Lehigh Football Nation

On Yale's first offensive drive of the game, Bulldog senior QB Patrick Witt was pressured in the pocket and hurried a pass, which floated right into the hands of junior CB Gabe Johnson . He returned the ball four yards, where Yale sophomore TE Kyle Wittenauer made a pro-style tackle from behind, popping the ball out of Johnson's hands and into the belly of Yale's center. It was that sort of turnover-filled dogfight that typefied the first half of this game, before Lehigh's offense and defensive units would take over the game in the second half and pull away for an extremely comfortable 37-7 win over the Eli.  (more)

(Photo Credit: Peter Casolino/The New Haven Register ) One of the interesting aspects of this Lehigh team is the perspective of its players.  For this group of seniors, their time at Lehigh hasn't been all about high-powered offense, winning championships, and making runs in the FCS playoffs. Despite all of this squad's success the past two years, the memory of the rough times are never all that far away. And Yale is associated with one of the roughest points of the Andy Coen era, and arguably the lowest (non-Leopard loss, that is) point in the last decade if you're a Lehigh fan.  For the last time the Eli came to Murray Goodman Stadium, they won the game without scoring an offensive touchdown.   (more)

This week's LFN Players of the Week awards go to: Offense:  Junior WR Ryan Spadola  (7 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD) Defense:  Senior LB Mike Groome  (12 tackles, 1 tackle for loss) (tie) Defense:  Senior LB Fred Mihal  (5 tackles, 1 pass break-up, 1 tackle for loss, and one huge forced fumble in the 4th quarter to preserve the victory) Special Teams:  Sophomore PK Tim Divers  (2-2 FGs, 30 yards, 2-2 XP, 8 points scored) (tie) Special Teams: Junior PK Jake Peery (perfectly executed onsides kick, recovered, led to TD) Underclassman:  Sophomore RB Keith Sherman  (154 all-purpose yards, includig 83 yards rushing and a 72 yard TD catch to have Lehigh re-take the lead) Congratulations to the winners!

(Photo Credit: Brian Freed/The Express-Times ) It was a Lehigh football game with quite the gold standard of media coverage. On TV, there were two full-time staffs covering the game: the regular Service Electric 2 broadcast from Mike Zambelli and Mike Yadush, and the Flames Sports Network TV broadcast featuring Mike Tilley and Ray Jones . On radio, Matt Kerr and Tom Fallon covered the game for ESPN AM 1230 and 1320 locally, while Alan York handled the play-by-play dutires for the Flames Radio Network. And in print, a multitude of media outlets also covered Lehigh's stirring 27-24 victory over a fellow nationally-ranked opponent as well, including two photo galleries.   (more)

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

It's one the oldest, but best, cliches there are: there's no "I" in team. And looking back on Lehigh's gut-check 27-24 win over nationally-ranked Liberty, you can't help but look over the team aspect of football, and how the Mountain Hawk's team play resulted in the huge win at Murray Goodman this weekend. It's clear that the players on this Lehigh team weren't looking at themselves in the mirror this past week, basking in a 2-1 record, a "moral victory" against New Hampshire, and getting caught up in their statistics.  Instead, they were working on their team play, their gameplan for the week, and the wrinkles they'd put in the playbook. The Mountain Hawks players' attention to those details is what made the win on Saturday.   (more)