Lehigh University Athletics
Spring Preview and Prospectus
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
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The 2001 season was one for the ages as Lehigh captured its first Lambert Cup Trophy since 1980, recorded its sixth overall and fourth consecutive Patriot League Championship, and won its third NCAA first round playoff game in four years. The Mountain Hawks finished with an 11-1 overall record after completing their second undefeated regular season in three years. The individual honors were plentiful for Lehigh including three All-Americans (Abdul Byron, Josh Snyder, Jeff Santacroce), the national coach of the year (Pete Lembo) and the national assistant coach of the year (Tom Gilmore).
High expectations are once again in store for the 2002 season as Lehigh graduated one of its smallest classes in recent history last year. The Mountain Hawks return nine starters to both the offense and defense and will have 80 players in pads for the spring season.
"Unlike some previous springs here at Lehigh, we are currently three deep at most positions this spring," said head coach Pete Lembo. "This will enable us to challenge our players from a physical standpoint. Many young players who were in the two deep last season are now bigger and stronger after going through our off-season program. These players will challenge our returning players for playing time."
While Lehigh lost little in the way of quantity, the Brown and White lost a significant amount in terms of quality. Gone are starting quarterback Brant Hall, backup Luke Ciannello, wide receiver and Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Josh Snyder, and strong safety and Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Abdul Byron.
As has been the trend the past few years, rather than rebuild, Lehigh will attempt to reload after another successful season on the gridiron. With talent and coaching in place, execution and desire are the last ingredients to formulate another championship season.
Quarterback
Throughout history Lehigh has been known for its great quarterbacks. The recent string of signal callers have been highly successful and have been the backbone for much of Lehigh’s success. Lost to graduation this season is two-time Patriot League first team selection Brant Hall and the unsung hero of the 2001 season, Luke Ciannello. Hall passed for 3,630 yards and 34 touchdowns in his two seasons as a starter while creating havoc for opposing defenses with his ability to break out of the pocket, rushing for 756 yards in those two seasons. Ciannello, the backup to Hall, would have been a starter on many Division I-AA squads but accepted his role as a part of a championship team while picking his own spots to shine. Ciannello engineered the 92-yard last minute drive that led to Lehigh’s eventual win over Hofstra in the first round of the playoffs at Goodman Stadium in 2001.
The Brown and White will undoubtedly have a new player under center this season and who that player will be is yet to be determined. Chad Schwenk, a transfer from Rutgers and a Lehigh Valley native, figures to be the leading candidate for the position but will have to learn the offense in a hurry. Schwenk threw for 1,175 yards and four touchdowns in his eleven games as a Scarlet Knight before transferring to Lehigh in 2001. Schwenk started six games for the Scarlet Knights in 1999 as a freshman and played in five games as a sophomore. He did not play for Rutgers in 2001 and will be a junior at Lehigh during the 2002 season. Senior lefthander Kevin Weschler will push Schwenk for the starting nod as he has been in the system for three years. Weschler knows the offense well but has limited game experience. Sophomores Kyle Keating and Anthony Melzi both showed improvement last season and will compete for the backup position. Junior Matt Shiels has had a good off-season and has a very strong arm. Freshman Mark Borda, a local product from Bethlehem Catholic, will also compete for the backup role but will need to learn the offense rather quickly.
Running Backs
What was thought to be Lehigh’s deepest position in 2001, ended up being its shallowest by mid-season. Injuries to starter Dave Wilson and backups Jamaal Burcher and Phil Pleasant left Lehigh with its fourth string tailback Jermaine Pugh. An excellent back in his own right, Pugh carried the rushing load for Lehigh and was highly efficient. At just 5-4, Pugh uses explosive speed to outrun defenders and squeak through holes in the defense. He rushed 100 times for 419 yards last season and hit paydirt three times. With the return of Wilson to the lineup this fall, Pugh figures to share time since Burcher and Pleasant are lost to graduation. Unlike Pugh, Wilson is a very physical runner who also has excellent speed. A Lehigh Valley native, Wilson rushed 54 times for 248 yards and four touchdowns before going down with a torn ACL early in the fourth game of the season.
