Lehigh Football Nation

At the time, I didn't think this picture I took would be the story of the game. Unfortunately it was. Tied at 21 after an ugly first half, Lehigh had only their second red zone opportunity of the game. Second and goal at the CCSU 4 yard line. Junior TE Alex Wojdowski starts the play and is wide open. Junior QB J.B. Clark hesitates, and then tries to fire it in - but CCSU DB Nick Delgado stepped in front of the outstretched arms of Wojdowski and stuffed the drive. It would have given Lehigh their first lead of the day. It also would have negated what was an extremely sloppy first half, with an anemic offensive performance by the Mountain Hawks which was only mitigated by the fact that the Blue Devils turned over the ball twice in the red zone, and that junior DB John "Fear Itself" Kennedy turned a kickoff into a 93 yard touchdown. Also, on Lehigh's only sustained drive of the day (and I mean that), Clark found Wojdowski on a 7 yard TD strike to tie the game at 14....

(Photo Credit: CCSU Athletics) It's funny; when you start the football season, it feels like you team could simply play anybody and you'd be ecstatic. I'm not saying Central Connecticut State is just anybody , of course - you'll find that out soon enough - but that feeling is invading every college football fan going into this weekend. As a result of this euphoria, it's tempting to just revel in the fact that it's here - football season is here, and we're still undefeated against Lafayette since last November. That's probably the gensis as to why teams get "overlooked" on the schedule on Week One. You think Michigan was looking to be upended by Appalachian State two years ago? Michigan was reveling - in the new season, in their No. 5 preseason ranking, in their, well, Michigan-ness. Before the day was out, the "Miracle in Michgan" was complete, Michigan would plummet out of the Top 25, and their season would be in a shambles. Granted,...

It's three days until Lehigh's season opener against Central Connecticut State, and before I finish my preview of this weekend's action it's worth detailing the volumes of coverage in the lead-up to the Big Day. First of all, Lehigh Athletics released their broadcast schedule for 2009 - and we see nine out of eleven games broadcast on local and national outlets . Locally, three games will be broadcast on WFMZ Allentown (Villanova, Colgate, Lafayette) while the other six (CCSU, Princeton, Harvard, Georgetown, Yale, Holy Cross) will be broadcast on Service Electric 2. Better yet, many cable subscribers will be able to see the games on Fox College Sports Atlantic either live or on tape-delay (which, happily, I get at home). Also worthy of mention is that the Lehigh Sports Magazine will also be broadcast on WFMZ Allentown and FCS Atlantic - of which you can see the latest installment online, where (20 minutes or so in coach Coen talks about the 2009 Mountain Hawks and als...

Of all my installments concerning the Patriot League offseason, this one is my favorite (which you probably guessed). Aside from the obvious fact that I'm a crazy Lehigh fan, it also means when I complete this installment it means that college football season is right there - I can taste it. Only four more days until I can go to Goodman stadium and see Lehigh open up a can of whoopass against Central Connecticut State. For me, completing this finalizes the fact: it's football season. Nation, I bring you *yours* - and mine - the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. LEHIGH Coaching Changes: Usually you hear of assistant coaches leaving a program, but rarely do you hear those same guys coming back. But that's what R.J. Ryan did (Franklin & Marshall; Special Teams) after last year's special teams coordinator Adam Scheier left to join former Lehigh coach Dave Clawson over at Bowling Green. Coen is very happy to have Ryan back. Aside from that change, almost his entire origi...

We're in the home stretch now in my "Patriot League offseason" series: a mere six days before the start of the football season. Last year's edition held a dubious honor: it caused a lot of grief with the Evil Empire. So much so, in fact, that the post was used in the game notes for "The Rivalry" at the end of the year as a method of firing up the troops. I'd be lying if I said I was unconcerned that my words would cause a Lafayette win at the end of the year; happily for the Team That Represents Everything that is Good, that wasn't the case. In any event, here's my profile of the team Lehigh fans love to hate. LAFAYETTE Coaching Changes: Bob Heffner , the giant presence in the Leopards locker room as offensive coordinator, finally took his dream job at Northwestern this offseason, leaving behind his eight year tenure at Lafayette (making most Lehigh fans rejoice). His departure, however, probably won't affect the staff much: the Leopards...

It's officially less than six days until the beginning of the Lehigh football season. The twelve-week "marathon" begins next Saturday against Central Connecticut State at Murray Goodman stadium, and the excitement is similar to the beginning of a race like this: everyone starts out even at the start, with the anticipation that anyone can win it. For me, football season is also becoming a "marathon" of a different sort. As you may or may not know, not only do I write content for this wonderful blog you're reading right now, I also do a lot of other projects as well (including - it may surprise some folks to learn - a day job). I also write the CSN Way column at the College Sporting News during the college football regular season. In my latest article there, I talk about my 27 fearless predictions for the world of FCS in 2009 . (And with Indiana State state losing in the first FCS game of the year, 26-20 to NAIA Quincy, my predictions are off to a humbling...