Mountain Hawks exude confidence
9/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Of the Morning Call
In scoring 37 points on Saturday in its lopsided 31-point win over VMI, Lehigh earned plenty of cheers from its fans.
But the support wasn't limited to the Goodman Stadium bleachers.
The Mountain Hawks did a good job of whooping it up themselves and there was plenty to high-five about in Lehigh's most impressive effort of the season.
Utilizing a deep receiving corps, quarterback Sedale Threatt spread the ball around and the offense scored touchdowns on its first three possessions. Lehigh was stopped without a score just once in the first half in building a 31-0 halftime lead en route to the 37-6 victory.
It's a unit with a vast array of weapons and at least for one day, most of them were showcased in glorious fashion.
The Mountain Hawks offered the balance and big-play potency that was missing in the team's numerous narrow losses in 2006 and even in the 30-20 Week 1 loss to Villanova this season.
''With our offense, there's no No. 1 guy to single out,'' said tight end Troy Healion, whose two catches produced two scores.
''And one of the best things is that we all pull for each other,'' said senior wide receiver and Bethlehem Catholic grad Pete Donchez. ''Everybody is everybody else's biggest fan and that helps a lot.''
Donchez earned his share of love from his mates with the day's biggest play -- a 66-yard option pass to Nick Johnson.
''Nick made a great play on the outside to sell the block and get open,'' Donchez said. ''So, it wasn't that hard to hit him in the numbers.''
''Yeah, it was a very catchable ball,'' added Johnson, who also hauled in a 52-yard TD pass from Threatt, part of a three-catch, 140-yard, two-TD day.
Lehigh coach Andy Coen said the play will force Harvard -- the Ivy League power coming to Goodman Stadium on Saturday -- an extra 10 minutes of practice time this week to prep for the potential gadget.
''That's why you put something like that out there, to give everybody something else to worry about,'' Coen said. ''We've got more like that.''
Coen could turn into a master chemist, mixing together a little of this and dash of that in what has the potential to be an electrifying attack.
After a slow start in the first half of the season opener against Villanova, Lehigh has scored touchdowns in eight of its last 10 quarters.
Threatt was a model of efficiency on the stat sheet against VMI -- 14-for-19 passing for 231 yards and three scores.
Calling him merely ''efficient'' would not give him proper due for some spectacular scrambles that bought time for his receivers to get open.
And, while Lehigh's offensive line allowed its first sack of the season, it did pave open enough holes for freshmen Kwesi Kankam and Jaren Walker to combine for 106 yards rushing.
Kankam and Walker have been better than advertised in replacing injured Josh Pastore and Matt McGowan, the team's expected starters at tailback.
Likewise, Healion, a junior, has stepped in and more than adequately filled in for senior Joe Sutherland at tight end.
''Joe getting hurt in the first game gave me an opportunity,'' Healion said. ''He's getting better now and he's the better blocker. I just want to maintain a part in the offense.''
Johnson, too, has given the offense a different dimension.
Lehigh entered the season with Sekou Yansane, Mike Fitzgerald and Donchez expected to get the lion's share of throws, but the unheralded Johnson, with the aid of some injuries, has emerged as another big-play threat.
He has eight catches for 267 yards after only appearing in one game over the past two years.
''The coaches put me in a great position to make plays and I just feel it's my duty to come on the field and make them,'' said the junior from Lusby, Md. ''My first two years here were definitely a building block. I was behind some guys with more seniority and more savvy and now I'm getting my chance.
Not to be ignored either was Lehigh's defense, which came within 13 seconds of posting the program's first shutout since 2002. VMI scored on a drive set up when the Mountain Hawks backups went for it on fourth down and failed.
This story originally appeared in the Monday, Setpember 24, 2007 edition of The Morning Call. Used with permission.
