GAME SEVEN, LEHIGH AT COLUMBIA – Mountain Hawks Look To Keep Good Times Rolling At the Upper Tip of Manhattan

BETHLEHEM, PA – This week’s game notes helpfully point out that Lehigh is unbeaten in their last ten games against Columbia (going 9-0-1 against the Lions).

To most, that would seem like a positive for the Mountain Hawks (6-0, 2-0 Patriot) and they head up to play the Lions (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) at Wien Stadium at the upper tip of Manhattan.

There’s a lot more positive numbers on paper, too about the Lehigh Mountain Hawks – their year-long regular season winning streak, their undefeated record, their national rankings in the FCS polls.

Yet longtime ball knowers know better.

There’s always that risk, especially on the road in college football, that a highly-favored team comes out, makes a bunch of mistakes, and ends up in a rock fight that could go either way.

A win for the Mountain Hawks would be an important step towards Lehigh’s ultimate goal of a Patriot League Championship, FCS Playoff berth, and maybe more. But a win for Columbia would be program-changing, reversing their 1-2 record and making them relevant in the Northeast, if not nationally.

And when you look at that 9-0-1 record, while it looks impressive on paper, it hides to games that could easily have gone the other way.

One of those games, back in 1998, was an absolute thriller. I know, because I was there, smelling the cigar smoke in the stands.

The Nearly Not Unbeaten Season

1998 is a season etched in alumni memory as one of the all-time great seasons. With QB Phil Stambaugh, RB Ron Jean, FB Brett Snyder and DE Nick Martucci, among many other great Lehigh luminaries, the Mountain Hawks went 11-0, upset Richmond in the first round of the I-AA Playoffs when nobody game them a chance, and was a first and goal away from beating eventual I-AA National Champions UMass at McGuirk Stadium.

Any barroom conversation about the best Lehigh football teams of all time has 1998 either at the top, or in their Top 5. Objectively, they were a great team.

And yet, the Mountain Hawks were very nearly thwarted by a Columbia team that finished 4-6, averaged about 14 points per game on offense, and had a 3-4 Ivy League record, their only other win against non-scholarship St. Mary’s (CA).

Lehigh was 4-0 when they headed to Wien Stadium in 1998, fresh off a morale-building 21-17 win over highly regarded Harvard, after falling behind 17-0 in the second quarter. Behind Stambaugh’s 359 yard passing day, the Mountain Hawks rallied and looked like one of the top teams in the East, if not the nation.

Almost immediately Lehigh ran into problems.

“Columbia held leads of 7-3, 10-3 and 19-17,” The New York Times reported, saying basically that the Mountain Hawks were batting against the tide all afternoon. “The Lions’ good defense set a Columbia record by holding Lehigh to a net rushing total of minus-30 yards, which included the 28 yards Lehigh lost on the sacks of Stambaugh.”

In an absolutely thrilling final four minutes, Lehigh got the ball back, undefeated streak and most likely national relevance on the line, and drove to the Columbia 30, stalling, as it had all afternoon, out of the Lion red zone.

Nobody of the crowd of about 3,500 was sitting at the end of the game. I know, because I was there.

“The Lehigh coach, Kevin Higgins, did not hesitate to send in PK Jaron Taafe rather than try another pass from his crack quarterback, Phil Stambaugh.,” The Times said. ”It’s fourth down,” Higgins said. ”A field goal wins the game. There was no question whatsoever.”

I saw that FG – Jaron’s longest FG attempt of the year, and of his college career, more than 10 yards longer than his previous longest of 32 yards, which he converted earlier in the same game.

”That’s about my limit.” Taafe said after the game. Although the Times interpreted that as “cockiness”, having seen the actual kick, Jaron wasn’t exaggerating. The ball crossed the lover crossbar by maybe a yard. I remember the officials kneeling down somewhat to make the call until it had hit the ground through the uprights, because it was that close. Until the ball actually cleared the crossbar, losing momentum, it wasn’t clear it was going to make it.

Another thing missing from the Times recap was a key element – there were 70 seconds left. Columbia had a chance to still win the game.

The Lions got the kickoff, moved down the field, and put themselves in position to win the game with what I remember as a 50+ yard field goal with seconds left. It was unsuccessful, and Lehigh would escape with a 20-19 win in a game where Columbia held the lead for the vast majority of the game, and Lehigh’s vaunted rushing attack was held to negative net yards rushing.

Through time, many fans remember the 1998 season in terms of the playoff win over Richmond, a dominating 31-7 win over Lafayette to clinch an undefeated season, or maybe even the 41-22 win over Colgate in Murray Goodman Stadium that gave them the title. Some fans, but mostly the players, might remember something about Jaaron Taafe kicking a long field goal to win a game at Columbia.

But it took an NFL-caliber kick – barely clearing the crossbar – at the limit of Jaron Taafe’s range – to make that happen. That game was the difference, looking back, between a great Lehigh season and a legendary one.

The Road To Greatness Goes Through Manhattan

There are similarities between that 1998 Columbia team and today’s Columbia team.

They’re not stopping opposing running backs quite that definitively, but their calling card is defense, giving up only 10 points to Georgetown and 17 points to Princeton, and nearly beating the Tigers, holding onto a 10-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

They haven’t given up a passing touchdown all season, and have already nabbed four interceptions, with LB Jack Smiechowski leading the team with three, two against Georgetown, and one against Princeton. DB Caleb Solomon (14 tackles) has highlighted a secondary that has shut down every opponent.

Smichowski also leads the Lions in tackles, while DL Justin Townsend also has 5 1/2 tackles for loss, including 4 sacks, highlighting a very solid Lion defense.

Offensively WR Titus Evans (203 yards) is probably Columbia’s best receiver though the Lions have struggled moving the ball, playing three different quarterbacks and having rotated through a large number of running backs as well. Columbia’s opponents have only registered two sacks against them all season.

While Lehigh, a Top 10 team, is certainly favored to win, they’ll hope to keep that rolling. The Mountain Hawks lead the Patriot League in both rushing offense (243.8 ypg.) and rushing defense (75,3 ypg). With junior RB Luke Yoder leading the way with three straight 100-yard rushing games (and four in his last six), the Mountain Hawks rank fifth nationally in rushing offense.

Lehigh’s rush defense has been equally impressive. The Mountain Hawks now rank third in the FCS against the run after limiting Penn to just 29 yards on the ground and Yale to 103 over the last two weeks.
The 29 rushing yards allowed to Penn were the fewest since Lehigh limited Princeton to minus-7 last season. LB Tyler Ochojski and a dominating defensive line have been Lehigh’s secret weapon this season, and they’ll hop to continue their stellar play in Manhattan.

LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (6-0, 2-0 Patriot) AT COLUMBIA LIONS (1-2. 0-1 Ivy)
WHERE: Robert K. Kraft FIELD at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium, Saturday, October 11th, Noon
STREAMING: ESPN+
TV CREW: PxP – Lance Medow; Analyst – Shawn Fitzgerald
RADIO: BROADCAST (Fox Sports Lehigh Valley 94.7 FM/1230 AM; LVFoxSports.com):
RADIO CREW: PxP – Matt Kerr; Analysts – Jim Guzzo, Connor Brown