This weekend's game between the Mountain Hawks and Raiders saw The Sports Network's Craig Haley in attendance, adding a national voice to the press voices reporting on Lehigh's 44-14 domination over Colgate:
"When senior CB Jarard "Main Man" Cribbs picked off a Steve Rizzo pass at the Colgate 48-yard line, he saw open field to the Raiders' end zone. He then went the distance to highlight Lehigh's surprisingly easy, 44-14 pasting of Colgate, a win which has put the finishing line in sight of the Patriot League leader - a possible first league title since 2006 and a first berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs since 2004."
As Haley put it, a Patriot League title "in view" means a whole lot of happy recaps of the game on the Lehigh side, including a live blog by Ben Watanabe from the Express-Times. (more)
Official Release: Lehigh posts convincing 44-14 win over Colgate
“It was a great performance,” said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. “You have to give credit to the kids. We talked about it being the seniors’ last game in Goodman Stadium and wanting them to go out the right way and leave with your heads held high. We’ve got a great group of guys on this team. Aside from beating Lafayette in your last home game, beating Colgate is probably the next best thing.”
“Even though we scored quickly today, they’re leading the nation in time of possession, so it was key for us to be efficient on our drives,” Coen said. “To take a 7-0 lead on them, that’s a big deal. They were playing from behind from the minute they touched the ball.”
“It’s a great feeling to know that you’re playing your technique,” Cribbs said of his interception. “He can throw you one and you’ve got to capitalize off of it. That’s what our defense is about. Once the situation arises, you’ve got to win a play and step up if you want to make plays and win championships.”
Morning Call: It's like old times for Lehigh in 44-14 rout of Colgate
Morning Call Photo Gallery: Colgate vs. Lehigh
Express-Times: Lehigh Shocks Colgate, 44-14 (audio interview)
Express-Times: Live Blog Transcript, Colgate vs. Lehigh
During the latter stages of Lehigh's stunning 44-14 rout of Colgate at Goodman Stadium on Saturday, Lehigh coach Andy Coen said to offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini "This really feels like old times."
Perhaps it had been since Coen and Cecchini worked together on Kevin Higgins' coaching staff in the late 1990s that Lehigh had dominated a quality opponent in the same manner it handled Colgate in what was considered to be a key Patriot League battle.
"I always felt we were capable of doing what we did today," junior QB Chris Lum said. "We had shown flashes before, but we were inconsistent. Today, we just did it on almost every single drive. It was a lot of fun."
"If you can't get fired up to play against the top rusher in the country, you shouldn't be playing football," Cribbs said. "This is the type of game you live for. It was a great feeling to be able to capitalize like we did. This is the first time I've beaten Colgate since I've been here and it was special," Cribbs said. "This was the kind of effort it takes to win championships."
From the live blog: "Lum has surgically picked apart Colgate with short pass that the receivers are turning into long gains."
"A five yard pass to senior WR Craig "Braveheart" Zurn," Lum said, "and he runs it down the field [for a huge gain]... I love when that happens. It's easy. The yards after catch were unbelievable today."
"It was a great performance and I credit the kids," Coen said. "We talked a lot about this being the seniors last game at Goodman Stadium and we wanted them to go out the right way. They certainly did that. Aside from beating Lafayette in your last home game, beating Colgate is probably the next best thing."
Brown & White: Football soars past Raiders, win with panache in home finale
Lum was excited about the early lead, but reminded his teammates that they needed to stay focused.
"I kept telling the guys in our huddle, 'let's refocus ourselves, let's not get too high, let's refocus ourselves every single play,'" he said.
Senior DT Phil Winnett said the team expected a close game and was happy they wound up taking care of it.
"We wanted to win this game bad and we won it, we are going to keep on rolling one game at a time," Winnett said.
"I think our guys played outstanding, inspired football," Coen said.
Morning Call: Plenty of credit to go around for Lehigh's big win
Express-Times: Mountain Hawks Offense Moving in the Right Direction
"I was so excited to be able to get Dave back," Coen said. "He's an outstanding coach and was when he was here before and I think we learned a lot from each other working together as assistants under Kevin.
"He has since been to Harvard and the Citadel and he brought different tweaks to what we've done here. He has a great way with the kids. They respond well to him. He really challenges them. A few things here and there (changed offensively). It's more precision in how he goes about things. Plays are coming at the right times.
"There's very little gray area with the kids and we've done a good job of matching things up. We're getting what we expect to be getting."
"I told the kids to keep working at it, keep working at it and bang, sometimes it just happens. A lot of success we had last week, I expected to have. Today’s performance was just awesome to watch and see.
"Sometimes when you keep working at it and working at it, then bang, sometimes it just happens. We've always done a good job of preparing the kids and putting them in good position to win, but it still comes down to the kids executing and their execution has been really good lately. We've just got to keep it up.
"These seniors have been with me through a lot of tough losses and sometimes there's a reason for why things happen. Maybe it took going through those hard losses for them to be the players they are today. I have a lot of faith in them. They've stuck through some hard times and I'm glad they're experiencing some good times. I want to do my best to make sure they finish it off the right way."
Colgate Athletics: Raiders Drop Second Patriot League Game at Lehigh
The Sports Network: Lehigh keeps Title In View
Jarard Cribbs moved around to six states while he grew up.
His explanation: "I think my mother must be a CIA agent or something, and hasn't told me."
Like mother, like son. As a All-Patriot League cornerback, Cribbs has become a spy.
His sixth interception of the season on Saturday against Colgate - and the 11th of his four-year career - was likely the most satisfying. He had never returned one before for a touchdown, and joked to teammate RB Jaren Walker before the game that he was going to score on a pick-six and bring the ball to him.
"First thing I thought," after scoring, Cribbs remembered, "was go get a ball to Jaren. But the ref took it away from me. He did a pretty nice job of stripping me."
*****
Colgate junior RB Nate Eachus (Drums, Pa.) ran for 124 yards, but it wasn’t enough as the Raiders dropped their second Patriot League game of the year Saturday to Lehigh 44-14 at Goodman Stadium.
Lehigh scored on it first seven possessions of the game to build a 44-7 lead in the first three quarters. The win was the first for the Mountain Hawks over Colgate since 2006.
"I think it's a dribble-down effect," Colgate coach Dick Biddle said about his offensive injuries. "There's a play here or there that you think you can make, or that they (QB Greg Sullivan and WR Doug Rosnick) can make, that would help you. We've got no playmakers right now. I think Nate's a great running back, but we don't stretch anybody and we're playing with playing with young receivers. And throw in a (young) quarterback. It was a mismatch."
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