Lehigh welcomes No. 12 Fordham on Homecoming and Family Weekend
10/21/2014 11:44:00 AM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Fresh off its first victory of the season last weekend at Cornell, Lehigh returns home and returns to Patriot League play as the Mountain Hawks host No. 12 Fordham Saturday on Homecoming and Family Weekend at Goodman Stadium. The Mountain Hawks started strong and finished strong in their 31-14 triumph over Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. as the Lehigh defense showed signs of life with its best performance of the season. Lehigh limited Cornell's offense to just 273 yards while recording three takeaways and two sacks.
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The Fordham Rams bring their high-powered offense into Goodman Stadium Saturday afternoon. Fordham comes in off its bye week at 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League with wins over Holy Cross and Lafayette. The 12th-ranked Rams have scored 42 or more points in all six victories, including a 60-22 throttling of Penn on October 11.
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Walter Payton Award candidate Mike Nebrich directs an offense that ranks fourth nationally in total offense in third in passing and scoring. Fordham features a trio of outstanding wide receivers in Sam Ajala, Tebucky Jones and Brian Wetzel, while freshman running back Chase Edmonds is already over 1,000 yards on the season.
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The Rams earned an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs last season, defeating Sacred Heart in the first round before falling at Towson in the second round. Fordham's lone loss this season was a 50-6 setback at Villanova on September 6.
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Senior tailback Rich Sodeke enjoyed another career day last weekend at Cornell, rushing 23 times for 147 yards – both career-highs – and adding a touchdown in Lehigh's 31-14 victory. His 59 yard scamper in the first quarter was a career-long and set up Lehigh's first touchdown. He was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Earlier this year, Sodeke rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown versus James Madison and 119 yards and a score against Monmouth. He leads the Mountain Hawks with 458 rushing yards and has averaged 5.5 yards per carry this season.
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The Lehigh defense enjoyed its best day of the season at Cornell as the Mountain Hawks limited the Big Red to just 273 yards of offense and 14 points. Senior captain Tim Newton was one of the leaders of the defensive effort with five tackles, 1.5 sacks, two tackles-for-loss, and a pass breakup. For his efforts, Newton was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career. Newton leads Lehigh with 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss this season and has 12 sacks for his career.
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Creating more turnovers has been a point of emphasis for Lehigh in 2014. The Mountain Hawks ranked last in the Patriot League in turnover margin last season, not because of giveaways, but because of a league-low 11 takeaways. Lehigh has won the turnover battle in four of its first six games, including a +3 showing last week at Cornell to get back to even for the season, which ranks fifth in the Patriot League. Lehigh now was ten takeaways (4 fumbles, 6 INT) and ten giveaways (1 fumbles, 9 INT) this season.
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Lehigh has played Fordham 26 previous times with the Mountain Hawks winning 23 of those meetings. Fordham snapped a five-game Lehigh winning streak in the series with its win last year in the Bronx. These two teams met for the first time in 1923 then did not meet again until 1989. Lehigh is 13-0 against Fordham in Bethlehem and 12-0 against the Rams at Goodman Stadium.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after 12:30 p.m. at Goodman Stadium. Tickets for the game 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 LehighTickets.com.
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Lehigh heads back on the road next Saturday the Mountain Hawks visit the Georgetown Hoyas. Game time is set for noon from Multi-Sport Field in Washington, D.C.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season. Â
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Fresh off its first victory of the season last weekend at Cornell, Lehigh returns home and returns to Patriot League play as the Mountain Hawks host No. 12 Fordham Saturday on Homecoming and Family Weekend at Goodman Stadium. The Mountain Hawks started strong and finished strong in their 31-14 triumph over Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y. as the Lehigh defense showed signs of life with its best performance of the season. Lehigh limited Cornell's offense to just 273 yards while recording three takeaways and two sacks.
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The Fordham Rams bring their high-powered offense into Goodman Stadium Saturday afternoon. Fordham comes in off its bye week at 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the Patriot League with wins over Holy Cross and Lafayette. The 12th-ranked Rams have scored 42 or more points in all six victories, including a 60-22 throttling of Penn on October 11.