Beyond Wilson and Pugh, Lehigh has some very talented players at the running back position. Senior Derek Hewlett and junior Howard Ward will also compete for time in the backfield after seeing limited action last season. Freshman Eric Rath was the 2001 and 2002 Lehigh Valley player of the year and is another in a long line of successful players (Phil Stambaugh and Nick Martucci) to come out of the Pius X high school program.
Junior Justin Barrasso is the starting fullback after a season hampered by injuries. Junior Brad Sersch is a quality backup and special teams player. Sersch saw significant playing time last season due to Barrasso’s injuires.
Offensive Line
Lehigh returns all five of its starters to this year’s offensive line. Led by All-American center Jeff Santacroce the Lehigh line allowed just 16 sacks last season while churning out an average of 405 yards of total offense per game. Santacroce returns after an All-American season as a junior and JB Henderson, John Timko, and John Bryner will look to improve on their outstanding junior seasons. All four emerged as leaders and quality offensive linemen last season and will look to make impact this season after rigorous off-season conditioning and weight training. Junior Oscar Guerrero had an excellent sophomore season and at 340 pounds is Lehigh’s largest lineman and a favorite guy to run behind. Sophomore Justin Terry made an immediate impact as a freshman last season and could be an All-League caliber player in his sophomore campaign. Sophomores Rob Sandie, Jason Morrell, Frank Colachino, and junior Ryan Hooper will add depth to the line.
Receivers
The wide receiver position is the biggest offensive question mark for the 2002 season. A number of talented players make up the receiving corps, but who will emerge as the go-to-guy is still to be determined. The graduation of Josh Snyder will without question hurt the Lehigh offense as Snyder made up over 30% of Lehigh’s offense last season with 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Beyond Snyder, no Lehigh receiver recorded more than 300 yards receiving in 2001. Junior Michael Sutton and seniors Phil Eversley and Dave Crockett all recorded over 200 yards and had nine touchdowns between them. All three have different skills as Sutton has blazing speed, Eversley is tall and athletic at 6-4, and Crockett is a possession receiver with great hands. Senior Mike Kelleher and junior Steve Hluschak both spent time on the injury list last season but showed signs of potential late, after getting healthy. They could make a significant impact this season.
Lehigh is solid at the tight end position with senior Darin Henry returning after a successful junior season as a starter. Henry is a leader on and off the field. Last season he had ten catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. A 6-5, 250 pound sophomore, Adam Bergen, will push Henry for playing time. He saw limited action last season in double tight end sets and figures to be a bigger part of the offense this season.
Defensive Line
Four new starters on last year’s line all return this season for the Mountain Hawks. Senior Theo Moss and junior Tyler Hart anchor the Lehigh run stop in the middle. Moss led the Patriot League in sacks last season with eight and was notorious for coming out of the bottom of the pile with a loose fumble. Juniors Mike Gregorek and Joey Touzin also return to the line after starting as sophomores. Both are undersized for defensive linemen but bring speed and pure determination to the field week in and week out. Last season the defensive line led a defensive unit that allowed just 86.6 rushing yards per game.
Junior Matt Cappelletti and sophomore Tom Alfsen both played defensive end regularly last season in nickel and long yardage situations. Senior Steve Leary, junior Ors David, and sophomore Jim Norris will provide depth at the defensive tackle positions. The defensive line was a heavily recruited position for Lehigh in the off-season but only time will tell whether or not it was a successful effort.
