Lehigh Football Nation

Since Lehigh head football coach Andy Coen took over the reins of the Mountain Hawk football program in 2006, none of his teams had ever put up 49 points in a single football game. Until today. At West Long Branch, New Jersey today, the Mountain Hawks fell behind 7-0 to Monmouth - and then, with a crispness and confidence on offense not seen in quite a while on South Mountain, Lehigh ripped off three straight impressive touchdowns on their first three possessions, and Coen's team never looked back in an impressive 49-24 win. (more)

Have I mentioned I've been incredibly busy? Ok, I guess I just did. But I'm not too busy to put through my picks for Week One of Patriot League football action, compiled from my picks at the College Sporting News for Thursday's game and Saturday's games . And they all appear under the flip. (more)

(Photo Credit: Monmouth Examiner) Three days from today, Lehigh will be travelling to Kessler Field in Monmouth, New Jersey to open their 2011 football season. The Hawks and, er, Mountain Hawks have played each other twice in their history: once in 1999, and once in 2005, both times at Murray Goodman stadium.  Both were blowouts; in both games, Lehigh put up more than a 50-spot on Monmouth as well. Lehigh is extremely unlikely to put up a 50-spot on the Hawks this weekend, though.  Since that 54-26 victory in 2005, both Monmouth and their athletic conference, the NEC, have improved immensely.   (more)

Lehigh's defense last year was one of the best Mountain Hawk fans have seen in an awfully long time. In 2009, a vast, talented secondary featuring CB Jarard "Main Man" Cribbs" and CB John "Prez" Kennedy , and a linebacking unit that headlined a two-time Lehigh/Lafayette MVP in Al Pierce were not the only reasons why Lehigh had the top scoring defense in the Patriot League last year. Head coach Andy Coen brings back a budding defensive superstar and a host of very, very good defensive players.  But the optimism should not diminish the challenge ahead: that defensive coordinator Dave Kotulski has in front of him: to replace three all-Patriot League players, including the entire starting secondary. Will this unit achieve the high bar set by the 2010 squad?  (more)

Preseason camp didn't end this year with the fanfare of past campaigns.  Hurricane Irene made sure of that. But offensively, preseason camp ends with tremendous promise, thanks to the giant strides made by the 2010 edition of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Thanks to head coach Andy Coen , offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini and a slew of returning starters, the challenge for this 2011 offensive unit is to build on the foundation they established - and build it into something even better. (more)

The hurricane that was hyped as the storm to end all storms ultimately wasn't all that, at least at my house. Yes, it was the source of scary moments, especially for my wife and son.  But at least in my part of the state, from my perspective there wasn't much to tell.  On our property, no trees went down.  Our power never went out.  Heck, we never even lost out or demand movies. But there are still many people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut without power, thanks to the slow-moving tropical storm that seemed to take forever, first passing through the Bahamas and Virginia before gaining strength in the Pennsylvania/Northeast portion of its journey. While the actual storm may not have lived up to its Apocalyptic expectations at our house, the real legacy of Irene in this area comes from the "flooding" that resulting from the gallons of rain that it poured over the entire East Coast. (more)