention: The entire "O" Line gets game balls for big 3rd down plays and a huge 4th-and-1 conversion:
Sophomore LT Jim Petruccelli
Senior LG Jason "Rocky" Morrell
Senior C Justin Terry
Junior LG Adam Selemasska
Senior LT Rob Sandie
Defense:
Senior OLB Anthony "Graz" Graziani (18 tackles, 1 INT, 1/2 sack)
Senior SS Karrie Ford (12 tackles, 1 INT which was the key play of the game)
Sophomore LB Julian Austin (8 tackles, 1 INT that won the game)
Special Teams:
Senior P Kyle Keating (39.2 average - key punt inside 20)

Congratulations to all! (Hey, dig all those sophomores on the list!)

Weekend Pick Recap

Another great week, going 11-3! Too bad you can't make money doing this. I picked Western Kentucky, Villanova, Southern Illinois, William & Mary, Bucknell, Fordham and (of course) Lehigh.

Really Right:
North Dakota St./Northwestern St. Prediction: ND St. 29, N'western St. 17. Real score: ND St. 30, N'western St. 17. Too bad ND St. didn't miss an extra point - then it would have been perfect!

Navy/Delaware. Prediction: Navy 31, Delaware 17. Real score: Navy 34, Delaware 20. Right margin of victory, just missed both scores by a FG! I'll take it!

Kinda Right:
UC Davis/Cal Poly. I had more of a defensive battle predicted (20-10), but I'll take the 36-33 upset win.

Montana St./Northern Arizona. I didn't imagine the punishment the Bobcats would inflict on the Lumberjacks - 60-14! Makes my 27-13 prediction seem downright puny.

Should have been right:
Maine/UMass. A freakin' blocked extra point in overtime prevented the Black Bears from keeping their playoff hopes alive. I've got to believe with another OT they would have pulled it out.

Northeastern/New Hampshire. Northeastern drove and, like Colgate, got intercepted in the end zone to kill their chances for the win. If they had converted - I would have gotten the win.

Was I ever wrong!:
Georgia Southern/South Dakota St. Yeah, I got the game right, but come on, I predicted a 27-17 "nailbiter". Try, 63-7 in a game that was over after the coin toss.

Sam Houston St./Stephen F. Austin. In reality this was a close game. But my reason for picking SFA was stupid - going against my gut. Next time, the gut wins. (No, that's not a reference to my diet.)

Tomorrow: Press; Playoffs; Fear the Leopards

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