Fun Times Return for Lehigh In 33-19 Romp versus Fordham

BETHLEHEM, PA – In the first quarter, Fordham (0-8, 0-3 Patriot League) took a 3-0 lead over Lehigh (4-3, 1-1 Patriot) after a 41 yard yard field goal.

After that, it was all Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks romped to the next 33 points at home en route to a 33-19 victory.

It was Lehigh’s first win against the Rams since 2021, and the first time the Mountain Hawks had beaten Fordham at home at Murray Goodman Stadium since 2016.

“That was a big win for us,” head coach Kevin Cahill said afterwards. “Big to get to win in the Patriot League, which is huge for us, but also a big win against Fordham. There’s not a guy our locker room that has beaten Fordham. Obviously big for this program, but also big for this team to know that we can win those games.”

Last year, Lehigh lost a heartbreaking to Fordham in the Bronx, losing a two score lead in the final quarter to lose on a long field goal by the Rams.

This year, the Mountain Hawks rode a dominating first half performance where RB Jaden Green ran for 104 yards in the first quarter and scored the Mountain Hawks’ first touchdown on the afternoon to get things rolling, giving Lehigh the lead they would never relinquish.

“It was my first game starting in a while,” Green said after the game. “I just wanted to make sure I was doing my job, helping my team out. Our offensive line is great, ever since the start of the season they are keeping things going. I talked to [DB Nick Peltekian] about the defense. He said they’ll get the three-and-out, and you’re going to get this started off.”

Green ended with 147 yards rushing and one touchdown, and had another long touchdown run called back by a penalty. He split carries with RB Luke Yoder, who had 75 yards, and QB Matt Machalik added two red zone touchdown runs, capping off a 246 yard rushing day by the Lehigh offense.

Meanwhile, a defensive effort led by LB Mike DeNucci Lehigh’s defense held Fordham to 111 total yards in the first half, four three-and-outs and a first half interception by DB D.J. Brown to swamp the Rams in a dominating performance.

PK Nick Garrido added a 41 yard FG, his career long, while QB Hayden Johnson connected with WR Mike D’Avino for the freshman’s first touchdown pass as a Mountain Hawk to give Lehigh a 31-3 lead going into halftime.

“As a defense, we always want to be out there,” he said after the game. “If we could, we’d rather have the offense not be able to go out there. Just us go out there and tackle, hit people 24/7, especially with DL TJ Burke, DL Matt Spanty, all those guys up front. They would rather have nothing else than be out there and just be able to bang heads with guys 24/7. So that’s our mentality of the defense this year. We want to be in the situation 24/7, of us being out there with the games in our hands, and we’re the ones controlling it.”

DeNucci had 11 tackles and 4 tackles for loss (including 2 sacks), leading the team along with LB Brycen Edwards, who added a pass break-up as well.

“I think the biggest thing for our defense this year is just the appreciation for the game,” DeNucci continued. “I think we’re not letting things get ahead of us or too much. We’re tuning in every play. First down is a fourth down. Fourth down is a first down. Soon, it’s a fourth down stop. And then, guess what? They’re going to come out with another drive in a couple of plays after the offense is done, whether they score or not. The biggest thing is just not getting too ahead in those plays and being celebratory. Just saying, we’re going to get after the next play because we need another drive after that, another play after that. Another tackle has to be made, another pass break up. So the mentality of this defense is, You want to just get after the next play.”

DeNucci said that being around the younger players has been very inspiring to him and the seniors and fifth years on the team.

“I think the biggest thing is they’ve been motivating me,” he said. “I’m walking around the locker room with Jaden and hanging out with these guys, and I feel like a freshman again, I feel like a sophomore. I don’t feel like I’m a graduate student. I think they’ve really been pushing me, the young guys, especially, saying, Oh, good. When I come up the sidelines, get after it. We need We need you. It’s not coming from guys that are my age or around my age. It’s all guys that are younger than me. They’re really looking up to me and pushing me.”

Fordham scored a pair of second half touchdowns and two two-point conversions to make the deficit a lot closer, but a late onsides kick was recovered by Lehigh to effectively put the game away. It wasn’t a totally perfect win, but it was plenty good enough to keep the Mountain Hawks alive in the Patriot League playoff race and to reversing the two game losing streak during the most critical stretch of the season.

Beating a Forhdam team that had beaten them eight times out of their last ten meetings caused smiles around the table, too, one they would enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening.

On Monday, Mike and Jaden won Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week Awards, respectively for their efforts.

“I’m just proud of the way we played and came out in the first half,” Cahill added. “We talked all week about our brand of football and how we got away from it last week. I was proud of these kids coming in and working all week. I think what’s the proudest moment is probably Tuesday practice, I’ll be honest with you, was the way we practiced on Tuesday. You could sense that these guys had a lot of pride in the way of what we’re doing. With these two guys, especially, they’re leading the charge. It was impressive on Tuesday, and we just had to do the work on Saturday. We know that it was going to take that effort.”

Lehigh goes to 4-3 (1-1 Patriot League) while Fordham drops to 0-8 (0-3 Patrriot). Lehigh faces off against Georgetown in Washington, DC next week, while Fordham hosts Colgate.

Box Score

FOR: Holley,Tripp (69), Loughridge,Julius (77), Thornton,Cole (37)
LEH: Johnson,Hayden (99), Green,Jaden (147), Jamiel,Geoffrey (47)
Attendance: 3428

Chuck Burton

Chuck has been writing about Lehigh football since the dawn of the internet, or perhaps it only seems like it. He’s executive editor of the College Sports Journal and has also written a book, The Rivalry: How Two Schools Started the Most Played College Football Series.

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