LEHIGH AT HOLY CROSS 11/9/2024: Mountain Hawks’ Next Challenge Is To Defeat Defending Champions On the Road

On By Chuck Burton

BETHLEHEM, PA – It had to have been the dream back in August for members of Lehigh Nation that the game this weekend would have the significance it does today.

Last week, after a dominating 43-6 win over Georgetown, the stage has been set for more meaningful football games for Lehigh in November – with a huge one this weekend.

The Mountain Hawks (5-3, 2-1 Patriot League) have three very important preseason goals to potentially achieve this week in their business trip to Worcester against Holy Cross (4-5, 3-0 Patriot League).

The first goal is to secure a winning record.

Lehigh’s last season-ending winning record came in 2016 under the late great head coach Andy Coen.

After dropping their first two games, the 2-2 Mountain Hawks that year traveled to Yale (where future head coach Kevin Cahill was an assistant) and walloped the Bulldogs 63-35 to get to over .500, en route to a 9-2 regular season and undefeated Patriot League conference record.

Since that championship season – incredibly – Lehigh has had a winning record for exactly one week in 2018, squeaking past St. Francis (PA) 21-19 to start the season 1-0 before dropping their next seven games.

It was only after beating LIU back in September that any Lehigh football player entered a Monday practice with the satisfaction of having won more games than they lost. If the Mountain Hawks win this weekend in Worcester, no matter what happens after that, they will end the season with a winning record. That would be a major accomplishment for this program, and something to celebrate.

The second goal is to beat Holy Cross.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Lehigh has dropped six straight to the Crusaders, mirroring the steps back the Mountain Hawk football program took and the huge strides forward Holy Cross took under head coach Bob Chesney.

It almost goes without saying that no Lehigh football player has experienced a win against Holy Cross, who have won or shared a part of five straight Patriot League titles.

While the Crusaders were robbed of the postseason by FCS Playoff committee members asleep at the switch in choosing at-large bids, sometimes people forget that Bob Chesney’s final season at Holy Cross was also his fifth Patriot League Championship, shared with Lafayette with a 4-1 conference record. (Lafayette got the Patriot League’s autobid to the FCS playoffs by virtue of their thrilling 38-35 win against the Crusaders at home.)

Beating an existing Patriot League Championship holder is a big deal – especially when that team is also in the running for their sixth straight title. It also shows the enormity of the task – Holy Cross has clearly been there before, with plenty of muscle memory on how to execute and how to win, as evidenced by their 3-0 conference record (already achieving their revenge against Lafayette two weeks ago, in a 34-28 thriller in Easton).

The third preseason goal achieved by the win would be surviving and keeping their hopes alive of a Patriot League Championship.

A win in Worcester – breaking two really significant streaks – would put both Lehigh and Holy Cross at 3-1 in the Patriot League standings, with the Mountain Hawks holding a tiebreaker for a prized FCS Playoff spot.

If Lehigh wins and Bucknell loses, it would also mean the Mountain Hawks would be in control of their own destiny for an FCS Playoff appearance – a remarkable feat for a team that was picked sixth out of seven Patriot League teams in the preseason, no matter what happens.

Few FCS pundits in America would have predicted Lehigh’s rebuilding to be so successful so fast.

But Holy Cross not only won’t give up the title chase without a fight – the Crusaders are 4-5 after playing bar none the toughest schedule in the Patriot League. Syracuse, Harvard, Yale, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island were their losses.

While Yale beat Lehigh handily, the Bulldogs barely squeaked past Holy Cross, and Harvard, New Hampshire and Rhode Island either have spent time in the FCS Top 25 or are there right now. And losing to a FBS bowl-bound team in 6-2 Syracuse is hardly a warning sign of a team in decline.

Expect a hard fought game in front of a big crowd at Fitton Field this Saturday between a battle-tested team that has been there before and an upstart Lehigh team who have a chance to achieve three huge preseason goals this weekend and keep their title dreams alive.

LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (5-3, 2-1 Patriot) AT HOLY CROSS CRUSADERS (4-5, 3-0 Patriot)
WHERE: Fitton Field/Warcester, MA, Saturday, November 9th, Noon
STREAMING: ESPN+
TV CREW: PxP – Kevin Gehl; Analysts Kevin Shea, Faith Cain
RADIO: BROADCAST (Fox Sports Lehigh Valley 94.7 FM/1230 AM; LVFoxSports.com):
RADIO CREW: PxP – Matt Kerr; Analysts – Steve Lomangino, Connor Brown

A Word On The Lehigh/Holy Cross Series (And The Obligatory 1991 Reference)

Looking back, it’s truly amazing how many Lehigh/Holy Cross games I’ve seen through the years. I’ve seen highs, and lows, monsoons and classics.

What’s interesting about the Lehigh and Holy Cross series overall is how little their success overlaps. When Holy Cross has struggled, Lehigh have been world beaters, and when the Crusaders are on top of the world, Lehigh has been down.

One of Lehigh’s early Patriot League games in the 1990s came in 1991 in a rare time of ascendancy of both teams. It so happens I was at that game.

The upstart Engineers with the powerful passing offense of head coach Hank Small went up against a Holy Cross team still loaded with scholarship players, both teams nationally ranked.

I think a lot about that 43-42 game in 1991, one of the best games I ever attended in person. I think without question it was one of the games that set me on this crazy path of following and writing about Lehigh football.

What most people don’t remember is that the game was tied at seven at halftime before all hell broke loose.

Both teams exchanged leads seemingly every possession in the second half, with Lehigh executing a now-illegal “fumblerooski” play to take a temporary lead and just missing a two-point conversion pass in the final minute that would have had our student section storm the field. (I can point to the exact location where I was sitting in the stadium when I watched the game – right next to where the Marching 97 plays.)

Back then, Murray Goodman was one of the hottest tickets in town. It was an era where there was much, much less college football content on TV, and if you wanted to be a part of the fabric of college football that day, attending the local college football game was the way you did it.

It helped that Lehigh was a program that had had national success – a Division II National Championship in 1977 – and an offense that was very entertaining. The games were carried locally on television, too, making them events.

Holy Cross had just entered the Patriot League and had their scholarship athletes grandfathered in, adding sizzle to the game. It was not at all clear whether Holy Cross would be as successful when they turned to a Ivy League-like model.

And in fact in the ensuing years Holy Cross had a very difficult transition from traditional football scholarships to need-based aid, which contributed to the decline of their program by the end of the 1990s. Conversely, Lehigh rose to win multiple Patriot League championships and I-AA playoff appearances under those same rules.

Looking back, it’s pretty strange how when Holy Cross got competitive in the early days of Tom Gilmore, Lehigh was struggling to get going under Andy Coen, and when coach Coen started to figure it out and field championship teams, Holy Cross started to struggle again.

That has continued today in a remarkably even series. The lifetime series sits at 19-19-1.

Lehigh Rundown

This week’s game notes once again don’t have too many changes from week to week, but it’s worth noting the past few weeks there have been some surprise starters. For example, two weeks ago versus Fordham, RB Luke Yoder was listed before the game as the starter, but RB Jaden Green got the start instead in a late change. Similarly, DT Andrew Sharga started last week versus Georgetown over DT Quentin Joyner. Overall it’s not a big deal – Yoder and Green both get a lot of time on the field, and Joyner ended with 4 tackles – but it does show a surprise here and there.

DB Jordan Adderley‘s 61 yard interception return was an electrifying highlight last week and a great moment for a speedy defensive back and great student-athlete who has struggled to stay healthy. One of the more uplifting moments of last week was to see the Fayetteville, Georgia native find great success last week in a dominating defensive effort.

LFN’s Drink of the Week

My take on Red Death. Adapted slightly from this recipe.

  • 1/2 ounce grenadine syrup
  • 1 ounce Southern Comfort
  • 1 ounce vodka
  • 1/2 ounce sloe gin
  • 1/2 ounce triple sec
  • 1/2 ounce blackberry brandy
  • 2 ounce orange juice
  • 1 ounce pineapple juice

Put in a tumbler and pour.

Scouting Holy Cross

Bob Chesney built an incredible foundation for a college program on Worcester that still very much reflects on him, as much as first year head coach Dan Curran might not like to hear it.

In my mind, Holy Cross has won with great depth, no obvious weaknesses, and a few key team cogs that keep the machine rolling. While they have had great athletes – witness WR Jalen Coker‘s rapid rise on the depth chart of the Carolina Panthers, as well as QB Matthew Sluka‘s impressive audition at UNLV after graduating – what’s remarkable about them is how they have so much depth and continuity.

Sure it does feel a little different – losing Coker to the NFL and Sluka to an FBS school was bound to have an impact – but the core is still there. Despite the aforementioned five losses, the last time Holy Cross had a losing season was in 2017, starting 1-6 in Chesney’s first year in Worcester and finishing 4-7. It goes without saying that the Crusaders do not want to return there.

Holy Cross’ biggest strength is their rush defense. That their team is leading the Patriot League (and sits at 24th nationally) at 3.77 yards per rushing attempt is even more remarkable when you consider their strong schedule.

Additionally, while LB Jacob Dobbs has graduated, Holy Cross’ defense held its first two Patriot League opponents, Colgate and Fordham, to just one touchdown in each game, and Patriot League teams are averaging just 17 points per contest against the Crusaders. Leading this solid group is LB Frankie Monte (83 tackles, 3 1/2 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles). The defense has been aggressive and dangerous – they’ve taken the ball away 20 times this season while giving it up only 7 times, good for an eye-popping +13 turnover ratio.

The Crusader offense leads the Patriot League as well, averaging 378.7 yards per game overall with QB Joe Pesansky picking right up where Sluka left off (1,972 passing yards, 60.94% completions, 17 TDs, 4 INTs). He distributes the ball extremely well, too, with WR Max Mosey, WR Justin Shorter and TE Jacob Petersen all worrisome receiving weapons for this Crusader offense with 5 TDs apiece. Sophomore RB Jayden Clerveaux isn’t chopped liver, either, cementing down the starting role after RB Jordan Fuller got hurt for the season getting 632 yards rushing and 7 TDs, showing the amazing depth Holy Cross has.

And just in case you thought it would be any easier on special teams, PK Daniel Porto two weeks ago nailed a career and Holy Cross record long 53 yard FG in their win. It’s really a testimony to how impressive Holy Cross has been.

LFN’s Keys to the Game

  1. Ratio. Win the turnover ratio, win the game. Holy Cross’ defense has been their strength, and their ability to take away the football has been their strength. Lehigh will have to take that away – both through turnovers and ball protection – to have a chance to win. If Lehigh has some of the giveaways they’ve given in other games, the Mountain Hawks don’t stand a chance.
  2. Balance on offense. Lehigh hasn’t had to be all that balanced over their last two wins versus Fordham and Georgetown, but they’ll have to be on Saturday to make headway on a tough Holy Cross defense. I don’t fear the Crusader defense unless the Mountain Hawks need to become one dimensional. If they can keep multiple dimensions on offense, that will help a lot.
  3. The 4th Quarter. Despite all the history, despite losing so many to Holy Cross over the last six years, they have not all been unequivocal blowouts. Lehigh has had leads, and has been competitive, including last year. The critical difference – and Lehigh has not been tested like this most of the year – is in the 4th quarter. Each time, the Mountain Hawks have lost the 4th quarter, and the game. How this Lehigh team responds in the 4th quarter this weekend will determine the outcome this time around. They’ll have to play like veterans, not underclassmen.

Fearless Prediction

The question has loomed over Lehigh since they came from behind and beat LIU on Long Island – is Lehigh back? That win gave Lehigh a winning record, and since then the Mountain Hawks have not dipped back into losing record territory. While so far this season has been great for Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks aren’t all the way back. Not quite, anyway.

Are they back enough to win this game? Certainly there have been very encouraging signs, not least the Mountain Hawks’ comprehensive win last week vs. Georgetown. However when you look at Lehigh’s wins – Wagner, LIU, Georgetown, Princeton, and Fordham – only Georgetown has a winning record. No disrespect meant to those teams, but the challenge of Holy Cross is a bigger one than all of those.

I want to believe this team is different. I see the positive strides that have been made – they’re easily seen. But strides are one thing, and beating the five-time Patriot League Champions on the road is quite another, in a game that seems destined for a tight fourth quarter finish. It’s why these kids play football, I’m sure – moments like this, where they are tested, and they find out who and what they really are.

Lehigh 27, Holy Cross 24

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