Lehigh Football Nation

Overall, a good win for Lehigh. Offensively it cemented Borda's hold on the QB position, and made the Lehigh faithful relax about the receiving and rushing game - as long as starters Eric Rath and Mark Borda are OK after exiting the game with bangup injuries. I haven't looked at the numbers yet, but receiving-wise it seemed like a great day for TE Adam Bergen, and WR Gerran Walker showed a flash of his speed on a long TD reception and scamper. On defense, the team improved steadily after a slightly disappointing first half. However, in the second half the "D" made adjusments which made the unit shut things down the rest of the way. Special teams missed a PAT, but aside from that special teams predictably had a very good day. Overall, a good win for Lehigh, and we should see some upward mobility in the rankings with Maine and (in a bit of an upset) Colgate losing. Colgate's loss to Yale, unfortunately, will be a thorn in the side of the Patriot League ...

Ouch. Borda got hit hard on the last play of the 3rd quarter, and went into the locker room, adding to a long injury list on the day. That and the bangups to Rath and the offensive line. On the bright side, we have indeed dominated the second half. Looks like the adjustments did indeed pay off. Thompson with his 3rd TD! Wow! Let's see the scrubs in the last quarter! Go Lehigh!

In a game which has been a coming-out party for the offense, a few TDs against Lehigh's "D" have made this a closer game than it should be. The "D" will have to step things up if we want this game to not be a close one. Offensively, it's hard not to like Borda's, Thompson's, and Walker's performances. Not many penalties on offense, and only one punt (and turnover on downs at the end of the half). Rath got an injury in the first half, but rather than risk his health, he may not get much time the rest of the way (besides, Thompson is playing great). Defensively, we are not defending against the mix of run and pass well. Albany is gaining uncharacteristic chunks of yardage through the air and the ground. They're attacking our linebackers, and winning. Key to the second half will be for the "D" to shut them down the rest of the way. Linebacking play must improve. Lembo said that there were small adjustments that need to ...

Whee! Air Lehigh seems to be back! Borda with 3 TDs passing - 2 to RB Marques Thompson (a lock for a game ball), and 1 beautiful long TD strike to WR Gerran Walker. If there is any disappointment, it's the fact that the "D" gave up a TD to the Albany offense (who seems to be moving the ball against us), and a missed PAT attempt. More at halftime!

In the Patriot League: Fordham at Holy Cross. I'd be surprised if Holy Cross scores any points versus the Fordham defense. Fordham in a blowout. Fordham 31, Holy Cross 0. Bucknell at Georgetown. Bucknell looked impressive in their two games versus Ivy competition, and Georgetown has struggled of late. It's hard to see that slide not continue against the Bison. Bucknell 38, Georgetown 3. Harvard at Lafayette. Both teams are coming off thrilling come-from-behind victories last week. Though, Harvard's was due to the Crimson's offense finally starting to click on all cylinders, where Lafayette was holding on against Richmond. I see the Crimson coming out gunning, and the Leopards letting down a litle after their great win last week. Harvard 41, Lafayette 23. Colgate at Yale. Hard to see how good Yale figures to be with a win against Dayton and a whomping at the hands of Cornell. But it's hard to see Yale coming up with that perfect game to han...

Press roundup Here's a really quick roundup of the press for the Lehigh/Albany game this weekend: Morning Call: Lehigh likes Borda's Improvement Express-Times: Lembo goes for win #30 against his old mentor Brown & White: Football plays host to Albany 10 burning questions for Coach Lembo Much is made of Lehigh playing against his old mentor this week. Some great quotes about that: "Lembo, who could become the eighth coach in Lehigh's history to win 30 games with a victory Saturday, got his coaching start under Ford at Albany as a grad assistant in 1992-93..." ''I thought even back then that he was going to have a bright future,'' Ford, said. ''He was enthusiastic, highly organized … grasped things very quickly. He has been on a pretty good ladder since he got into the coaching profession. But you always wonder why guys from Georgetown get into coaching when they could probably make a million dollars doing someth...

Rocky appears at South Mountain All it takes is one written piece on LehighSports.Com, and you have a nickname for life. This week's Lehigh profile is on Jason "Rocky" Morrell: Reading between the "O" Lines "The world’s biggest self proclaimed “Rocky” fan, Morrell fell in love with the Philadelphian as a freshman in high school, and has used it for motivation ever since. “I was drawn to the movie because it took place right near my house in south Jersey, and I just loved the way he kept pushing through everything. He never stopped, never let anyone or anything get the best of him. I would predicate all of my workouts on that movie and I’m always using it for inspiration.” "Looks like the real-life Rocky has re-located folks. Instead of residing in South Philly, he now reads English books and lays down pancake blocks for Lehigh University on South Mountain." Although not the way I would have written it (and this is coming from anoth...

Weekend Recap Since there was no game this week, I've decided to very briefly recap the week that was in 1-AA - where I was really right, where I was really wrong, and the impact to Lehigh. Really right: N'Eastern/Towson. Predicted score: NE 35, Towson 3. Real score: NE 34, Towson 3. Portland St./McNeese St. Predicted score: PSU 27, McNeese 14. Real score: PSU 35, McNeese 14. Should have been right: Lafayette/Richmond. If the "wild" finish to the game had gone Richmond's way, I would have almost been dead-on (Richmond 23, Lafayette 22). Richmond's QB Stacey Tutt hauled a hail-mary pass that was roped in by a freshman wideout that was ultimately ruled an ineligible receiver (after ten minutes of confusion on the field). Villanova/Penn. If Penn was able to finish one of at least 4 or 5 opportunities in the red zone in the game, the Quakers could have put a major scare in the Wildcats. Even with their problems they had a chance to w...

A special tribute I wanted to take this time to make a special tribute to my wife. September 25th holds a very special day for us. It's the anniversary of the day we met at a Lehigh football game. On September 25, 1999, the first ever night game at Palmer field, that Kim and I met for the first time, wandering amongst the the dark trees on Princeton's campus looking for the stadium. It was a picture-perfect night for football. Single and carefree, I had somehow convinced my friend Matt to go to the first night game at Palmer Stadium in Princeton with me after he had come back from the Yankee game earlier that day. I drove down from Connecticut to meet him in central New Jersey to pick him up. That day the Yankee game fatefully had run late, and we got going late to the game. So we found ourselves wandering around the Princeton campus after dark, with the game in the end of the first quarter. And that's where we met Kim and her friend. Kim wasn't even a...