Shades Of 2016 On A Rainy Saturday In Bethlehem As Coach Kevin Cahill Gets His First Home Win at Lehigh, 49-13 over Wagner
BETHLEHEM, PA – The number that kept popping up during Lehigh’s (1-1, 0-0 PL) win over Wagner (1-1, 0-0 NEC) was “2016”, probably the last number any member of Lehigh Nation might have imagined surfacing on a rainy afternoon at Murray Goodman Stadium.
As many older Lehigh Mountain Hawk football fans know, 2016 was the last time Lehigh not only had a winning record and a Patriot League Championship, but also had an explosive offense that put points up on the board in bunches.
That team went 9-2, and scored 42 points against Princeton, 49 against Penn, 56 against Fordham, and a record-smashing 63 against Yale – where a young Kevin Cahill was offensive coordinator.
When a reporter asked QB Dante Perri how it felt to match a Lehigh offensive record of 42 points in a single half, it was coach Cahill that spoke first.
“That got awkward,” he said.
Few thought that Lehigh would score a grand total of 42 points this past Saturday – let alone in a half of play.
But that’s exactly what the Mountain Hawks did.
“I’m really excited about the way we came out and played,” Cahill said in his opening statement, his first after a win at Murray Goodman Stadium. “We played really good complementary football. Defense did a great job of creating turnovers, giving us great field position, and the offense did a great job of taking advantage of that field position. When you play like that, and you have that energy, and when you have that execution, it shows out. That’s the first half you want to have.”
The dream first half really got started after a muffed punt by Wagner recovered by DB Mason Moore at the Wagner 17, the Lehigh offense fed off the great special teams play with a short scoring drive, ending with a pass from QB Dante Perri to WR Geoffrey Jamiel, giving the Mountain Hawks their first points.
Then, like a waterfall, the points kept coming.
Moore nabbed a spectacular interception and returned it to the Wagner 6, and freshman RB Jayden Green burst into the end zone for his first collegiate score. 14-0.
The next drive, it was DB Nick Peltekian‘s turn, grabbing another interception to the Wagner 36. Six plays later, RB Luke Yoder pushed through the right side for his second rushing touchdown of the season. 21-0.
In the second quarter, with freshman QB Hayden Johnson in the game, he looked downfield, scrambled right, saw nobody there, and took off with the ball, speeding into the end zone with his first collegiate touchdown. 28-0.
After Wagner’s punter mishandled a punt in a sudden downpour, Perri was back in the game, and Lehigh ground the game out on the ground, ending with a businesslike 2 yard touchdown run. 35-0.
“I think a lot of how we work is the scoreboard is not important to us,” Perri said afterwards. “We’re playing our brand of football, whether rain, snow, or whatever. We’re out there, we’re playing our brand of football, and the scoreboard is irrelevant to us. I think we did a pretty good job of locking in and playing football. When it gets time for a situation to get handled, the coach will handle that. That’s not on us. If we’re out there, we’re playing the call, we’re playing the play, and we’re going full speed.”
The very next offensive play – Peltekian took an interception to the house, the pick six that made it Lehigh 42, Wagner 0 with less than a minute to play in the half.
“I mean, that was honestly a great feeling,” Nick said after the game. “I needed one. I’ve been telling all my teammates I needed one, and I give all that credit to the coaches for that one, because they were hard on us all week and not being in the right spot in certain plays [during the Army game]. On that one, I made sure I was in the right spot, and good things happened. It was our first game being tested, letting the other teams know that we’re coming this year, and we’re ready for whatever they got.”
The final score read 49-16, but it felt like it was a lot more than just a Lehigh win – it felt like a new Lehigh identity was getting established right here, right now in real time. Time will tell how things will go, but for now, you can feel a level of excitement.
“That’s who we’re going to be,” Cahill said. “You don’t know which one is going to be on the field, and you don’t know who’s going to be the name for the day. We’re trying to get some of these kids a lot of experience early, because we’re going to need them in league play when it comes down to it. Late October, early November, these games will be different. These games won’t be like this. While it’s great to have a big win, and our first win in Goodman and all that stuff is awesome, this won’t be the norm every week. It’s going to have to be a battle in the fourth quarter, so these kids have to be ready for that.”
“We’re going to celebrate it in these next couple of hours,” Peltekian said, “but we’re going to wash it away tomorrow. Focus on LIU, because that’s the most important thing. We’re going to be all in all going into next week, and this should be the standard, doing this to teams every week for the rest of the year.”
“This is our home, this is our nest, and we got to protect it,” Perri said. “It’s got to be a tough place to play. It’s got to be a part of our brand is playing here at Goodman.”
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wagner | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Lehigh | 21 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 49 |
WAG: Mazil,Damien (154), Kamau,Sekou (55), Bonelli,Jaylen (54)
LEH: Perri,Dante (84), Yoder,Luke (64), Humphrey,Mason (43)
Stadium Attendance: 2,920 Kickoff Time: 12:03 PM End of Game: 02:52 PM
| Qtr | Time | Scoring Play | WAG | LEH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 08:59 | LEH – Jamiel,Geoffrey 16 yd pass from Perri,Dante (Garrido,Nick kick) 3 plays, 17 yards, TOP 01:28 | 0 | 7 |
| 1st | 08:22 | LEH – Green,Jaden 6 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 1 plays, 6 yards, TOP 00:05 | 0 | 14 |
| 1st | 03:52 | LEH – Yoder,Luke 11 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 6 plays, 36 yards, TOP 02:53 | 0 | 21 |
| 2nd | 07:25 | LEH – Johnson,Hayden 45 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:21 | 0 | 28 |
| 2nd | 01:03 | LEH – Perri,Dante 2 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 5 plays, 20 yards, TOP 03:30 | 0 | 35 |
| 2nd | 00:48 | LEH – Peltekian,Nick 27 yd interception (Kimball,Canaan kick) | 0 | 42 |
| 3rd | 13:22 | LEH – Humphrey,Mason 37 yd pass from Perri,Dante (Garrido,Nick kick) 3 plays, 44 yards, TOP 01:28 | 0 | 49 |
| 3rd | 07:09 | WAG – Spruill,Rickey 11 yd pass from Mazil,Damien ( ) 12 plays, 62 yards, TOP 06:06 | 6 | 49 |
| 4th | 02:58 | WAG – Bonelli,Jaylen 14 yd pass from Mazil,Damien (Liszner,Ryan kick) 12 plays, 77 yards, TOP 06:44 | 13 | 49 |
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:
