Lehigh Makes a Statement In Their 35-20 Win over Princeton
BETHLEHEM, PA – “This was a statement game for us,” Lehigh (3-1, 0-0 Patriot) head coach Kevin Cahill said after a hard-fought but clear-cut 35-20 win over Princeton (0-1, 0-0 Ivy) this Saturday at Murray Goodman Stadium.
Looking back on a game in front of a big, raucous family weekend of 6,217 fans, it seemed to be as much as a statement to Lehigh’s own fans as it was a statement to the Ivy League, FCS, or even themselves.
It was a statement that the Mountain Hawks are a different sort of team that folks had been seeing for the last six years – a statement that home games are a place for fun for the home team, and a brutal place to play for opponents for all the right reasons.
That different sort of team was in evidence on Saturday, as the Mountain Hawks never trailed and held Princeton’s rushing attack to -7 yards, while also sacking Princeton QB Blaine Hipa six times and holding a 35-25 time of possession advantage.
“I think putting the game on our back makes it easier for the rest of the team because it all starts up front,” DL Matt Spatny said, who had 2 1/2 of Lehigh’s six sacks and was a dominant force, with 2 QB hurries and 1 pass break-up along with seven tackles. “Ever since the beginning of the year, we’ve really harped on getting to the quarterback, we can’t rely on the rest of the team for our mistakes. We need to affect the game ourselves. I believe at the end of the game, we really did that as well.”
The Mountain Hawks on offense rode a mostly balanced attack, passing for 193 yards and rushing fr 153 more. They scored four rushing touchdowns, two from RB Jaden Green (82 yards rushing) and two from RB Luke Yoder (73 yards rushing). Yoder made it four straight games with a touchdown, spinning and bouncing off tacklers for his fourth and fifth touchdowns of the season.
“I think the offense just did a great job coming out there, taking advantage of our opportunities,” Yoder said. “Obviously, first half we left a little bit on the table, but we just came out in the second half, did what we have to do, and closed the game out.”
The Mountain Hawks got out to a fast start when CB Aidan Singleton intercepted Princeton on their first drive, leading to Yoder’s first touchdown.
Lehigh missed several opportunities to extend the lead in the first half, and when Princeton WR Luke Colella scored on a 36 yard pass from Hipa, the Mountain Hawks were only up 21-14 late in the 3rd quarter, Princeton had the ball back and was on the doorstep, driving to the Lehigh 25.
The Tigers went for it on 4th down, and DL T.J. Burke made an emphatic sack to force the Tigers to turn the ball over on downs. Burke, Spatny, LB Mike DeNucci (8 tackles, 1 1/2 TFL) and LB Brycen Edwards (4 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 sack, 1 interception) really stood out on the afternoon, and that defensive sequence.
That led to a 12 play, 69 yard drive that ended it a touchdown pass from QB Hayden Johnson to WR Geoffrey Jamiel that electrified the home crowd and gave the Mountain Hawks a decisive two-score lead.
Late interceptions by Edwards and DB Andrew Worthy helped close out the hard-fought but comprehensive win over the Ivy League title contender.
“We’re playing better,” Cahill said. “We’re playing more effective football. We’re doing a great job defensively, doing a great job offensively, playing complementary football for the most part. But it doesn’t matter until next week starts the real deal. We know that. We know we have a lot of work to do, clean up a lot of mistakes from this week because other teams will exploit some of our mistakes and we have to do a better job in a lot of areas.”
Princeton (0-1 , 0-0) -VS- Lehigh (3-1 , 0-0)
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Lehigh | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
Pri: Hipa,Blaine (219), Volker,John (28), Colella,Luke (86)
LEH: Johnson,Hayden (165), Green,Jaden (82), McFadden,Dylan (62)
Attendance: 6,217
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | Pri | LEH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 09:04 | LEH – Yoder,Luke 20 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 3 plays, 39 yards, TOP 01:24 | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | 05:50 | Pri – Volker,John 3 yd run (Massick,Sam kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:14 | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 08:54 | LEH – Green,Jaden 11 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 7 plays, 72 yards, TOP 04:00 | 7 | 14 |
| 2nd | 05:40 | LEH – Yoder,Luke 1 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 3 plays, 50 yards, TOP 01:35 | 7 | 21 |
| 3rd | 10:34 | Pri – Colella,Luke 36 yd pass from Hipa,Blaine (Massick,Sam kick) 11 plays, 79 yards, TOP 04:19 | 14 | 21 |
| 4th | 14:10 | LEH – Jamiel,Geoffrey 17 yd pass from Johnson,Hayden (Garrido,Nick kick) 12 plays, 69 yards, TOP 06:59 | 14 | 28 |
| 4th | 09:54 | Pri – Picinic,Tyler 3 yd pass from Hipa,Blaine ( ) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:16 | 20 | 28 |
| 4th | 06:49 | LEH – Green,Jaden 34 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 02:58 | 20 | 35 |
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.
Reach him at: this email or click below:
