Lehigh and Columbia set to battle for first time since 1999
10/2/2012 7:00:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh closes out the non-league portion of its schedule Saturday afternoon as the Mountain Hawks welcome Columbia to Goodman Stadium for the first meeting between the schools in football in 13 years. The No. 10/11 Mountain Hawks improved to 5-0 on the season as Jake Peery's 22-yard field goal as time expired propelled Lehigh to a 34-31 win over Fordham last weekend.
After opening the season with three straight home games, Columbia plays its first road contest of the season on Saturday. The Lions come in at 1-2, following an opening-game win over Marist with back-to-back losses to Fordham and Princeton. Running back Marcorus Garrett is averaging 4.3 yards per carry on the ground, while linebacker Zach Olinger leads the defense with 28 tackles in three games.
Peery's game-winning field goal was his second of the game and the third of the season for the Baltimore native, who won back Lehigh's placekicking job in preseason camp. Peery was named Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week after delivering Lehigh's first game-winning field goal since Matt Douglas delivered a Lehigh win at Fordham on November 2, 2002. Peery is also a perfect 18-for-18 on extra point attempts this season and is averaging nearly 60 yards per kickoff with 11 touchbacks. Sophomore defensive lineman Tim Newton made it back-to-back Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week awards for Lehigh after enjoying a career day versus Fordham. Newton made six tackles and registered a pair of sacks, plus a pressure that led to a critical intentional grounding penalty in the fourth quarter.
Lehigh's offensive line has been shuffled significantly through its first five games, but despite the changes the unit has played well. The Mountain Hawks are rushing for 139.2 yards per game, while the O-Line has done well to protect quarterback Mike Colvin, allowing just one sack to lead the nation in that category. Sophomore Ned Daryoush has been the lone constant, starting all five games at left tackle.
Lehigh and Columbia meet for the 17th time Saturday in the first contest between the schools since 1999. The Mountain Hawks lead the all-time series 10-5-1 and are unbeaten in the last eight meetings with the Lions. Lehigh and Columbia have met eight times since 1987 with the Brown and White winning seven of those games. The 1994 contest ended in a 28-28 tie, the last tie on Lehigh's record. Columbia's last win was by a 42-21 score in 1963. Lehigh and Columbia met for the first time in 1889 with Lehigh prevailing 51-6. The teams did not meet again until 1932.
Saturday's game kicks off just after 12:30 from Goodman Stadium. Tickets are still available, and may be purchased in one of three ways: by visiting the Lehigh ticket office located in Stabler Arena, by calling (610) 7LU-GAME, or on-line anytime at Lehighsports.com.
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Date:
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October 6, 2012
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Opponent:
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Columbia Lions
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Kickoff:
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12:37 p.m.
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Stadium:
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Goodman Stadium/16,000/Natural Grass
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Location:
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Bethlehem, Pa.
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Tickets:
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Tickets can be purchased by calling (610) 7LU-GAME, or on-line via the link above
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Lehigh's Record:
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5-0 overall, 0-0 Patriot League
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Columbia's Record:
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1-2 overall, 0-0 Ivy League
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Series:
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Lehigh leads 10-5-1
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Television
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Service Electric 2 Sports live with Mike Zambelli, Mike Yadush '93 and Al DiCarlo
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Radio
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ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 AM with Matt Kerr, Tom Fallon and Matt Markus beginning at 11:30 a.m.
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