Lehigh University Athletics
Lembo pleased with effort at Lehigh scrimmage
9/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bethlehem, PA – As preseason camp winds down, Lehigh engaged in its first scrimmage on Saturday afternoon at the John C. Whitehead Practice Fields. For the first time since the Spring Game in April, the Mountain Hawks had the opportunity to play against one another in full pads with officials on hand simulating game conditions.
Under perfect weather conditions and a bright blue August sky, kicker Matt Douglas performed particularly well, connecting on 13 consecutive field goal attempts in a pre-scrimmage kicking drill. When the Brown and White teams took the field, the defense came out physical early, and made some big plays. However, the first team offense showed it had the ability to move the ball down the field under quarterback Chad Schwenk as well.
Also impressive on Saturday afternoon was quarterback Mark Borda, who was effective with the second team offense. Sophomore fullback Jason Beck had a solid afternoon catching the ball out of the backfield, and had some nice runs as well. On the defensive side of the ball, freshman defensive end Eric Gibbs made a number of plays on the third team.
Afterwards, head coach Pete Lembo said that despite some setbacks, by and large, the scrimmage went well. "I thought we were a little sloppy," Lembo commented. "But that’s typical of the first scrimmage with officials. We had too many penalties, but those are correctable mistakes. Despite the penalties, I thought our effort was good.
"Our offense moved the ball well, and I thought our defense was particularly quick and moved well early on," Lembo continued. "Overall, I thought this was a good day for us to build on."
Earlier Saturday morning, the players were busy posing for pictures and chatting with members of the media at the team’s annual Media Day inside Goodman Stadium. The squad posed for a team photo and several other group shots, while also having individual photos taken. Several players along with Coach Lembo talked to local television, radio, and newspaper reporters about the upcoming season.
Lehigh will hold two more practices on Sunday, sandwiched around the annual Alumni Steak Fry. The team begins classes on Monday, and, following another week of single-session practices, the Mountain Hawks will scrimmage once again at 12:30 on Saturday, August 30. Fans are welcome to attend the scrimmage.
Lehigh opens its season on Saturday, September 6, when the Mountain Hawks host Holy Cross on Fleet Youth Activity Day. Kickoff is set for 12:20 from Goodman Stadium.
For more information, contact Jeff Tourial, Lehigh Sports Media Relations.
Posted Saturday, August 23, 2003.
