An Epic Defensive FCS Playoff Battle Ends With Villanova Outlasting Lehigh 14-7
Two of the best defenses in all of FCS were in a showdown on a cold December day in front of a large invested crowd, and the result was a game that was one for the ages.
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Two of the best defenses in all of FCS were in a showdown on a cold December day in front of a large invested crowd, and the result was a game that was one for the ages.
Four years ago, these freshmen were recruited to Lehigh at least in part because they wanted to be a part of college football history, the Lehigh/Lafayette Rivalry. The 2022 game, played right after the COVID pandemic, essentially, was not a sellout. This Saturday, four years later, Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium sold out easily. It’s the product of two college football programs that picked themselves up and have earned the hype and sellout this game has created.
The theme of the game going in was “Hawk-O-Ween”, due to the game’s proximity to Halloween, but it was the Mountain Hawks that ended up with all the treats.
Lehigh football’s first trip to Pittsburgh in over 70 years was a business-like 35-21 win over Duquesne, a game where the Mountain Hawks never trailed but had to battle hard for four quarters to secure Lehigh’s first 3-0 start since 2013.
The reason that Cahill and the Lehigh football players came into the press conference with mostly serious faces wasn’t due to the stat sheet showing a resounding statistical victory for the Mountain Hawks. It’s because if you were there, playing or watching the game, you saw a different story.
While Richmond will be looking for revenge, Lehigh will be looking for respectability – respectability in the sense of proving that last season was not a fluke.
The rebuilding year of 2023 was not easy, to be sure. But to close observers, among the rough seas were some encouraging signs for the years to come, through changes in culture, changes in expectations, and growing pains that Lehigh Nation hopes point the way to future success.
Lehigh leaped out to 14-0 , 21-14, and 24-21 leads on Holy Cross in a spirited effort at Murray Goodman Stadium, but the Crusaders would ultimately find a way to beat the Mountain Hawks in a 28-24 victory in front of 3,528 fans on a warm November afternoon.
I’ll be honest – I hadn’t thought a lot about Merrimack since they left Murray Goodman with that 10-3 defeat back in 2019.