Saturday, September 21
Princeton, N.J.
6:00 PM
Lehigh University
3-0
29
at
28
Princeton
0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
0
3
13
13
29
Princeton
8
14
0
6
28
Second half rally propels Lehigh past Princeton, 29-28
9/21/2013 10:35:00 PM | Football
PRINCETON, N.J. – For the second time in three weeks it required a monumental comeback, but No. 18/22 Lehigh erased a 19 point halftime deficit to move to 3-0 on the season as the Mountain Hawks rallied past Princeton 29-28 Saturday night at Princeton Stadium.
The Mountain Hawks trailed 22-3 at intermission but outscored the Tigers 26-6 in the second half. A one yard touchdown run by senior Sean Farrell gave Lehigh the lead for good with 2:45 to play.
"It's a really tight football team and they keep getting tighter every day," explained Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "Every time you go through something like this only makes you tighter. We got a lot tougher in the second half. We left too many opportunities out there in the first half, but I could not be more proud of these guys."
Senior quarterback Brandon Bialkowski had another superb game, completing a school-record 42-of-57 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns. His top target was once again senior Lee Kurfis who hauled in 13 passes (one off the school single game record) for 152 yards. Nine different Mountain Hawks caught a pass Saturday night, including junior tight end Dylan Colgate, who caught a career-best four passes for 23 yards and the initial go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter.
The two teams combined for 1,014 yards of total offense (513 for Lehigh) and 58 first downs (30 for Lehigh).
The Mountain Hawks received the opening kickoff and moved the ball into Princeton territory but a Bialkowski pass for Kurfis was tipped and picked off by Phillip Bhaya at the Tiger five yard line.
The Tigers capitalized on the turnover to marching 76 yards in six plays. An 18-yard run by Di Andre Atwater and a two point conversion gave Princeton an early 8-0 lead.
Following a three-and-out on offense, Lehigh's defense needed just one play to get the ball back as senior Tyler Ward picked off Michelsen at the Mountain Hawks' own 31, Ward's second interception in as many games. Lehigh gained a first down on a screen pass to junior wide receiver Josh Parris but a sack led to a Mountain Hawks punt.
Princeton was poised to extend its lead early in the second quarter but a big third down breakup by Jamil Robinson forced a 31 yard field goal attempt, which deflected off the helmet of a Princeton lineman and fell short.
The Tigers extended their lead midway through the second quarter with an eight play, 91 yard drive capped by a four yard run by Quinn Epperly. The extra point gave Princeton a 15-0 lead with 6:48 left before halftime.
Lehigh answered with a long 13 play drive deep into Tiger territory, but after the drive stalled at the Princeton five yard line, freshman Ryan Pandy booted a 22 yard field goal to get Lehigh on the board. Kurfis caught four passes for 63 yards on the drive.
Princeton responded to the Lehigh score with a 10 play, 75 yard drive. A five yard pass from Epperly to Roman Wilson gave the Tigers a 22-3 lead at halftime.
The Tigers out-gained the Mountain Hawks 279-204 through the first 30 minutes. Bialkowski was 17-of-25 for 177 yards and an interception in the first half. He was also sacked twice. Kurfis caught six passes for 82 yards to pace the offense, while Sherman caught four passes for 48 yards and added 19 rushing yards on seven carries.
Princeton opened the second half with possession and moved the ball inside Lehigh's 25 yard line, but the Tigers failed to convert a 4th-and-4 as Lehigh took over on its 21. From there the Mountain Hawks moved 79 yards in 15 plays to score their first touchdown of the night. Lehigh converted two fourth downs, on a pass from Bialkowski to Colgate and then a Bialkowski keeper, to keep the drive alive. Sherman rushed up the middle from five yards out for the touchdown. The two point conversion failed as Lehigh's deficit was cut to 22-9 with 5:12 to play in the third.
After the defense came up with another stop, Lehigh manufactured an 11 play, 66 yard drive. Bialkowski's first touchdown of the night, a 15 yard swing pass to senior fullback Zach Hayden on the last play of the third quarter brought the Mountain Hawks within six after 45 minutes.
Lehigh's defense came up with its second blocked kick of the night as junior Arturo Gyles was credited for blocking Nolan Bieck's 33 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive Lehigh marched 73 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 48 yard pass from Bialkowski to Parris. On 3rd-and-goal, Bialkowski hit Colgate in the corner of the end zone for a three yard score and Pandy's extra point gave Lehigh a 23-22 lead.
