Saturday, November 5
Goodman Stadium
12:30:00 PM
Lehigh University
8-1 , 3-0
14
vs
7
Holy Cross
4-5 , 2-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Holy Cross
0
7
0
0
7
Lehigh
0
0
7
7
14
Defense helps No. 7/8 Lehigh grind out 14-7 win over Holy Cross
11/5/2011 10:01:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Despite getting shut-out in the first half, the No. 7/8 Lehigh defense stood tall to give its offense a chance, and the Mountain Hawks responded, putting together two key second-half drives to down Holy Cross, 14-7, on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Goodman Stadium. Senior Matt Fitz scored both Lehigh touchdowns on the ground while junior Zach Barket eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the third straight game, to lead the Mountain Hawks, who improved to 8-1 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot League.
The Mountain Hawks' win means the winner of next Saturday's Lehigh-Georgetown game will capture the Patriot League's automatic berth to the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
“I don't think anyone on our coaching staff thought for a minute that this was going to be an easy football game,” explained Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. “I'm proud of how our football team hung in there. We showed some resiliency in that second half and put together some long drives.
Coen continued, “I don't think we had our 'A' game at all offensively but Holy Cross had quite a bit to do with that. We still found a way to get the ball in the end zone enough to win the game. I'm very proud of our guys and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to try and win a league championship next week.”
Senior Chris Lum finished 24-of-37 for 251 yards while Barket ran for 102 on 24 carries. However, it was the Lehigh defense that stole the show with perhaps its strongest performance of the season, holding Holy Cross to a single score, including no points over the game's final 40:54.Lum found seven different receivers, five who had four or more catches. Senior Jake Drwal led the way with six receptions for 63 yards while junior Ryan Spadola had four for 58, Barket four for 50 and sophomore Sergio Fernandez-Soto four for 30. In addition to Barket's 100 yard day, Fitz finished with 25 yards on eight carries.
The effort from the Lehigh defense came against the Patriot League's second highest-scoring offense. The Mountain Hawks held Holy Cross quarterback Ryan Taggart to only 14-of-33 for 163 yards while allowing only 70 rushing yards on 25 carries.
On Lehigh's first drive, Lum hooked up with Spadola for a big 27-yard gain over the middle on third down, but two plays later, Lum was picked off by Irvin Scott to give Holy Cross the ball for the first time. In a sign of things to come, the Mountain Hawks' defense came up big, forcing a punt after one Holy Cross first down, to give its offense the ball following a touchback.
The defenses continued to shine in the early going, as the teams combined for seven empty possessions (six punts, one interception) before the Crusaders broke the ice early in the second quarter. Holy Cross finished an eight-play, 83-yard drive with a five-yard pass and catch from Taggart to Kyle Toulouse in the corner of the end zone, making it 7-0 with 10:54 remaining in the second.
Lehigh got an extended drive going late in the first half, using a combination of runs and short passes to go 59 yards on 11 plays in 5:30. The drive stalled at the Holy Cross 19-yard line, however, after a Lum rush. The ensuing 37-yard field goal attempt from sophomore Tim Divers hit the left upright to keep the score at 7-0 heading into halftime.
“I loved our players' attitude at halftime,” Coen said. “I didn't have to say a whole lot. I asked which guys were going to show up, and to a man, every guy couldn't wait to get back on the field for the second half.”
Each team punted on its first possession of the second half. With Holy Cross pinned back in Lehigh territory, Taggart was sacked by senior Mike Groome all the way back to the five-yard line. After a short punt, the Mountain Hawks started their drive at the Holy Cross 37. However, two plays later, Lum was picked off for a second time.
Starting the drive in Lehigh territory, the Mountain Hawks' defense hung tough, forcing a 40-yard field goal attempt which fell short and banged off the crossbar. Lehigh responded with a vengeance, going 76 yards on 10 plays with Fitz scoring on a three-yard run to make it 7-7 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter. The Mountain Hawks got into Holy Cross territory via a 23-yard reception from Jake Drwal. One play later, Lum found Fernandez-Soto for 13 yards to get down to the Holy Cross 18, setting up Fitz's touchdown five plays later.
The Lehigh defense immediately forced a three-and-out to get the ball back late in the third quarter. The offense responded with another long drive, going 78 yards on 15 plays capped off by Fitz's second touchdown of the game, a one-yard run, to make it 14-7 with 8:57 left in the fourth. The drive took 7:19 off the clock. Senior center Jim Liebler recovered a Barket fumble three plays before the score, which proved to be crucial.
Holy Cross used a 33-yard kickoff return to start its next drive at the 48-yard line. The Crusaders got two first downs before the Mountain Hawks made a big fourth-down stand. With Taggart rolling to his right, senior Jonathan Littlejohn denied him the first down by inches along the near sideline.
The Crusaders forced a three-and-out, giving them another chance to stage a game-tying drive. Lehigh's defense again came up big as Groome picked off a fourth-down attempt and returned it 59 yards to the Holy Cross 15-yard line with 4:10 remaining in the fourth.
A Divers 23-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining went wide left giving Holy Cross another chance. But the defense wrapped up its dominant effort by stopping the Crusaders once again on fourth down. With Taggart rolling to his right, his pass was caught for what would have been first-down margin, but Josh Jenkins was well out of bounds.
“I'm happy we won a game like this,” Coen explained. “It's very important. I've been fortunate to be part of a lot of good football teams and every one of those teams has a game like this where you have to find a way to win the game.”
Groome paced the Lehigh defense with 13 total tackles, a sack, a pass breakup and his interception. Junior Billy Boyko added seven tackles, while senior Colin Newton added five, including one for loss.
Lehigh returns home next Saturday to host the Georgetown Hoyas with the Patriot League Championship on the line. The game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Tickets for the game are still available, and may be purchased in one of three ways: by visiting the Lehigh ticket office located in Grace Hall, by calling (610) 7LU-GAME, or on-line anytime at Lehighsports.com.
EXTRA POINTS: This weekend is Family Weekend at Lehigh, with the Mountain Hawks playing in front of their largest home crowd of the season (9,217)… the first quarter ended 0-0, marking only the third scoreless quarter in a Lehigh game all year (fourth quarters vs. Liberty and at Fordham)… Barket now has three consecutive 100-yard rushing games after having zero in his first 27 games as a Mountain Hawk… Lum saw his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass end at 11… Lehigh defeated Holy Cross at Goodman Stadium for the first time since 2003… the Mountain Hawks won despite posting season lows in total yards (394) and points (14).
Team Stats
HC
LEHIGH
Total Yards
230
394
Pass Yards
160
251
Rushing Yards
70
143
Penalty Yards
9
37
1st Downs
12
23
3rd Downs
2
9
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
22:55
37:05
2nd Quarter
HC 7, LEHIGH 0
HC - Kyle Toulouse 5 yd pass from Ryan Taggart (John Macomber kick) 8 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:53
3rd Quarter
HC 7, LEHIGH 7
LEHIGH - Fitz, Matt 3 yd run (Divers, Tim kick), 10 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:48
4th Quarter
HC 7, LEHIGH 14
LEHIGH - Fitz, Matt 1 yd run (Divers, Tim kick), 15 plays, 78 yards, TOP 7:19
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