The press was kind to the Mountain Hawks this week as we roll towards the most important Lehigh/Holy Cross game since 1991. Normally I don't have recaps from "that school from Easton" included here, but this week I did since they played this week's opponent last week and I thought it was worthwhile to look at a quote or two from that postgame press conference as well. Something for you, the Lehigh fan, to chew on as we head towards next Saturday.This week's game balls will be going to some guys that may be surprising. On offense, rather than go with the new kid Yansane, I'm going to go with the underappreciated senior RB Marques Thompson. I think sometimes folks forget about him whem he "only" gets over 100 yards rushing, 144 all-purpose yards, and 1 TD. He also got key first downs with a lot of these yards, as well as the TD that really put the game in the "W" column for Lehigh. Marques "Barry Sanders" Thompson deserves a game ball this week.
On defense, no question it's sophomore DE Brad Thomas with eight tackles and some big stops in the first half. The defense is really playing very selflessly, with different guys making the big plays every week, but this week it's definitely Thomas. Not bad for someone in his first start on the "D" line - I think with this week's performance, he's a good chance at starting next week too.
There wasn't much to do for Lehigh in special teams this week; Bucknell frequently went for it on 4th down and wanted to kick the ball out of bounds rather than kick to WR Frank "Al Del Greco" Trovato on punts. That leaves not too many candidates, but sophomore PK Jason Leo will get his overdue props with a game ball here. 5-for-5 on extra points, one 25 yard FG, and two 42 yard punts are, happily, a regular day at the office for Leo. It's as much a pat of the back for an error-free Bucknell game as a nod to his great year so far for the Mountain Hawks. Congratulations to all!
Enjoy the press clippings today; be ready for the Holy Cross preview tomorrow.
Allentown Morning Call:
Lehigh Feels At Home In Win Over Bison
Upshot: Now that's more like it. That's what the Lehigh faithful among the 10,673 at Goodman Stadium were thinking Saturday afternoon after watching their favorite team roll to a 38-7 Patriot League win over Bucknell. "It was, flat out, a team effort," said Threatt, who was the model of efficiency with a 14-for-19, 126-yard passing performance to go with 35 rushing yards. "The offense really jelled together today. We're on a mission. We know the task ahead of us. We all understand it's league play now. You want to win every week, but at this point, we know we have to win them all."
Hawks Share the Load
Upshot: "Lee [Thomas] and Frankie [Trovato] were down all week [with injuries], so Mike Fitzgerald and I had to step up and take advantage of the opportunity to make some plays," said [sophomore WR Sekou] Yansane. "It felt great to score a touchdown. That was my first one. Hopefully, there are more to come." QB Sedale Threatt agreed. "All of these guys were here all summer working out. Sekou was one of them. These guys are hungry. [Assistant] coach [Donnie] Roberts always says 'When an opportunity knocks on the door, you better open it up,' and that's what Sekou did today."
Easton Express-Times:
Holy Cross Crossing Up Contenders
Upshot: [QB Dominic] Randolph [against Lafayette] had ample time to throw, often checking down to his second and third options. His line doused Lafayette's blitzes and he picked apart the zone coverages. "I'd say about 75 percent of the time I was looking for my second and third receivers," Randolph said. "That (first) series was my fault, but we knew what we could do and treated it like it was a 0-0 game. My line gave me great protection."
Brown & White:
Hawks destroy Bison, are 2-0 in League Play
Upshot: “It felt good to go out and finally put it together offensively and defensively for a full game, but we all know there still is a lot of work to be done,” [junior WR Pete] Donchez said. “We have all Patriot League games left — four games to work and keep trying to get better. We all know what happened last year [against Holy Cross] and we have a lot of motivation for the game. We just need to prepare and have a good week of practice.”
Daily Item:
Lehigh Beats Bucknell
Upshot: "Lehigh won the battle up front from the first snap. The Mountain Hawks racked up 368 yards total offense, including a career-high 126 yards rushing from Marques Thompson. Quarterback Sedale Threatt added two rushing touchdowns and two passing scores as Lehigh never officially punted when the game's outcome was in doubt."
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