Lehigh Football Nation

It's another game where Lehigh looks like world-beaters in the first half just to get chucked around in the third quarter for another loss. We fought back valiantly in the 4th, but just couldn't get the shot for the kicker at the end, or convert the 2 point conversion that could have tied the game. Actually, it was the soft TDs we gave up at the end of the first half that really were the difference in the game. Harvard's QB Chris Pizzotti (who was a surprise starter) found the soft spots of the zone perfectly, but the real killer was when we were up 24-7 and Pizzotti converted on a 4th-and-6 in the soft part of the zone. Then, Lehigh's defense couldn't bring him down and then the game was 24-14. That first TD was the first of four unanswered TDs that effectively put the game away for the Crimson. I'm not sure if RB Clifton Dawson got 100 yards, but he did get 3 TDs when they got to the goal line, which was good enough. The loss will seem depressingly familia...

TD Threatt to WR Fitzgerald over the middle! 2-pt conversion failed. We need another stop. I think we have 2 timeouts left. This will be an awfully interesting series by Harvard. Again, the key here will be: Playmakers, especially on defense. What we have is some momentum. Go Lehigh!

A horrible turn of events; a bad hold be FB Fay, and two coverage sacks. We're forced to punt... again, we must stop them here to have a shot.

Big INT by FS Moore! Hope!

A long drive, with a big 4th-down conversion, but we can only get a FG out of it. Two rushes on 1st and 2nd downs? 3rd down should have been a catch, but TE Maggs just misses a twisting catch. It's an 8 point game. Next up, we NEED a big stop. Harvard scores here, it's over.

Disappointed. Harvard's defense made mincemeat of our defense to go ahead, and then our offense, as has been the story so far this year, has gone to sleep. Harvard then made a huge strip after a fine completion to (not sure... WR Fitzgerald?) and then just drove the hammer down. Not over yet.. but we HAVE to score a TD here.

What looked like it could become a laugher for Lehigh has now become a game due to breakdowns in the secondary and a flukey trick play on an underthrown ball that worked to perfection for Harvard. However, Lehigh's offense has to get a lot of credit here. They have moved the ball extremely well, not turned over the ball, and even punched in a 4th-and-goal against the best rushing "D" in Division I. The ball has been spread around, and we've also got some clutch running from Thompson, Pastore, and "Grandpa" Fay. But, as coach Coen said to the TV crew, we "failed to put the hammer down". We gave up some easy plays in the secondary, on a 4th down conversion no less. To be fair, we are concentrating on containing Clifton Dawson (which has been a rousing success so far). And as great as PR/WR Frank "Playmaker" Trovato is playing, we were totally fooled by a fake punt at the end of the half that indirectly led to their last 7 points. As well as...

Looks like we've got the same team that came to play for the Villanova game early on - offense, defense, and special teams seem focused. Coen, Sedale and the offense have done a great job keeping Harvard off balance. The first strike was a blown coverage, and WR Pete Donchez took it to the house. After Harvard scored on an effecient drive, two 3-and-outs led to a huge punt return by PR/WR Frank Trovato, setting up 1st and goal. We punched it in from the 5 to go up 14-7 in what may be a Coen-defining drive. All the yards came from Thompson and Fay, getting the 1 foot against the toughest rushing defense in all of I-AA! This was a great job by the "O" line. Lehigh driving again. This bodes well.

If you see the graphic with the "guy who looks like John Kerry", that must mean it's time for... the Friday Water Cooler. This week we'll feature "what Chuck does on a bye week", last minute Harvard/Lehigh observations, and (why not) Terrell Owens. T.O. Has B.O. Something smells down in Dallas, and it's not the oil refinery. Having lived through the "T.O era" up here in Philadelphia (a two-year stretch that feels like an entire decade), it's hard not to snicker at T.O.'s antics a little. Yet, strangely, something more sinister seems afoot with T.O.'s publicist contradicting a police report and the crazy Wednesday press conference. I think this is a bizarre plea for sympathy and a big "look at me" moment for T.O. It's happened so often in his career, it's hard not to look at this and say, "They're trying to game the (insert name of team here) and the media... again." It's got to be. Right? Last Min...

Just in case you thought Harvard wasn't going to take their battle against the Mountain Hawks seriously, I go over to the Harvard website and see the "Battle In The Valley" prominently on the front page. I know they're pumped by their 2-0 start and their emphatic wins against Holy Cross and Brown, but the extra production being made of this game makes me think one thing: They think they can beat us. And why not? Officially, the whole Patriot League looks like they're down and out, with every team looking for some sort of identity. All you need to do is point to out out-of-conference record against out academic brothers, the Ivies - an awful 2-7. As we pull into Week 5 of this young 2006 football season, we’re finding the Patriot League’s reputation under assault from all quarters. As a Lehigh fan, I don't know what to expect so far this year. Rebuilding, or reloading? I think we need to see our team right now as a work-in-progress, something we as Lehigh fans ...