Lehigh Football Nation

The final fall practices, including a scrimmage, for Lehigh conclude this weekend. All practices and scrimmages are at Whitehead practice fields. They are open and free to the general public. Here are the times: Saturday, 8:15AM Saturday, 7:30PM Sunday, 1:45PM Sunday's practice is followed by the annual Alumni Steak Fry. The Lehigh website has some juicy information about how practices are going: “Pete [Morelli] finished the spring as our No. 2 tight end, and has shown steady improvement,” Lembo said Thursday night at practice. “In camp, he has been a very physical blocker, he has improved mentally, and he is a very durable player with an outstanding work ethic. We hope he will continue to improve with hard work at practice.” On the defensive side of the ball, junior lineman Paul Fabre has caught Lembo’s watchful eye. “Paul saw limited time on special teams last year, but he has really made tremendous strides as a defensive lineman since the spring,” Lembo explains. “Paul...

Two intriguing releases on Lehigh's web site today, and some information on Lehigh's broadcast schedule: Mountain Hawks start two-a-days Allotment for Delaware sold out Lehigh Announces Broadcast Schedule Worthy of reprinting here: Following the team’s first evening practice of the preseason, fifth year head coach Pete Lembo said he was pleased with the team’s effort to this point. “I am pleased, but not surprised, with the physical condition of our team at this point,” Lembo explained. “With almost two-thirds of the group spending at least part of their summer here in Bethlehem, we had a good idea of their commitment level and intensity of training before they officially reported on August 9th. Several players, including some of our linemen, made solid gains in the bench, squat, vertical jump and standing broad jump over the summer.” While many of the veterans stuck around over the summer to stay in shape and improve their strength, Lembo points out that several of the team’s ...

I know it's late, but from today's camp notes on Arizona Cardinals official website, this begs reposting here: Tight End Race The Cardinals lack experience at the tight end position this season, but rookie free agent Adam Bergen has stood out throughout training camp. Bergen started for the injured Eric Edwards in the Cardinals first preseason game last weekend and was the only Cardinal tight end to catch a pass in the game. “I think Adam has started to separate himself from a receiving standpoint and has really looked good," said Warner. "When Eric went down he got some more opportunities and really has emerged as a guy that we think can be really successful for us and do some things from that position for us, from a receiving standpoint.” Sweet music. NFL veteran Kurt Warner singing his praises? You've got to believe that he has a really really good chance to stick now. I know it's early in the preseason, and stuff happens, but this is really positive...

It's been a week, and there is absolutely no excuse for my not posting in this space. Yes, I have been busy with my Top 20 countdown of I-AA fans , but that's no excuse for not feeding your hunger for Lehigh football. Can you believe that Lehigh's opening day vs. Monmouth is only 16 short days away? And just across the way from the media circus that is Eagles training camp, Lehigh is conducting its one-a-day and two-a-day practices. Lehigh has been practicing for more than a week now - they opened camp last Wednesday. If you want to pop your head into practice (they are free and open to the public), you can click on this link to find out the schedule. This coming Satuday at 1:45 will see Lehigh practicing in Murray Goodman - if the weather holds up, that should be a great day to attend practice. (If I wasn't going to be out of town this weekend, I would seriously consider going.) Soon I will have a listing of what questions need answering in this training camp. ...

This is a bit of shameless self-promotion here, but over at I-AA.org I've started a countdown of the "Top Fans in I-AA", and I thought you, dear reader, might be interested in checking it out. Don't worry, Lehigh is in the list, I promise...

This was pilfered from the Arizona Cardinals message board, but this seems to be extremely good news for every Lehigh fan's favorite NFL TE: 8-9-05 Practice For the most part the offense consisted of the 5 OL(including Nick Leckey), Fitz and BJ at WR, Adam Bergen and Aaron Goliday at TE and alternating running backs with J.J. Arrington getting the lion's share. The word is that Kurt Warner and the coaching staff are very impressed with Bergen in the early going. He seems to catch everything thrown his way. There was a lot of red zone work this morning. This appears to be a point of emphasis with Denny this camp. Had to spread the love! This is clearly the first-team offense that Bergen is working with. It's still real early, but Bergen looks like he has a real shot to be the starting TE for the Cards this year. Here on the east coast, we won't be able to watch the Cardinals/Cowboys preseason game this coming Saturday, but you can bet I'll be checking the boxscore a...

I'm back from vacation, two days before Lehigh opens up camp for the 2005 season, and I'm greeted by the wrapups of Patriot League Media Day last week. Not too surprisingly, Lehigh was picked as the preseason favorites to win the Patriot League this year, with Lafayette not incredibly far behind. 1. LEHIGH (8), 68 points 2. Lafayette (3), 61 points 3. Colgate (1), 49 points 4. Fordham (2), 41 points 5. Bucknell, 40 points 6. Holy Cross, 20 points 7. Georgetown, 15 points It seems like the other coaches and SIDs (the people who vote on the poll) feel that Lehigh, with key veterans on both sides of the ball returning, is the team to beat. However, it must be said that it looks like the Patriot League race is wide-open this year, and that's also reflected in this poll. Colgate, Fordham, and Bucknell will be fielding strong teams - any one of these teams have the ability to make a title run. Colgate is starting with a brand-new offense, but they have a big "O" line an...