Lehigh University
No. 13/14 Holy Cross
Lehigh drops heartbreaker to No. 14 Holy Cross
11/7/2009 2:45:00 PM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph connected with Freddie Santana on a four-yard touchdown pass with 1:03 to play as the 14th-ranked Crusaders dealt Lehigh a heartbreaking 24-20 loss Saturday in front of 9,797 on Family Weekend at Goodman Stadium. Freshman Jake Peery put the Mountain Hawks in front with a 39-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter but Randolph and Santana connected for the second time on the day to give the Crusaders the victory. Lehigh drops to 2-7 overall, 2-2 in the Patriot League with the loss, while Holy Cross improves to 8-1 overall, 4-0 in the league.
"Disappointed in the outcome, but that is it, not disappointed in the effort our kids put forth today," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said in the postgame press conference. "Our kids fought their tails off, I thought we had a great plan going in and we executed the plan very well. We wanted to make life tough for (Dominic) Randolph and I think we were able to do that. Unfortunately he was out there one series too long and was able to make the plays to get them in the end zone."
He continued, "The one area where we hurt ourselves was with penalties. We had a few huge penalties that hurt us and may have cost us points but I can't say enough about the effort of these kids."
The Mountain Hawks received the opening kickoff and immediately marched 80 yards in 11 plays to take the early lead. Junior quarterback JB Clark faked a quarterback sneak on 3rd-and-1 before backing up and lobbing a pass to a wide open Alex Wojdowski for a 14 yard touchdown to put Lehigh up 7-0. Clark was 6-for-6 passing on the drive.
On Holy Cross’ opening possession, the Crusaders used 12 plays to drive deep into Lehigh territory, but the Mountain Hawks defense forced an incompletion on 3rd-and-goal which led to a Rob Dornfried 24-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with 4:30 remaining in the opening quarter.
Just under six minutes into the second quarter Holy Cross took its first lead on a 12-yard touchdown run by Eddie Houghton, which capped a 10-play, 48-yard drive.
Lehigh answered with an 11-play 55-yard drive, overcoming two penalties that nullified big plays. A 23-yard field goal by Peery tied the game at 10 with 2:24 remaining in the half.
In the final minutes of the half, the Crusaders marched into Lehigh territory, but a sack and intentional grounding penalty against Randolph knocked Holy Cross out of field goal range.
Clark finished the first half 12-of-17 for 117 yards and a touchdown. Junior Jay Campbell was the leading ground-gainer with 48 yard on eight rushes, while Craig Zurn caught four passes for 55 yards.
For Holy Cross, Randolph was 10-of-16 for 89 yards. He was sacked three times. Matt Bellomo ran for 45 yards on six carries, while Bill Edger caught four passes for 51 yards.
Halfway through the third quarter, Holy Cross regained the lead as Randolph fired his first touchdown pass of the day, a 10-yard strike to Santana.
Once again Lehigh responded with a score of its own to tie the game. The Mountain Hawks went 85 yards in nine plays and tied the game at 17 on Wojdowski’s second touchdown of the game, an 18-yard strike on a halfback option pass from Campbell.
On Holy Cross’ ensuing possession, Randolph was intercepted by junior John Veniero, but the Lehigh drive ended in a missed Peery field goal. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Randolph fumbled near midfield and Lehigh recovered. Six plays later Peery booted a 39-yard field goal to give the Mountain Hawks a 20-17 lead.
Late in the game, the Crusaders took over on their own 19 and Randolph marched the 81 yards in eight plays, before throwing the winning touchdown on 3rd-and-goal. Lehigh had one final chance, but the Mountain Hawks failed to gain a first down in four plays.
Clark finished 16-of-31 passing for 186 yards and a touchdown. Campbell gained a career-high 131 yards on 21 carries. Troy Taylor led the defensive effort with nine tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.
Randolph finished 23-for-37 for 247 yards and the two touchdowns. Edger added 61 yards with five catches and Santana finished with four grabs for 50 yards.
The Mountain Hawks will return to action next Saturday when they travel to Fordham in their final road game of the season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as online at Lehighsports.com with coverage beginning at noon.
EXTRA POINTS… Clark’s 35-yard third quarter scramble was the longest run of his career… Campbell’s touchdown pass to Wojdowski was the first by a non-Lehigh quarterback since Pete Donchez connected with Nick Johnson on a 66-yard pass play in a win over VMI on Sept. 22, 2007… members of Lehigh’s 2009 Patriot League Championship women’s basketball program received their championship rings in a halftime ceremony… Saturday’s game will re-air Sunday at 2 p.m. on Service Electric 2 Sports and Thursday at 8 a.m. on Fox College Sports Atlantic.
Lehigh - Holy Cross Post-Game Extra
Video Courtesy of Service Electric 2 Sports