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Walter Payton Award candidate Mike Nebrich directs an offense that ranks fourth nationally in total offense in third in passing and scoring. Fordham features a trio of outstanding wide receivers in Sam Ajala, Tebucky Jones and Brian Wetzel, while freshman running back Chase Edmonds is already over 1,000 yards on the season.
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The Rams earned an at-large berth to the FCS Playoffs last season, defeating Sacred Heart in the first round before falling at Towson in the second round. Fordham's lone loss this season was a 50-6 setback at Villanova on September 6.Â
Senior tailback Rich Sodeke enjoyed another career day last weekend at Cornell, rushing 23 times for 147 yards – both career-highs – and adding a touchdown in Lehigh's 31-14 victory. His 59 yard scamper in the first quarter was a career-long and set up Lehigh's first touchdown. He was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Earlier this year, Sodeke rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown versus James Madison and 119 yards and a score against Monmouth. He leads the Mountain Hawks with 458 rushing yards and has averaged 5.5 yards per carry this season.
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The Lehigh defense enjoyed its best day of the season at Cornell as the Mountain Hawks limited the Big Red to just 273 yards of offense and 14 points. Senior captain Tim Newton was one of the leaders of the defensive effort with five tackles, 1.5 sacks, two tackles-for-loss, and a pass breakup. For his efforts, Newton was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in his career. Newton leads Lehigh with 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss this season and has 12 sacks for his career.
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Creating more turnovers has been a point of emphasis for Lehigh in 2014. The Mountain Hawks ranked last in the Patriot League in turnover margin last season, not because of giveaways, but because of a league-low 11 takeaways. Lehigh has won the turnover battle in four of its first six games, including a +3 showing last week at Cornell to get back to even for the season, which ranks fifth in the Patriot League. Lehigh now was ten takeaways (4 fumbles, 6 INT) and ten giveaways (1 fumbles, 9 INT) this season.
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Lehigh has played Fordham 26 previous times with the Mountain Hawks winning 23 of those meetings. Fordham snapped a five-game Lehigh winning streak in the series with its win last year in the Bronx. These two teams met for the first time in 1923 then did not meet again until 1989. Lehigh is 13-0 against Fordham in Bethlehem and 12-0 against the Rams at Goodman Stadium.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after 12:30 p.m. at Goodman Stadium. Tickets for the game 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 LehighTickets.com.
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Lehigh heads back on the road next Saturday the Mountain Hawks visit the Georgetown Hoyas. Game time is set for noon from Multi-Sport Field in Washington, D.C.
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| Date: | October 25, 2014 |
| Opponent: | No. 12 Fordham Rams |
| Kickoff: | 12:37 p.m. |
| Stadium: | Goodman Stadium/16,000/Natural Grass |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Tickets: | Tickets can be purchased by calling (610) 7LU-GAME, or on-line at LehighTickets.com |
| Lehigh's Record: | 1-5, 0-1 Patriot League |
| Fordham's Record: | 6-1, 2-0 Patriot League |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 23-3 |
| Television: | Service Electric 2 Sports with Mike Zambelli, Mike Yadush '93 and Al Di Carlo |
| Radio: | ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 with Matt Kerr, Lance Haynes, Matt Markus and Tom Fallon beginning at 11:30 a.m. |
| Internet Video: | Video on the Patriot League Network with Ray Crawford, Doug Chapman and Rich Cirminiello |
| Internet Audio: | Audio at ESPNLV.com |
| Key Stats: | • Lehigh's defense allowed just 273 yards of offense to Cornell, but the Mountain Hawks go from facing the second-worst offense in the FCS to the fourth-best (528.6 ypg). •Lehigh's is 13-0 all time at home versus Fordham, including 12-0 at Goodman Stadium. •The Mountain Hawks have scored exactly 34 points in each of their last three games against Fordham and average 33.3 points per game against the Rams under Andy Coen. |
| Behind Enemy Lines: | http://www.fordhamsports.com |
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season. Â
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