Linebackers
Known for their quickness and ability to flock to the ball, the Lehigh has had some very talented linebackers the past few years and this year should be no different. The Brown and White return two starters from last season in juniors Tom McGeoy and Michael Taggart. As sophomores they combined for 92 tackles and finished fourth and fifth on the team statistically. McGeoy recorded three interceptions and six tackles for loss while Taggert tallied five tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Sophomore Jim Harris has excellent speed and saw time last season as did sophomore Jared Breidinger. Breidinger was one of the top special teams players in 2001 and also saw time at the linebacker position. Harris and Breidinger should battle for the third starting position while Mike Horvath and Jason Murray are also players to watch.
Secondary
The secondary may be the strongest area on the Lehigh defense this season despite the graduation of All-American and Buck Buchanan Award finalist Abdul Byron. Known for his fierce tackling and incredible run stopping ability from his strong safety position, Byron was the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year and led the team in tackles with 65. Other than Byron, Lehigh returns every member of its secondary.
Senior and second year captain Matt Salvaterra will most likely move from cornerback to strong safety to replace Byron. Salvaterra is a potential Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year candidate and was third on the team in tackling last season with 51 total tackles. He also has a knack for blocking kicks as he blocked two last season. Senior Sam Perryman finished second on the squad with 55 tackles and grabbed three interceptions from his free safety position. Perryman is also a talented special teams player who recovered a kick in the endzone for a touchdown last season.
Senior Sam Roberts, junior Trevor Micklos, and sophomores Karrie Ford and Mike Moore will all compete for time and add depth at the safety positions. Roberts and Micklos are quality special teams players. Ford and Moore both lettered as freshmen and are quality backups.
Senior Ken Pitter and junior Lawrence Williams figure to be the starters outside on the corners. Pitter tallied 26 tackles last season and picked off four passes. Williams had just 15 tackles as a backup but had three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He holds the Patriot League record for interceptions for touchdowns with three and has two seasons remaining.
Senior Aashon Larkins and sophomore Neil Boozer-Gallman will battle for time at the corners as will Oregon State transfer sophomore Johan Thomas.
Special Teams
Lehigh returns just two special teams players this season and both are place kickers. Senior Brian Kelley returns as the school’s second all-time single season point scorer with 80 points as a junior. Junior Matt Douglas also returns as the team’s primary kicker on kickoffs. Lost to graduation is three-time All-League punter and holder Jay Heibel. Averaging 40.0 yards per punt last season, Heibel did not get much work during his career often not recording enough attempts to qualify statistically. Nevertheless, he got the job done when duty called landing 13 of 40 punts inside the 20 yard line as a senior.
On the return side, Lehigh lost one of the most explosive kick returners in I-AA, Abdul Byron, to graduation. Byron averaged 22.7 yards per return last season and led the nation as a junior averaging 34.8 yards per return. Mike Sutton appears to be the air to the throne as he returned four kicks last season for an average of 32.5 yards per return. Lawrence Williams will return kicks this season with Sutton. His open field speed could make him an explosive return man as well.
Jermaine Pugh returns as the punt return specialist for the Mountain Hawks this season. Pugh had 11 returns last season for a 14.7 yard average. He shared the duties with Snyder (16 returns/10.9 avg.) and recorded the only return for a touchdown taking it 85 yards against archrival Lafayette.
The Schedule
In an effort to upgrade its schedule, Lehigh filled its 12th game with Division I-A Buffalo and will open the season against the Bulls on August 29th under the lights. Buffalo defeated Army and Ohio University to close out their 2001 campaign. The Mountain Hawks will once again take on Ivy League powers, Pennsylvania and Princeton, while the 2001 Ivy League Champion Harvard Crimson returns to the schedule after a one year hiatus. The Brown and White will also take on Yale in addition to their seven game league schedule that includes Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham, Georgetown, Holy Cross, Lafayette, and Towson. The year’s schedule boasts six home games at picturesque Goodman Stadium where the Mountain Hawks have a 23 game home winning streak and have led the Patriot League in attendance for the past eleven years. Last season Lehigh ranked fifth in Eastern I-AA attendance with an average of 11,961 fans.
