Normally I like to get the press roundup out on Sunday, but with Borda's injury situation, I wanted to make sure that I knew that Borda would be finished for the year before posting my game balls and press roundup.For sure, it's a bit of a bittersweet win. Mark Borda, with a fractured right leg, is done for the year. His best was on display in the 2-3 drives in the second half where he did a great job executing the gameplan, and I saw the replay yesterday on the play where he got injured. It looked like a freakish play, just the Yale defender almost slid into his ankle area. Without Borda's gutty drives yesterday, Lehigh would have lost - period - and for that reason, senior QB Mark Borda will be getting a well-deserved game ball.
But that's not all for game balls this Saturday. Sophomore QB Sedale Threatt was perfect in relief of the injured Borda. 5-for-5, with 11 yard rushing and 17 yards passing may not sound like much, but every yard was huge in the win on Saturday. His great finish earns him a game ball as well.
On defense, there's no question sophomore DB Julian Ahye gets a game ball, but lest an all-league player and two-time defensive captain be overlooked, senior FS Kaloma Cardwell is getting a game ball too. It was awful tempting to give them to the whole secondary - junior SS Julian Austin, junior CB Brannan Thomas, and senior DB Drew Nelson, who really came up huge down the stretch. But Ahye and Cardwell stand out, especially in the OT stop that sealed the game. Ahye had 2 huge tipped passes to go with an interception and 9 tackles, and Cardwell, along with his 11 tackles and his own interception, did the little things that go unnoticed in the box score but are keys to the victory, like cheating up and forcing Yale's QB Dave Mroz to hurry the ball, and slamming Yale's run support.
On special teams, it's no contest - freshman P Jason Leo gets the game ball. On a game where execution was lacking in special teams, Leo had a great day kicking the ball, just like he mostly did versus Holy Cross the week before. 4 punts inside the 20 helped pin Yale deep and kept Yale's offense in check for a good portion of the game.
Overall, you have to admire Lehigh's resolve yesterday in pulling out a game that they needed to have. I've been reading the comments here - fans are raving about the gutty win. It's a huge morale booster going into the Bucknell game at Lewisburg this coming Saturday.
I've got to get this blog post out, so I won't round up the digest of all the press clippings until tomorrow. But see below all the links of the the press writeups of the game. Tune in tomorrow for more!
Allentown Morning Call:
Lehigh Wins Game, But Loses Borda
Threatt a Treat At Press Conference
Easton Express-Times:
Threatt to Rescue for Borda, Lehigh
Lehigh Brown & White:
Hawks Come Back in Overtime Win
New Haven Register:
Deja Vu: Yale Blows Lead, Falls To Lehigh
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