The Sunday papers had three articles talking about the Brown/White game complete with post-game reactions from coach Coen and some of the players.More commentary pn the spring game tonight from coach Coen on the Lehigh Sports Magazine (8:30PM tonight on WFMZ, or online on lehighsports.com).
Expect pictures, and the transcript of my conversation of my interview with coach Coen, up soon.
Morning Call: Defense Dominates Brown & White Game
Morning Call: Homegrown Hawks To Play Important Role
Express-Times: VanAckeren Likes Hawks Secondary
The press is raving about senior SS Brendan VanAckeren and some other local products as well, such as senior FS Quadir Carter, junior LB Matt Cohen, and junior WR Travis Artim.
Highlights:
Senior tailback Matt McGowan, one of the four captains named before the game, gained 11 yards on three carries. For him, it was just good to feel healthy again.
A hamstring injury in preseason camp limited the former Hazleton star to just one start all last season.
“It was frustrating for me because I had never been injured,” McGowan said. “It was one of the hardest things I ever had to endure. But I’m totally healthy now and really looking forward to this season. We’re going to be all right. We’re trying to make adjustments to some new things and it will all come together.”
McGowan figures to get a lot of carries, with Kwesi Kankam and Josh Pastore leaving the program.
“The departure of those guys hit the team hard, but those were personal decisions that they needed to make,” McGowan said. “They’re still our brothers and we love them, but we’ll be all right.”
“I wish the offense had executed better, but the defense was really dominant,” Lehigh coach Andy Coen said. “The offense started out great, and I was hoping to see more of that.
“But the defense was really getting after people and that’s good because on every good football team I’ve been a part of, the defense set the tone. The defense kept us in every game we lost last year except Holy Cross and we think we can be even better. Now, it’s just a matter of finding the right people on offense.”
"I thought they [the defense] did a great job," Coen said. "One thing we noticed, we really caught the ball way up in the air. The kids made some great plays back there in the secondary. That's great. We need those things."
There's a lot of potential back there, a lot of guys stepping up this spring," said VanAckeren, a graduate of Liberty. "Not only performing well but getting their assignments right, their checks right, so it's great to see.
"I think we have a good group, a good core coming out of spring. I think we should be all right back in the secondary."
"Every day we've been getting better," said Carter, who has two career interceptions. "I think it was evident in the spring game that the DB's are doing pretty good since the first day."
"They're definitely more quiet than what we've we had," Coen said. "I think we've got some true leaders on this team. I was very happy with the selections the kids made with our four captains [VanAckeren, Diamond, tailback Matt McGowan and offensive lineman Kevin Bayani]. Those are four great kids.
"The summer will be a tell-tale sign for the leadership because they have to do the work on their own until we get back together on August 7. As a team, we're at about the same spot we were a year ago. But we didn't have a great offseason in the summer. This year, they're going to have to work harder and do better."
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