Lehigh University Athletics
Coen, Benning and Yansane prep for Cornell
10/1/2008 2:45:00 PM | Football
 |
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh and Cornell meet for the first time since 2001 on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Stadium. On Wednesday, head coach Andy Coen, senior wide receiver Sekou Yansane and junior defensive lineman BJ Benning spoke with the media at the Copperhead Grille on Airport Road in Allentown to discuss the upcoming contest.
Below is the transcript from Wednesday’s luncheon.
LEHIGH HEAD COACH ANDY COEN
On last week’s game: “It was a frustrating loss. I felt bad for our kids who played with tremendous effort. The defense had come up with big plays keeping Princeton out of the end zone all day, and the offense had a long field during the day and did some good things as well. We’ve got to find a way to win these games. We’ve got to find a way to finish off games like that when we have a chance to win. And that’s really what we’ve been working hard on, and that’s what it came down to Saturday.”
On the Big Red’s offense: “Cornell’s offense is a very run-oriented ground type of team. They make very few mistakes, and they’re very solid in the kicking game. I think it’s going to be a very similar game to the Princeton game. I hope many people can come out; we’re going to have a nice day this time, I promise you that.”
On Cornell’s defense: “Their defense played – in Saturday’s game against Yale – primarily man-to-man coverage, and they really locked Yale down. They were able to get nine guys around the football to stop Yale’s run game, and they did a great job pressuring the quarterback. I think they take more chances defensively than we do, and that’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just a philosophical thing.”
On having home-field advantage on Saturday: “I hope it’s an advantage. I think the one thing that can really affect games is the crowd and the support you have. I think one of the things that always made Goodman a tough place to play in is that we’ve always had good crowds. We’ve led the Patriot League in attendance for the last 15 or so years, so hopefully we do get a great crowd.”
On Lehigh’s offensive attack: “We need to finish off more drives offensively. One thing I think we haven’t been good at is creating any big plays offensively since the Drake game. It’s always been an offensive philosophy to control the line of scrimmage and have the ability to run the ball, but you want to get some big plays, whether it’s in the run game or the pass game.”
On Lehigh quarterback J.B. Clark's game against Princeton: “I thought he was pretty efficient and threw a nice touchdown pass scrambling out of the pocket. He looked more comfortable doing that. In the second half, I think he missed some open throws that would have made things a little easier for him, but he rallied and made a couple of third-down throws.”
LEHIGH JUNIOR DEFENSIVE TACKLE B.J. BENNING
On the goal-line stands at Princeton: “Those goal-line stands were huge for us. The first one really got the defense pumped up. Then the second one where we blocked the field goal and took the ball all the way down to inside the 10-yard line, that was awesome. That was a pretty good feeling, but I think last year when we stripped the quarterback against Harvard and ran that in for the touchdown to win the game, that probably was a little bit better.”
LEHIGH SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER SEKOU YANSANE
On how much he works with Lehigh quarterback J.B. Clark: “I’ve worked with him since the summer before his freshman year. He’s a great kid and he’s really a perfectionist. He works hard at what he does and I like to do the same thing. We like to put in the extra time, all the receivers, staying a little after practice, catching a few more balls and running those routes to get the timing down so we can click on Saturdays. ”
Lehigh and Cornell get things going on Saturday at 12:30 from Goodman Stadium. Tickets are still available and can be purchased in one of three ways: by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall, or by logging onto Lehighsports.com.
Lehigh Football Luncheon - October 1, 2008
