Saturday, November 23
12:30 PM
Lehigh University
8-3 , 3-2
28
vs
50
Lafayette
5-6 , 4-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lafayette
14
7
15
14
50
Lehigh
0
14
0
14
28
Lafayette downs No. 15/17 Lehigh 50-28 to take 149th meeting
11/23/2013 5:46:00 PM | Football
The Rivalry: Lehigh vs. Lafayette
EASTON, Pa. - After falling behind early, No. 15/17 Lehigh pulled within a touchdown at the half then within eight in the fourth quarter, but a 68-yard touchdown reception and 40-yard fumble return for a score proved too much to overcome as Lafayette won the 149th meeting in the most-played rivalry in college football, 50-28 in front of 16,129 at Goodman Stadium.
Senior Keith Sherman had a monster game with 141 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown while senior wide receiver Lee Kurfis had seven catches to break the school record for receptions in a season. With the win, Lafayette improves to 5-6 overall and wins the Patriot League Championship and the automatic berth into the FCS Playoffs with a 4-1 league mark.
The Leopards held a dominant 378-128 edge through the air. Lafayette quarterback Drew Reed was named the game's MVP after finishing 20-of-27 for 378 yards and three touchdowns.
Lehigh junior Matt McHale saw the majority of time at quarterback, completing 11-of-20 for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Nick Shafnisky was 3-for-9 for 56 yards, a touchdown and interception. Junior Tyler Coyle had two of those touchdown receptions.
The loss snapped Lehigh's five-game winning streak over its archrival from Easton.
"It wasn't our best day of football," explained Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "You'd like to play your best on a big stage like this, but it doesn't always happen. It wasn't for lack of effort or emotion or pride in the institution. It just wasn't our day and they played well. That's why they won the game."
Lafayette's Ross Scheuerman took the opening kickoff 56 yards down to the Lehigh 32-yard line, and the Leopards made the most of it. After connecting on one first down, Lafayette fumbled, but Scheuerman scooped up the ball and ran it into the end zone to make it 7-0 with 13:33 on the first-quarter clock.
After a Lehigh three-and-out, senior Tim Divers boomed a 49-yard punt with no return down to the 17-yard line. Lafayette moved the ball into the Lehigh red zone, but a bad snap on third down forced a fourth-and-26 at the 31-yard line. Reed fired a deep pass to Mark Ross who found separation and made the catch to make it 14-0 with 6:39 remaining in the first quarter.
Following a 51-yard punt by Divers, Lafayette gained a first down, but a big sack from freshman Colton Caslow and ensuing holding penalty led to a punt. Junior Tashan Mitchell blocked the punt and sophomore Olivier Rigaud recovered to set the Mountain Hawks up at Lafayette's 10-yard line.
Lehigh made it count as on third and goal, McHale found Coyle for a 10-yard touchdown to pull the Mountain Hawks within 14-7 with 14:07 to go in the second quarter.
Lafayette answered as Reed found Justin Adams for 49 yards on a flea flicker to the Lehigh eight-yard line. Three plays later, Adams finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown reception to make it 2107 with 12:22 left in the second.
On the ensuing drive, Shafnisky entered the game for the first time, but the Leopards forced Lehigh three-and-out.
On Lafayette's ensuing drive, a big offensive pass interference call sent the Leopards backwards, and Reed was called for intentional grounding, throwing the ball away to avoid an oncoming Caslow. That forced a punt and gave the ball back to the Lehigh offense.
After trading punts, Lehigh gained tremendous field position on the Lafayette 32-yard line with just over three minutes on the first-half clock. After an incomplete pass, Sherman ran for 25 yards over several Leopards down to the Lafayette seven-yard line. Three plays later, McHale connected with Kurfis for the nine-yard score to make it 21-14 with 1:03 left in the second quarter.
Lafayette drove to the Lehigh 17 yard-line looking for points before the half expired, but the Mountain Hawks forced a 34-yard field goal which was blocked to keep the score at 21-14 heading into halftime.
"Their kids really out played us today right from the get-go with the opening kickoff return and the early score," Coen said. "We were struggling, offensively in particularly. We battled back into it. We blocked a punt and scored. We were totally outplayed in the first half and actually felt good coming in at halftime only down by seven and getting the ball back."
Sherman had seven carries for 54 yards in the first half. McHale was 5-of-9 for 19 yards and two touchdowns. Divers enjoyed a strong half, averaging 45.8 yards on four punts to help give Lehigh strong field position. Kurfis and junior Josh Parris each had two catches in the first 30 minutes.
Lehigh went three-and-out on its first drive of the second half and Lafayette capitalized. The Leopards went 80 yards on six plays, highlighted by a 35-yard connection from Reed to Ross to set Lafayette up deep in Lehigh territory. Two plays later, the Leopards punched it in to make it 28-14 with 11:17 left in the third quarter.
Lafayette forced a second straight punt then used an 11-play, 41-yard drive to take a three-score lead. Scheuerman capped it off with his second rushing touchdown of the game. The extra point was bobbled, but still run in for the two-point conversion to make it 36-14 with 3:28 on the third-quarter clock.
