Saturday, September 17
Philadelphia, Pa.
5:00 PM
Lehigh University
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49
at
28
Penn
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1st
2nd
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F
Lehigh
7
21
14
7
49
Penn
14
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28
Dominant second half leads Lehigh to first win, 49-28, at Penn
9/17/2016 9:53:00 PM | Football
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PHILADELPHIA – The Lehigh football team used a balanced all-around offensive attack led by senior quarterback Nick Shafnisky and a shutout from the defense in the second half to grab its first win of 2016 as the Mountain Hawks topped defending Ivy League Co-Champion Penn 49-28 Saturday evening at historic Franklin Field.
Shafnisky enjoyed arguably the finest all-around game of his career, accounting for 388 yards of offense and a career-best six touchdowns. His one yard run on the final play of the first half tied the game and set the tone for a final 30 minutes dominated by the Brown and White.
Lehigh outscored Penn 21-0 in the second half and held the Quakers to just 63 of their 387 total yards after halftime. The Mountain Hawks rolled up 548 yards, with 231 on the ground and 317 through the air.
Shafnisky posted his fifth career 300-yard passing game, completing 28-of-41 passes for 317 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 71 yards and three first-half scores on the ground.
"We knew this would be a tough football game for us," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "We had a great week of practice. Our players are very committed to the process of getting better this week and I knew Penn would make that a challenge for us and they certainly did right off the bat. I was happy with the way our kids responded. They got things moving on the right foot offensively. We played probably one of our best games I can remember in a long time. I liked how our kids worked with one another to get this win."
"Our defense was huge pitching a shutout in the second half," Shafnisky added. "It was huge. When our defense comes off and they get a three and out or just get us the ball back, we know with our weapons there's no way we shouldn't put at least three points every drive. We really clicked today. It was awesome and an all-around win-coaches and players."
The teams matched scores throughout the first half, with Lehigh never able to go out in front. The Mountain Hawks' lone defensive stop of the first 30 minutes went for naught as Shafnisky made his only mistake of the game, an interception by Mason Williams that set Penn up deep in Lehigh territory. A 10-yard run by Alek Torgerson gave Penn a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter.
Torgersen's second touchdown run of the game put Penn up 28-21 late in the first half, but senior Evan Harvey covered a squib kick near midfield with 1:12 left in the half and Shafnisky led the Mountain Hawks down the field in 11 plays. A roughing the passer penalty gave Lehigh first and goal at the Penn 1-yard line with .3 seconds left in the half, and Shafnisky pulled Lehigh even at 28-28 with his third touchdown run of the game.
"Part of my reasoning was knowing that we were going to get the ball back coming out in the second half," Coen said of the decision to go for the touchdown. "That made the decision a little easier. But I also had all these big guys who were going to kill me if I didn't. So I think we're usually pretty aggressive in those types of situations. The kids have really been working hard for those situations and I think I made the right decision because I trusted the kids."
The Mountain Hawks got the ball to start the second half and marched 65 yards in nine plays. A six-yard touchdown run by sophomore Micco Brisker gave Lehigh its first lead at 35-28.
From there the defenses took over, with Lehigh's "D" forcing Penn's first two punts of the game, while the Quakers held Lehigh to 3-and-out on the Mountain Hawks' second drive of the half.
A sack by senior Pierce Ripanti killed the second Penn drive but a penalty on the punt backed Lehigh up to its own 10. The end result was the first of two 90-plus yard drives for the Mountain Hawks, this one covering 90 exactly over 10 plays. Shafnisky hit junior Troy Pelletier on a post pattern for a 20-yard score, Pelletier's first of the season, to extend Lehigh's lead to 42-28.
Following another defensive stop, Lehigh got the ball back on its own three, early in the fourth quarter, and rose to the challenge with an impressive 12-play, 97-yard drive capped by a 10-yard scoring pass from Shafnisky to junior tight end Drew Paulsen.
Senior Colton Caslow led the defense with six tackles, while Harvey and Ripanti each recorded five tackles, a sack, and a pass breakup.
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The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to host the Princeton Tigers on Youth Sports Day. Kickoff is set for just after 12:30 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
EXTRA POINTS… Sophomore Dominick Bragalone paced the running game with 96 yards on 17 carries… Brisker added 43 yards on eight rushes… Pelletier netted his second straight 10-catch, 100-yard receiving game with 10 receptions for 123 yards… senior Derek Knott added six receptions for 59 yards… junior Gatlin Casey caught Lehigh's other first-half touchdown… Torgersen passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 86 yards and two more… first downs favored Lehigh 34-18… the Mountain Hawks limited Penn to just three first downs in the second half… Lehigh has now won two straight against Penn and 13 of the last 17… the Quakers lead the series 44-15… The Mountain Hawks are now 54-25-1 against Ivy League schools since the formation of the Patriot League in 1986.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
PENN
Total Yards
548
387
Pass Yards
317
222
Rushing Yards
231
165
Penalty Yards
34
74
1st Downs
34
18
3rd Downs
12
3
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
37:33
22:27
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 0, PENN 7
PENN - Watson, Justin 24 yd pass from Torgersen, Alek (Gammill, Jimmy kick) 7 plays, 87 yards, TOP 1:38
LEHIGH 7, PENN 7
LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 3 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:32
LEHIGH 7, PENN 14
PENN - Torgersen, Alek 9 yd run (Gammill, Jimmy kick), 3 plays, 25 yards, TOP 1:02
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 14, PENN 14
LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 15 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 15 plays, 69 yards, TOP 7:30
LEHIGH 14, PENN 21
PENN - Watson, Justin 27 yd pass from Torgersen, Alek (Gammill, Jimmy kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:51
LEHIGH 21, PENN 21
LEHIGH - Casey, Gatlin 30 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Mish, Ed kick) 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:07
LEHIGH 21, PENN 28
PENN - Torgersen, Alek 7 yd run (Gammill, Jimmy kick), 9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:18
LEHIGH 28, PENN 28
LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 1 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 11 plays, 51 yards, TOP 1:12
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 35, PENN 28
LEHIGH - Brisker, Micco 6 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 9 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:23
LEHIGH 42, PENN 28
LEHIGH - Pelletier, Troy 20 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Mish, Ed kick) 10 plays, 90 yards, TOP 5:28
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 49, PENN 28
LEHIGH - Paulsen, Drew 10 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Mish, Ed kick) 12 plays, 97 yards, TOP 5:36
Game Leaders
CMP
28
TD
3
YDS
317
INT
1
Players Mentioned
RB
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RB
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WR
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LB
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LB
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WR
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TE
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WR
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LB
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