Lehigh Football Nation

It looked like a trap game.  It felt like a trap game.  And when Lehigh's offense came up empty in its first three drives, it felt like it was going to be a dogfight all the way. But when Lehigh fans asked their defense to carry them through the early part of this game, they rose to the call. A fantastic defensive effort, which slowed down a frantic Princeton attack for four quarters, routinely forced the Tigers to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns.  And when the dust settled - and the Lehigh offense got things together - Lehigh escaped Princeton with a double-digit win.  (more)

Central Arkansas almost lived the dream this past Saturday night. Clint Conque's Bears had their FBS opposition on the ropes in Ruston, LA. As Louisiana Tech, a member of the Western Athletic Conference of FBS, was deep in Central Arkansas territory in an attempt to break a 35-35 deadlock, senior safety Jerrel McKnight scooped up a fumble and took it to the house, giving the kids in white and purple a touchdown lead with just over two minutes to play. It was a stirring sight for those who have followed FCS football for a long time. Central Arkansas, only recently having even become a full-fledged Division I program, giving Louisiana Tech, a team that once made the I-AA National Championship game (1984 in a 19-6 loss to Montana State), but now a part of a fringe FBS conference that may be in the process of falling apart, all they could handle. (more)

As a head football coach, you always have to be looking for potential "traps" in the schedule for your team. Traps are generally, for example, games on the road. They can be games sandwiched in between "big-emotion" games - like, say, last weekend's 48-41 overtime defeat against nationally-ranked new Hampshire and next weekend's home game against nationally-ranked Liberty. They can also be games that are the home opener for the team involved, where the home team is playing to get the season under way to "defend their house". By any of these three criteria, the game at 6:00PM at Princeton Stadium this weekend would be considered: trap, trap, and trap.  And if there's such a thing as a five-alarm trap game, this game is it for the Mountain Hawks.  (more)

This week's LFN Players of the Week awards go to: Offense:  Senior QB Chris Lum  (36-for-54 passing, 401 yards, passing, 6 TDs ) (first 400 yard passing game by Lehigh since QB Phil Stambaugh did it) (tie) Offense: Senior WR Jake Drwal (11 catches, 142 yards, 2 TDs, including slipping free of defender for go-ahead score) Defense:  Junior CB Bryan Andrews (1 tackle, 1 interception, 4 passes defensed) Special Teams:  Junior LB Sam Loughery (4 tackles, critical forced fumble to kick-start comeback) Underclassman:  Sophomore P Tim Divers (5 punts for 42 yards, 4 inside the 20, longest: 51 yards) Congratulations to the winners!

There was no way I was going to miss this tailgate. When I got the news from Rich Knupp , the director of the Lehigh Athletics Partnership, and Kody Fedorcha , the former Lehigh player and current Mountain Hawk broadcaster, that there was going to be a fundraising tailgate to support the Tackle ALS foundation , I was thrilled to be able to go with my family to support this cause that is near to the hearts of many folks in the Lehigh university and high school communities. With a goal of raising $10,000 for raising awareness of ALS and ensuring that Lehigh football family member Brett Snyder is squarely focused on beating the disease more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, Brett's friends "blew that goal right out of the water", said Fedorcha to me and others at the event.   (more)

It was an amazing display of football this Saturday at Murray Goodman stadium, and while there were plenty of great pictures from the game, one of the best came from the muscle grab by sophomore RB Keith Sherman as taken by one of you, the Nation. The weekly wrap features a writeup from the Sports Network , a whole host of articles from the local publications, and some extra wrap-up from an active media up in New Hampshire.  Oh yeah, and senior QB Chris Lum won Patriot League Player of the Week honors for the second straight week with his 6 TD, 401 yard passing performance. Did you know that Lum now has more passing touchdowns than any quarterback in the country right now - FCS or FBS?  Now, you do. (more)

Below the flip, see my Top 25 for this week.   (more)

All week, I'd been trying to avoid the coverage of of the ten year anniversary of 9/11. And I almost succeeded, until late tonight. After the NFL dedicated Week One to commemorating the day, after every single station from CNN to HGTV talked about some aspect of the horrifying terrorist attack on our soil, I finally couldn't avoid it any longer. Why did I try to avoid the "9/11" coverage?  Because ten years later, it still hurts. My story on the "9/11" attack is a strange one.  It has nothing to do with Lehigh or football.  But it does have something to do with two different ages that we lived in: the "pre" and the "post" "9/11".  (more)