The Mountain Hawks wouldn't go quietly, capping off a 12-play, 85-yard drive with a seven-yard pass from Shafnisky to Coyle to make it 36-21 early in the fourth quarter. McHale helped drive Lehigh downfield before giving way to Shafnisky for the final play.
Lehigh forced a three-and-out, then Shafnisky and McHale led the Mountain Hawks 53 yards for another score. Shafnisky led Lehigh down to the Lafayette 33-yard line following a 22-yard connection to Kurfis. McHale then found senior Sergio Fernandez-Soto for 12 yards, and four plays later, Sherman ran it in from 13 yards out to make it 36-28 with 8:49 left in the fourth quarter.
However, Lafayette answered in one play behind a Demetrius Dixon 68-yard touchdown reception. Dixon turned a short screen pass into seven and a 43-28 lead for the Leopards.
"We had a very poor start in the second half and even into the fourth quarter we battled back to a one score game," Coen said. "I was feeling confident and our guys have rallied around each other so many times in the past. I really felt we'd be able to do it again in the fourth quarter but they had that big play right away. That cooled the jets a little bit."
McHale was sacked and fumbled as Lehigh looked to answer. James Coscia returned the fumble 40 yards to quickly give Lafayette a 50-28 lead with 7:29 left in the fourth quarter. That proved to be the final as Shafnisky led Lehigh into Lafayette territory looking to pull closer, but his pass was intercepted and the Leopards ran out the final 6:05.
Lafayette held the edge in yards (498-307), including a dominant 378-128 edge through the air. Lehigh held a 179-120 advantage on the ground. Lafayette held a 23-17 edge in first downs.
Senior safeties Tyler Ward and Rickie Hill tied for game high with nine tackles, while Caslow registered eight plus two of Lehigh's four sacks.
The loss means Lehigh will likely finish the season with an 8-3 record. The Mountain Hawks' senior class finishes their careers with an impressive 39-9 record that includes Patriot League championships in 2010 and 2011 and a pair of FCS playoff wins. Sherman finished the season with 1,064 yards to become Lehigh's first 1,000 yard rusher since Jermaine Pugh gained 1,339 in 2002. Kurfis set a school record with 99 receptions and finished with 1,351 yards.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh's opponents scored first in nine of 11 games this season… the Mountain Hawks blocked two kicks in a game for the second time this season (two field goals at Princeton)… Lehigh was denied its league-leading 11th Patriot League title and its first undefeated home season since 2001… the Mountain Hawks' 307 yards of total offense were a season-low… Kurfis broke Ryan Spadola's school record for receptions… Spadola caught 96 balls in 2011… Sherman rushed for 100-plus yards in five games this season including four of Lehigh's final five.
Team Stats
LAFAYETT
LEHIGH
Total Yards
498
307
Pass Yards
378
128
Rushing Yards
120
179
Penalty Yards
55
45
1st Downs
23
17
3rd Downs
8
6
4th Downs
2
2
TOP
36:03
23:57
1st Quarter
LAFAYETT 7, LEHIGH 0
LAFAYETT - Scheuerman, R. 1 yd run (Gralish, Ryan kick), 3 plays, 32 yards, TOP 1:27
LAFAYETT 14, LEHIGH 0
LAFAYETT - Ross, Mark 31 yd pass from Reed, Drew (Gralish, Ryan kick) 12 plays, 83 yards, TOP 5:22
2nd Quarter
LAFAYETT 14, LEHIGH 7
LEHIGH - Coyle, Tyler 10 yd pass from McHale, Matt (Pandy, Ryan kick) 4 plays, 10 yards, TOP 1:22
LAFAYETT 21, LEHIGH 7
LAFAYETT - Adams, Justin 4 yd pass from Reed, Drew (Gralish, Ryan kick) 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:45
LAFAYETT 21, LEHIGH 14
LEHIGH - Kurfis, Lee 9 yd pass from McHale, Matt (Pandy, Ryan kick) 5 plays, 32 yards, TOP 1:53
3rd Quarter
LAFAYETT 28, LEHIGH 14
LAFAYETT - Irving, M. 7 yd run (Gralish, Ryan kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:44
LAFAYETT 36, LEHIGH 14
LAFAYETT - Scheuerman, R. 1 yd run (Searfoss, Blake rush), 11 plays, 41 yards, TOP 6:09
4th Quarter
LAFAYETT 36, LEHIGH 21
LEHIGH - Coyle, Tyler 7 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Pandy, Ryan kick) 12 plays, 85 yards, TOP 3:26
LAFAYETT 36, LEHIGH 28
LEHIGH - Sherman, Keith 13 yd run (Pandy, Ryan kick), 9 plays, 53 yards, TOP 3:27
LAFAYETT 43, LEHIGH 28
LAFAYETT - Dixon, D. 68 yd pass from Reed, Drew (Gralish, Ryan kick) 1 plays, 68 yards, TOP 0:15
LAFAYETT 50, LEHIGH 28
LAFAYETT - Coscia, James 40 yd fumble recovery (Gralish, Ryan kick)
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