Newton, Peery pick up Patriot League Weekly Awards
10/1/2012 7:36:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh sophomore defensive lineman Tim Newton and senior kicker Jake Peery were both honored by the Patriot League following the Mountain Hawks' thrilling 34-31 victory over Fordham Saturday. Newton was tabbed as the league's Defensive Player of the Week and Peery earned Special Teams Player of the Week recognition.
Peery sealed the Mountain Hawks win over Fordham with a 22 yard field goal as time expired. The kick marked Lehigh's first game-winning field goal since Matt Douglas booted the Mountain Hawks to a victory at Fordham on November 2, 2002. It was Peery's second field goal of the game and his third consecutive made field goal this season. Peery also converted all four of his extra point tries, leaving him 18-for-18 on PAT attempts this season.The Baltimore native also averaged 60.2 yards on six kickoffs on Saturday, including one touchback. The award is the first of his career.
Newton was also honored for the first time in his career after recording a career-high six tackles and two sacks against Fordham to help Lehigh to a 5-0 start. Four of Newton's tackles were solo stops, and his two sacks forced Fordham to lose 15 yards.
The Longwood, Fla. native came up with a huge sack at the end of the first half, when he broke into Fordham's backfield and brought down quarterback Ryan Higgins. The play resulted in a loss of nine yards and took Fordham out of field goal range. He added a sack in the third quarter and also was in the backfield pressuring Higgins into an intentional grounding penalty late in the fourth quarter.
Newton's win gives Lehigh the Patriot League Player of the Week for the second straight week. Billy Boyko was selected a week ago for his 14-tackle, 39-yard interception return touchdown performance against Liberty. Boyko added 12 stops in Lehigh's win over Fordham on Saturday.
Senior quarterback Mike Colvin was tabbed as an honorable mention selection by the Patriot League for the second consecutive week. Colvin set career highs in completions, attempts and yardage against Fordham after completing 24-of-40 attempts for 341 yards and a touchdown. He added 61 rush yards on 12 carries and a touchdown to lead the Mountain Hawk offense.
The win over Fordham helped propel Lehigh upward in both major polls. The Mountain Hawks moved up to No. 10 in the FCS Coaches Poll and jumped four spots to No. 11 in the Sports Network FCS Top 25.
Lehigh will return to action on Saturday as the Mountain Hawks welcome Columbia to Goodman Stadium in the first meeting between the schools since 1999. Kickoff is set for just after 12:30 p.m. and tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting Lehighsports.com.
Story written with assistance from Cam Omsberg '13
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