Lehigh Football Nation

Well, this is not the result that I expected at all. But, I'll take the win. Some thoughts on the game. First, the positives. The defense, despite giving up 289 passing yards, otherwise showed off some of their championship-caliber team. 5 interceptions by the defense, having Stony Brook QB T.J. Moriarity running for his life most of the game, and holding the Seawolves to an eye-popping (are you ready for this?) -30 yards rushing. A 30, with a MINUS in front of it. Outstanding. Special teams, with a blocked PAT and blocked punt, were also outstanding on the coverage units. Think Neal Boozer-Gallman will be getting a game ball this week, with a blocked punt and a 98-yd interception return? Oh yes he is. Eric Rath also did very well in his Lehigh debut, with 134 yards rushing. Now, the areas which "need improvement". Mark Borda, to put it charitably, struggled running the offense. To be fair, he did have his moments with rushing the ball, and a couple ...

Who would've bet on this score on Friday after the 3rd quarter? Borda seems to have settled down a little bit. The baby is crying so that will have to be it for now! Go Lehigh

What a unbelievable disappointment this half has been so far. Borda is struggling against a team which he should be handling. He threw a key interception in the end zone in the first quarter, and he has been extremely inconsistent since, to be charitable. The offense has had 3 trips to the red zone, but only 3 points to show for it. Two missed field goals by the freshman kicker. What do you do next half? Put in QB Keating and K Musilek? I'd love to be a fly on the wall of this halftime speech. It will probably be a doozy Hopefully the Mountain Hawks will be able to put this nightmarish half behind them and get on with the rest of their season, starting next half.

Other games to watch today in the Patriot: Rhode Island at Fordham. Last year Fordham beat up on Rhode Island 63-28. This year, playing at home, I see more of a defensive battle, but with Fordham still on top when all is said and done. Fordham 17, RI 13. Duquesne at Holy Cross. HC will be gunning for a win here, but Duquesne is not an easy mid-major to beat. I see a nip-and-tuck game, but Duquesne pulls it out in the end. Duquesne 27, HC 24. Marist at Lafayette. Marist got pounded by Lafayette last year, and I don't see this game being much different. LC 45, Marist 7. St. Francis at Georgetown. With Siena gone, St. Francis now has the "honor" of being the worst team in division 1-AA. The Hoyas will roll. G'Town 56, St. Francis 0 Other games in the Top 25: Maine at Montana. Has Montana lost their edge? I think so. I see this as a very very dangerous game for the Grizzlies, even though they're playing at home. I see the Black Bears pulling t...

Press reports from Lehigh/Stony Brook Before I get into the good stuff... my Top 25... and my Patriot League Preview, let me do my press roundup for this weekend's game. Not surprisingly, most of the coverage involves the introduction of the starting QB for the Stony Brook game tomorrow. Express-Times: Borda named #1 QB for season opener New-look Lehigh will seek some old success Morning Call: Borda wins QB competition - at least for opener Choice quotes: "At Wednesday's media luncheon, Borda was introduced as the starting quarterback, ending speculation that began about the same time Lehigh's uniforms were packed away last November...The competition for the position drew attention throughout the spring, summer and preseason camp." [Addendum - you heard the speculation here first!] "Former Bethlehem Catholic star Mark Borda won a training camp quarterback battle with incumbent Kyle Keating, and will make his first college start under ...

1-AA Update The Bison gave a huge scare to Villanova on the road this evening. Down 20-14 with about 2 minutes to play, the Bison were within the 20 yard line of the Wildcats when QB Darius Wilson committed the only fateful turnover (an interception) of the game for the Bison. The Bison's opportunistic defense nabbed 2 turnovers and the Bison offense turned them into TDs, cutting a 20-0 deficit to a 20-14 nailbiter. The first half was all Villanova, however, with the Bison offense only getting 1 first down. The Wildcats were brutally effective in shutting down the Bison defense overall, holding them to under 200 yards of total offense. Here's what I learned from this game. The Bison's defense is of the 'bend-but-don't-break' variety, with a bit of an opportunistic streak that creates turnovers. When we host the Bison later in the year, this will be something to watch. The second thing I learned: man, that 'Nova defense is tough against the ru...

Every day is like Saturday I've decided to write up my previews on Wednesdays this year. The decision was made largely because there's plenty of preview pieces on Friday and Saturday in the internet-sphere, and since I can, why not be first? But first... In Lehigh's game notes, they release their two-deep for this weekend, and there are surprises, primarily among them the fact that Mark Borda has been tabbed as the starter. So, finally, Lehigh fans will be able to see what this rocket-armed QB is able to do. Lehigh Football Nation will eagerly be looking to see how he does. The other bombshell is that sack leader Royce Morgan is the *backup* to junior Josh Cooney. Huh? Is Morgan 100%? Or did Cooney has such a great camp? Again, this week Cooney's performance will be something to watch. And also... Thursday evening, Villanova plays Bucknell in an early tilt with 2 future Lehigh opponents. You might want to do a little scoreboard-watching on that to see wha...

Look at all these rumors Boy, I go away on vacation for a few days, and a veritable torrent of Lehigh press and rumor hits the internet. First the press: Goodman Stadium hosts second pre-season scrimmage (Lehighsports.com) Chairback seats remain for season opener (Lehighsports.com) Bergen earns third pre-season All-American honor (Lehighsports.com) Bergen named to Walter Payton Award watch list (Lehighsports.com) Lehigh has ground to make up (Express-Times) Hawks take lunch-pail approach (Express-Times) As usual, LehighFootballNation has this in a nice digestible format for you: "When the team clearly picks captains who are at cerebral positions, where their names are not in the paper every day, that speaks volumes about what the rest of the players value," head coach Pete Lembo said....It shows the Mountain Hawks are willing to choose substance above style, selfless comraderie ahead of self-centered desire and a team concept over All-America quests... Ba...