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Sunday's Word: Smash

Ever think you'd ever see a Lehigh game where there were only five pass completions (out of 12 attempts) for the Mountain Hawks... and that Lehigh would win by their biggest margin of victory on the year?

It's because Lehigh has become a "smash" team.

Now more than ever, it seems clear what coach Coen wants Lehigh to be: a team which dominates the line of scrimmage, beats up the opponent physically, runs the ball effectively, and flies to the ball on defense. "Smash" the opposing offense with our linebackers and defensive linemen, and our O-line needs to "smash" the defensive fronts of the opposing team.

With junior RB Matt McGowan finally healthy, and a team which is undersized at the line of scrimmage, we saw what a "smash" offense is capable of. It's capable of 5.3 yards per carry. We also saw what a "smash" defense is capable of: shutouts.

The team played with pride yesterday, played much better, and delivered the resounding win most of us would have expected over Georgetown - back when many of us thought we'd be competing for Patriot League championships.

The win could well be a starting point for us to enter the "smash" era of Lehigh football. It's a striking departure from "Air Lehigh" and all the derivatives from that offense that seem to have been Lehigh's hallmark ever since I was an undergrad in the early 1990s.

Week 2 of the "smash" era will be tested once again in Hamilton, NY against an old rival in Colgate. It will be interesting to watch.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Smash? Who did we Smash? No offense, but we did play Georgetown. Let's see how we do against Colgate and Lafayette and see if we don't get "Smashed" ourselves before we designate this a a smash-mouth type of team.
Anonymous said…
Over the years, Georgetown has (at times) played every league team close exc. Lehigh. Why is this?
Anonymous said…
Lehigh won't be able to run the ball AT ALL when they play the nations #1 rush defense before last week in Lafayette. Lehigh will be forced to go into Shotgun and spread the field. Watching Chad Pennington o im sorry i mean Bokoksy in the shotgun throwing will be a nightmare.
Anonymous said…
I'm not excited about Lehigh's chances in Hamilton, but they showed definite improvement on Saturday. The players were not lost in a fog like they were in the prior three weeks, and Coen's philosophy is beginning to take shape - I hope.

I too am mystified about why G'town is unable to stay on the same field with Lehigh over the years. We have their number.
Anonymous said…
Let's not get too excited over the Georgetown win. I think some of the area high school teams could beat them. I'm happy for the players this week, especially the seniors since this has been a tough year for them with the lack of coaching and direction. Let's see how we do at Colgate and against the big offensive line in Easton in a few weeks.

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