Lehigh University
Lafayette
Lehigh defeats archrival Leopards 30-10
11/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bethlehem, PA – Senior Jermaine Pugh gained 265 total yards of offense and was named the game's MVP as Lehigh defeated Lafayette 30-10 in the 139th meeting of college football’s most played rivalry. The game was played on a gorgeous afternoon in front of a sell out crowd of 16,000 at Goodman Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Lehigh (8-3, 6-1) took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards down the field with ease. The drive was capped off by a 35-yard touchdown pass from senior Kyle Keating to sophomore Gerran Walker. Walker displayed his outstanding speed and athleticism by making some shifty moves and then accelerating to the end zone for the score. The two defenses were stingy for the remainder of the quarter holding each other out of the end zone. The Mountain Hawks did manage to out gain the Leopards 116 to 41 in the first.
Lehigh began the second quarter with the ball and in the midst of an 84-yard drive that ended when senior David Wilson plunged in to the end zone from three yards out. The extra point was blocked however, and the Mountain Hawks were ahead 13-0 with 12:30 to go in the half. After the ball changed hands several times, Pugh electrified the crowd with a 53-yard punt return down the sideline to the two yard line, but Lehigh was stuffed on four straight plays and Lafayette took over deep in its own territory.
With just under two minutes remaining in the half, the Lafayette offense awoke and drove 80 yards down the field for a touchdown to cut the Lehigh lead from 13 down to six at 13-7. The Leopard scoring play was a 13-yard pass from senior Marko Glavic to Archie Fisher, and sent the game into halftime. The Mountain Hawk defense, as it has done all season, played extremely well, continually stuffing the Lafayette rushing attack. Lehigh held the Leopards to negative one yard on the ground for the half.
Lehigh took the opening kickoff and chewed up three minutes with a 35-yard drive that ended with a 45-yard field goal from senior Matt Douglas to put the Mountain Hawks up 16-7 early in the second half. Lafayette got a Mike Beatrice 33-yard field goal of its own with just over two minutes to go in the quarter and the Lehigh lead was again down to six, at 16-10.
Lafayette (5-6, 2-5) began the fourth quarter deep in its own territory and after a failed third down conversion, Pugh again ignited the sell out crowd with a dazzling 36-yard punt return inside the five. But, the Leopard defense held strong once again, and coupled with a Douglas missed field goal, Lehigh was still only ahead by six. On Lafayette’s first play, Glavic dropped back and hit sophomore Brandon Stanford for 30 yards up to the 50-yard line and the Leopards were threatening to pull ahead. But Glavic overthrew his receiver on third down and the Leopards were forced to punt.
On Lehigh’s third play of the next possession, Walker took a Keating pass and galloped 53 yards to set up a Wilson touchdown from eight yards out, which put Lehigh ahead 23-10, and put the game out of reach. Pugh then put the icing on the cake by taking a screen pass from Keating and darting 79 yards for a touchdown and a 30-10 Lehigh lead. Pugh finished with 110 return yards, 68 yards rushing and caught two passes for 87 yards. Keating, meanwhile, established a new personal best with the 79-yard touchdown strike. Wilson carried 28 times for 101 yards on the afternoon, while Keating threw for 294 yards as he completed 15 of 23 passes. For Lafayette, Glavic completed 28 of 44 passes for 287 yards in his final collegiate game.
Lehigh must now wait and see if it is selected to participate in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. The selection show is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1:00 and will be broadcast live on ESPNEWS.