Princeton answered right back, however, as the Tigers put together a nine play, 71 yard drive. Atwater's second touchdown of the day, a 17 yard run around left end, put the Tigers up 28-23 after the two point conversion failed.
After a touchback, Lehigh got the ball back on its 25 yard line and put together an impressive 13 play, 75 yard drive to reclaim the lead. On the drive, Lehigh did not have a play longer than ten yards but the Mountain Hawks methodically moved the ball down the field. Bialkowski picked up two key yards on an early 3rd-and-1, and also hit Kurfis four times on the drive. Two Sherman runs but the ball at the Princeton five and two plays later Farrell barreled in from a yard out with the game-winner. Lehigh's two point conversion attempt failed.
The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds setting up the Tigers at their own 35. Princeton moved the ball into Lehigh territory but on 3rd-and-10 Michelsen was picked off by Isaiah Campbell. A 15 yard rush by Sherman allowed picked up a critical first down and Lehigh was able to run out the clock.
"We just finished things on the offensive side of the ball," Coen said as to the difference in his team from the first half to the second. "They sent a couple blitzes that we hadn't seen, but our staff did a great job adjusting to that. We protected the quarterback well in the second half. Defensively it was just a couple tweaks here and there. We got some more pressure on the quarterback and started making some stops on third down."
Sherman finished with 51 rushing yards on 11 carries and also caught five passes for 69 yards. Senior Sergio Fernandez-Soto was the Mountain Hawks' second leading receiver with seven grabs for 54 yards, while Parris finished with 87 yards on six receptions.
Ward was one of three Mountain Hawks to post a team-best ten tackles on the night, along with freshman Colton Caslow and junior Tim Newton.
Michelson completed 19-of-32 passes for 210 yards and two interceptions, while Epperly had an impressive all-around game, completing 6-of-8 for 100 yards and a touchdown, rushing five times for 19 yards and catching two passes for 22 yards. Princeton's Mike Zeuli had a game-high 18 tackles.
The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to host No. 9/11 New Hampshire on Homecoming. Kickoff is set for just after 12:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh has now won 16 straight regular season road games and is 3-0 for the second straight year… the Mountain Hawks spoiled the Tigers season opener for the fourth straight year… Lehigh improved to 11-4 in night games dating back to the 1999 season, including a 6-1 mark in night games at Princeton… since the start of the 2010 season, Lehigh is 11-0 in games decided by a field goal or less… Lehigh was credited with two blocked field goals (Rickey Layton and Arturo Gyles)… the previous single game school record for completions was 38 by Todd Brunner versus Colgate in 1989… Bialkowski's 430 yards are tied for the sixth-highest single game total in school history…for the second time in three weeks Lehigh won despite recording zero quarterback sacks.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
PRIN
Total Yards
513
501
Pass Yards
430
310
Rushing Yards
83
191
Penalty Yards
40
10
1st Downs
30
28
3rd Downs
9
8
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
36:43
23:17
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 0, PRIN 8
PRIN - Atwater, DiAndr 18 yd run (Ray, Jason rush), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:42
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 0, PRIN 15
PRIN - Epperly, Quinn 4 yd run (Bieck, Nolan kick), 8 plays, 91 yards, TOP 2:42
LEHIGH 3, PRIN 15
LEHIGH - Pandy, Ryan 22 yd field goal 13 plays, 63 yards, TOP 3:14
LEHIGH 3, PRIN 22
PRIN - Wilson, Roman 5 yd pass from Epperly, Quinn (Bieck, Nolan kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:49
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 9, PRIN 22
LEHIGH - Sherman, Keith 5 yd run (Parris, Josh rushfailed), 15 plays, 79 yards, TOP 5:33
LEHIGH 16, PRIN 22
LEHIGH - Hayden, Zach 15 yd pass from Bialkowski, Bra (Pandy, Ryan kick) 11 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:41
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 23, PRIN 22
LEHIGH - Colgate, Dylan 3 yd pass from Bialkowski, Bra (Pandy, Ryan kick) 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:05
LEHIGH 23, PRIN 28
PRIN - Atwater, DiAndr 17 yd run (Michelsen, Conn passfailed), 9 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:21
LEHIGH 29, PRIN 28
LEHIGH - Farrell, Sean 1 yd run (Bialkowski, Bra passfailed), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:18
Game Leaders
CMP
42
TD
2
YDS
430
INT
1
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