Lehigh Football Nation

  I really wanted the Tom Gilmore Era to work. I did not first meet Tom Gilmore when he was a fiery defensive coordinator for some of the best Lehigh teams in history, but I thoroughly enjoyed what he created.   His defense was the final piece of the puzzle in 2001 when the Mountain Hawks earned a first round game in the I-AA Playoffs, a 27-24 win over Hofstra that was one of one of my favorite all-time non-Lafayette wins in program history.   In that game, Lehigh fell behind 14-0 and lost their starting QB, but his defense, led by guys like LB Tom McGeoy, held them to 10 points the rest of the way and ended up winning the game in overtime - where, fittingly, the Mountain Hawks prevented the Pride from scoring. I did later meet Tom Gilmore in person after a rainy afternoon at Murray Goodman Stadium in 2005.  By then, he had taken over a program profoundly in trouble, the Holy Cross Crusaders, and he was in his second year at the helm. When he took over at H...