Lehigh University Athletics
Defense shines in Spring Game victory
4/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh’s defense had its way on Saturday afternoon, causing eight turnovers en route to a 52-24 victory in the annual Brown and White spring game at Goodman Stadium in front of a crowd of nearly 1,500 people on a warm, sunny day. The scrimmage featured the number-one and number-two offenses going head-to-head with the first and second team defenses. Rising junior linebacker Al Pierce was the star of the day as he totaled three tackles and a pair of interceptions, one of which he returned 80 yards for a touchdown.
“We’re certainly pleased with the way the defense played out here today,” head coach Andy Coen said afterwards. “We have work to do along the offensive line and I think that caused our quarterbacks to hurry things at times, but overall I’m happy with what I saw today. If you look at the number of turnovers the offense had, that was the difference in the game right there.”
Coen continued, “We’ve had a lot of competition throughout this entire (spring) camp, and that will be the case when we get back at it (in August). The kids have to take care of business now throughout the summer and be ready for when we come back.”
There was a modified scoring system in place for the scrimmage in which the defense earned points for stops, turnovers, and sacks, among other things. The lone offensive touchdown on the afternoon came when rising junior Chris Bokosky hit rising senior Mike Fitzgerald on a pretty 21-yard pass in the back of the end zone. Bokosky, one of three Mountain Hawks auditioning for the starting quarterback position, finished the day 9-16 for 95 yards and the one score. He also threw one interception.
Lehigh’s other two quarterback candidates, rising sophomore JB Clark and Trace Cisneros got their fair share of time under center as well. “That was the game plan going in,” Coen commented. “All spring, those guys have split reps and they’ve all had days where they looked very good. They just need to keep working.”
Fitzgerald caught three passes in all for 38 yards and fellow rising senior Sekou Yansane hauled in three catches of his own for 23 yards. Jason Figura, another rising senior caught three passes of his own for 35 yards, while Ben Ivester, yet one more rising senior, caught two passes for a game-high 61 yards, including a 46-yard heave from Clark that Ivester wrestled away from a defensive back down inside the ten-yard line.
The defense was led by Pierce and his two picks, including his 80-yard return for a touchdown. Rising senior Tim Diamond was credited with four tackles, a fumble recovery and one interception, while classmate Brendan VanAckeren led all Lehigh defenders with five tackles. Newcomer Troy Taylor registered three tackles and one sack, while rising junior Matt Cohen added one sack and four tackles.
In all, the Lehigh defense picked off five passes, including two from Pierce, one from Diamond, one from John Veniero and one from Evan Johnson, which he returned inside the five-yard line. The Mountain Hawks defenders also registered five sacks, as Keith Johnson, Cohen, Ben Flizack, Taylor and Steve Santora each got to the quarterback.
Prior to the start of the Brown and White game, the program announced its 2008 captains. Senior offensive lineman Kevin Bayani, senior linebacker Tim Diamond, senior running back Matt McGowan and senior defensive back Brendan VanAckeren were all voted as captains by their teammates.
The Brown and White game marks the conclusion of 15 spring practices for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh will officially open camp on Thursday, August 7, and the Mountain Hawks open the 2008 season at Goodman Stadium on September 6 vs.
