GAME TWO, SACRED HEART AT LEHIGH: The “Pios” CAA Rebrand Heads To South Mountain In A Huge Proving Ground

BETHLEHEM, PA – In Kevin Cahill’s interview with Tom Fallon on LV Fox Sports Radio this week, Lehigh’s head football coach described Sacred Heart, the Mountain Hawks’ next opponent, as a “CAA Opponent”.

If you’ve been a fan of FCS football for a while, or have even simply followed Patriot League football the last few years, you, like me, probably did a double take.

The one-time Sacred Heart Pioneers, the once-upon-a-time Division II program of the 1990s, the former limited-scholarship NEC school of the 2010s, is currently competing as an FCS Independent.

But starting in 2026, with a brand-new helmet sporting “Pios” which somehow looks more UMass than UMass’ helmets ever actually looked, Sacred Heart will be the latest member of the CAA, replacing William & Mary and Villanova, who will be entering the Patriot League.

That makes this game between nationally-ranked Lehigh (1-0, 1-0 Patriot League) and Sacred Heart (1-0) a possible trap for the Mountain Hawks.

For the’ Pios’ are a program on the rise – one that are trying to elevate their profile and make a name for themselves the year before their entrance to one of the top leagues in FCS football.

If the Mountain Hawks think they’re dealing with a D-II team or anything less than a CAA-caliber team, they will be in for quite a surprise.

The Pios and the Patriot League

Sacred Heart has been a consistent Patriot League out-of-conference opponent, not just for Lehigh but for other Patriot League schools, including the playoffs.

In fact, their rise and trajectory is similar to one of their about-to-be-CAA-conferencemates, Monmouth.

Like the Hawks, they started out in Division II, and worked their way to the NEC, starting out as a limited-scholarship school with a tiny football stadium.

Like the Hawks, they played a lot of regional competition, largely on the road, and took their lumps, until suddenly, they didn’t.

Lafayette has been a regular non-conference opponent for Sacred Heart, as has Georgetown. Overall the Pios have gone 10-13 against the Patriot League, and have played every Patriot League team at least once (save Richmond, who just joined).

Two recent games stand out for the Pioneers going into this matchup.

The first is Lehigh’s only-other matchup against Sacred Heart in 2019 – which spawned one of my favorite headlines of all-time. “Sacred Heart’s Julius Chestnut Roasts Lehigh For Two Late TDs In 13-6 Win Over Mountain Hawks.“

Pioneers RB Julius Chestnut, a future NFL player, didn’t exactly run roughshod over the Lehigh defense, but he did enough to secure the win, scoring on a nine-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Pioneers a 7-6 lead, and then adding a 40-yard scamper on a third down with 1:48 to play. He finished with 130 yards on 25 carries, wearing Lehigh down in the fourth quarter after the Mountain Hawk offense failed to take off.

Head coach Mark Nofri’s teams have historically been defensive stalwarts, averaging only 17 points allowed per game in 2024, and last year made their name as one of the best pass defenses in the country, allowing only 5 passing TDs all season.

This bore itself out in another Patriot League matchup, where it took a near miracle heave to WR Jalen Coker by Holy Cross to survive Sacred Heart’s FCS Playoff upset bid, 13-10. (Coker, too, is an NFL player.)

Down 13-6, with the ball at the Sacred Heart 35, Crusader QB Matt Sluka and the offense had one, maybe two, shots at the end zone to win the game. In a game where the Pioneers defense had kept Holy Cross from scoring a touchdown, it came down to a long pass attempt to Coker on a very windy day.

And just like that – in double coverage – Coker came down with it.

“Jump ball Jay, we call him,” Sluka said.

The 35 yard spiral from Sluka to Coker was on the money – and Coker came up with it and fell in the end zone, and with it, gave Holy Cross their first-ever FCS Playoff win in five tries.

True to the Pioneers’ recent reputation, Sacred Heart’s football team played smothering, ferocious defense, and put themselves in a position to win at the end. Both of the games I mentioned seemed to follow this script.

Similar Scripts From Last Week

Sacred Heart and Lehigh won in very Mark Nofri-type fashion last week – playing ferocious defense, putting their teams in position to win at the end, and winning.

For Lehigh, tied at 14 going into the 4th quarter, it involved shutting down a Top 25 team’s offense in the 4th quarter.

In the 4th quarter, with 13 minutes to play, on 3rd and 7, LB Brycen Edwards made a huge play to tip Richmond QB Kyle Wickersham’s pass at the line of scrimmage to force a Richmond punt, setting up Lehigh again at their own 13.

At that point, Lehigh’s offensive line, QB Hayden Johnson, RB Jaden Green and RB Luke Yoder started to take over the game.

A 12 play, 87 yard drive ground out the win, with 55 yards on the ground, ending in Green’s second touchdown of the game, a bull rush off guard that broke the plane of the goal line, cementing Lehigh’s bruising, physical 21-14 win over Richmond.

As for Sacred Heart, they won in even more nail-biting fashion.

Up 12-7 on Stonehill, the Skyhawks drove the length of the field on the Pioneers’ defense, but Sacred Heart stiffened in the red zone. An unfortunate false start penalty with nine seconds left caused a ten second runoff, which concluded the game with a 12-7 Pios victory, with Sacred Heart only allowing one fourth quarter scoring drive all game.

Defensively, including their last stop, the Pioneers stuffed Stonehill in the red zone three separate times, and scored a safety thanks to LB Myles Hamilton bursting through the line and tackling Stonehill’s RB for a loss in the end zone.

If their Game Ones are any indication, this game could be a real defensive battle, just like last week for both teams.

Something To Prove

Sometimes, teams with something to prove are more dangerous than conference opposition.

The Pioneers are playing an FCS independent schedule. In the modern era, no FCS independent has qualified for an at-large playoff bid, not since Hofstra back in the late 1990s.

If they were to petition to qualify, they essentially have three games on their schedule where they could prove themselves.

Against the No. 11 Mountain Hawks is one. The others are later in the year, on the road against Montana, and on the road against Villanova. If they win all three of those games, they will have a FCS Playoff-worthy resume.

For Lehigh, being the hunted is all still very new. Every week they’ll be the hunted, and every week will have FCS postseason implications now, thanks to the Ivy League allowing their teams to compete in the FCS Playoffs.

And just like Monmouth, Sacred Heart’s ambitions have been growing in leaps and bounds every year.

The Pios can point to a very competitive record against the Patriot League, and can point to the success of Monmouth as an aspiration for the program. In some ways, Monmouth’s growth as a program came from at first being competitive with Lehigh on the road, then beating them regularly. Sacred Heart would love nothing better than to start their time in the CAA next year on that note.

The Mountain Hawks came off an emotional conference win to start the year – one that arguably they had to have in order to stay nationally ranked and to keep the upper hand in the conference championship. The question is whether they will be able to continue that momentum in Week Two against a non-conference, but very dangerous, opponent.

SACRED HEART PIONEERS (1-0) AT LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (1-0, 1-0)
WHERE: Murray Goodman Stadium/Bethlehem, PA, Saturday, September 6th, Noon
STREAMING: ESPN+
TV CREW: PxP – Marco Socci; Analyst – Mike Yadush
RADIO: BROADCAST (Fox Sports Lehigh Valley 94.7 FM/1230 AM; LVFoxSports.com):
RADIO CREW: PxP – Matt Kerr; Analysts – Lance Haynes, Connor Brown