Lehigh Football Nation

On Wednesday, as a part of my new job as preview columnist of the College Sporting News , I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Patriot League Media Day and interview players, coaches, and the commissioner of the Patriot League, Ms. Carolyn Schlie Femovich. My full report on the goings-on at Media Day were detailed on College Sporting News, including this exclusive interview with the commissioner about all the topics surrounding the future of the league. In attendance from Lehigh were head coach Andy Coen, senior QB Sedale Threatt and senior FS Ernest Moore . I took time to sit down with Ernest and talk to him a little about the upcoming season. CB: Last time I saw you play was in the spring, when you delivered that big hit... Fans in the stands heard that loud crushing sound of pads! EM: I wouldn't say it was a monster hit, but I appreciate you saying that. I try to do what I can do. CB: As captain, you're the true leader of this defense now. What have you done in t...

Patriot League media today was today. For the uninitiated, it's a day for the media to hear the story of the upcoming football season as told by the players, coaches, and league brass. I'm planning to write a fuller recap tomorrow, but I wanted to weigh in with some "quick hit" observations first. * Lafayette was the surprise #1 pick in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, with Lehigh only one vote behind. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, considering that the preseason poll winner hasn't ended up winning the league since Lehigh did it in... 2001 . * However, it wasn't the only surprise in the poll. Nationally-ranked in some polls, Holy Cross was picked to finish 4th behind Colgate (who was 4-7 last year). Colgate and Holy Cross were only separated by two votes as well, which shows something real interesting: the teams themselves don't seem to have a real clear vision as to who's going to take this thing. Parity among the top four - some wou...

Patriot League Media day, which I will be attending on Wednesday, is oh-so-close to being here. I think I finally realized this on Friday, when it dawned on me that I hadn't released my annual review of the offseason for all the teams of the Patriot League. (Yes, carney2 on the Any Given Saturday board offered his review about five months before I did, but maybe I'm not as bright as that ol' curmudgeon is.) I can think of no better way to usher in Media Day - and, by extension, the 2007 season - by posting my offseason review. Basically, it's your guide to what's been happening up to this point in the Patriot League. BUCKNELL Coaching Changes: Defensive coordinator Jared Backus jumped to Temple to become their defensive line coach, while Andrew Cohen returned to the Bison to take over instead (coming from Columbia where he helped propel the Lions’ defense lead the way to a 5-5 mark). Two more assistants also left – WR coach Devin Fitzsimmons (now at Kansas ...

Only one thing could possibly cause me to delay the release of my 30-year anniversary team: it was the need to promote something important. (So important, I might add, that I'm kicking myself that I didn't report on this earlier.) This Saturday (as reported in the Morning Call and on Keith Groller's Morning Call blog ) will be the annual flag football ALS fundraiser at Northwestern Lehigh. In years past it has been to help out Brett Snyder ('00) after being diagnosed with ALS (or Lou Gerhig's disease) two years ago. But this year, all proceeds are going to Brett's new foundation Tackle ALS . His foundation "''educates and encourages others to spread awareness about this disease that affects all ages, and to support research aimed at early diagnosis and detection of ALS.'' The event this Saturday, July 28th (rain date is Sunday, July 29th) is at the Northwestern Lehigh football field (off of Route 309). From Interstate 78, take Route 10...

With the exclusive Lehigh Football Nation 30th anniversary team scheduled to be completed later this week, it's time to look at what some Lehigh football alumni are up to these days. As you'll see, it's about a lot more than just acting suave on camera ( nice photo, Rob ) - it's about pursuing dreams on and off the football field. On the football field, Adam Bergen ('05) and Gerran Walker ('06) continue to pursue their dreams of an NFL career. Adam Bergen is in training camp with the Dallas Cowboys , and he seems to have an excellent chance to stick with new head coach Wade Phillips. (And another former I-AA player, QB Tony Romo from Eastern Illinois, might be the guy to get him the ball.) Gerran Walker, on the other hand, was recently cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers . Here's hoping that he will get another shot in an NFL training camp this year, where this speedy receiver would seem to be able to stick somewhere. (Here's a thought - why not my belo...

It's the middle of July, and I've been taking a small break from writing on my blog to (finally) go on a vacation and to finish some writings for the upcoming FCS Preview Magazine which was formerly sponsored by I-AA.org. The past couple weeks for me have involved a long-deserved break from work and writing to spend some quality time with my family -- followed by a mad blitz of writing, editing, and preparing for the upcoming FCS season. (Can you believe Patriot League Media Day is right around the corner?) I may as well also announce that on College Sporting News I am officially going to be assuming the responsibility of senior FCS columnist, taking over for the legendary Dave Coulson (who will now be writing for the Sports Network , taking over for Matt Dougherty who was recently hired as the Patriot League Director of Media Relations ). That means that the diaries that I've been doing for College Sporting News are going to be fewer in number, and I'm going to be w...

I know, it's not fair to take a vacation and leave everyone in the lurch concerning the scholarship debate (hint: you could read my elaborate piece on College Sporting News summing up my five blog postings on the matter), but even if it is a vacation involving family reunions, mountain hiking and meeting a legend, it will (fortunately? unfortunately?) mean that I'll be incommunicado for the next week and a half. Yes, I do know that Matt Dougherty's last Sports Network column ranks senior C John Reese as one of the best linemen in all of FCS . Congratulations to John, who will be hiking off to one of the top QBs in all of FCS, senior QB Sedale Threatt. What you may not have known is that Mr. Dougherty is on his way to be the media director of the Patriot League starting, oh, in a couple of days. The latest on the message boards involves a recruit which has committed to Lehigh. Don't believe everything you read. And finally, there's a lot of speculation regardin...