Saturday, October 25
12:30 PM
Lehigh University
1-6 , 0-2
27
vs
48
Fordham
7-1 , 3-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Fordham
14
21
10
3
48
Lehigh
0
14
7
6
27
No. 12 Fordham's offense too much for Lehigh in 48-27 defeat
10/25/2014 5:29:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After trailing 35-14 at the half, the Lehigh football team wouldn't give up and had a chance to pull within two scores in the fourth quarter, but Fordham proved too much in the end as the 12th-ranked Rams topped the Mountain Hawks 48-27 Saturday on Homecoming and Family Weekend at Goodman Stadium. Sophomore quarterback Nick Shafnisky was a force through the air and on the ground, completing 16-of-25 passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 84 yards. The Mountain Hawks (1-6, 0-2 Patriot League) will search for their first Patriot League victory at Georgetown next Saturday.
Senior Josh Parris was Shafnisky's most frequent target on Saturday, catching eight passes for 83 yards including an impressive 32-yard score in the second quarter. Freshman Troy Pelletier also had three receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown. Senior Rich Sodeke carried 12 times for 90 yards and a 24-yard touchdown to get the Mountain Hawks on the board.
After Fordham generated 379 first-half yards, the Mountain Hawks held them to 208 in the second half. Running back Chase Edmonds ran for 197 yards on 32 carries including five touchdowns to lead the Rams, who improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in league games.
"Another tough day for us here against another very, very good football team," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "They were definitely as advertised. We knew they were a good football team on film and knew we had to play very well. At times we did and at times, we obviously did not.
Coen continued, "Going into it from a defensive standpoint, controlling the run game was going to be very important. Obviously, we weren't able to do that. We gave up too many big runs in the run game. We were hoping to contain them and get after the quarterback in the pass game. Obviously, we weren't able to do that, so that was disappointing for us."
Fordham took the opening kickoff 65 yards in 12 plays to take an early lead. No play went for more than 16 yards as the Rams methodically marched down field in eight rushes and four passes. A one-yard touchdown run from Edmonds made it 7-0 with 10:40 on the first-quarter clock.
After a Lehigh three-and-out, the Rams held the ball for 6:39, going 78 yards on 14 plays capped off by a six-yard touchdown run from Edmonds into the left side of the end zone which made it 14-0 with 2:46 on the clock. Fordham converted a third down in its own territory and a fourth-and-six from the Lehigh 32 to keep the drive alive.
The Mountain Hawks gained a first down on their ensuing drive on a 13-yard pass to senior Derek Gaul, but Lehigh was forced to punt. The Rams followed by driving 73 yards on nine plans capped off by a five-yard run from Edmonds up the middle to make it 21-0 with 12:28 left in the second quarter. Fordham converted two third downs on the drive, including a third-and-16 from the Lehigh 41-yard line.
Lehigh responded with a 70-yard drive which included a pair of third-down conversions and a fourth-down conversion. On 4th-and-3 from the Fordham 28-yard line, Shafnisky found Gaul for four yards to keep the drive alive. On the following play, Sodeke ran it in from 24 yards away to pull the Mountain Hawks within 21-7 with 6:55 left in the second quarter.
The Mountain Hawks' defense forced a third-and-seven on the following possession and then a fourth-and-one, but the Rams converted near midfield. On the following play, a quick pass to the right turned into a 51-yard touchdown reception for Dan Light, who eluded Lehigh defenders and scampered into the right side of the end zone to make it 28-7 with 4:52 left in the first half.
Lehigh's offense immediately responded by going 73 yards in just 2:21 as a 17-yard run from Sodeke got the Mountain Hawks into Fordham territory. Two plays later, Shafnisky lofted a pass up to Parris, who snagged the ball amidst two defenders and cruised into the end zone to make it 28-14 with 2:22 left in the first half.
Fordham came right back to regain its 21-point lead, going 81 yards on five plays capped off by a one-yard touchdown run from Edmonds with 45 seconds remaining. The big play in the drive was a 57-yard run from Kendall Pearcey.
The Mountain Hawks went three-and-out on their first drive of the second half and it took just 2:02 for the Fordham offense to convert as a 38-yard run from Edmonds made it 42-14 with 10:59 on the third-quarter clock.
After forcing a Lehigh punt, Fordham drove into Mountain Hawks' territory, but was forced to kick a 42-yard field goal which made it 45-14 with 4:45 left in the third.
Lehigh answered with a 71-yard drive on four plays, helped by a pair of 15-yard Fordham penalties. After a late hit out of bounds, Shafnisky found Parris for 15 yards down to the three-yard line. One play later, Shafnisky connected with senior Tyler Coyle to make it 45-21 just over a minute later.
The Mountain Hawks responded by forcing their first punt of the afternoon and the offense went 64 yards in 12 plays. The big plays came behind a Shafnisky 17-yard rush followed by a four-yard run from Sodeke and 15-yard rush from Shafnisky to get Lehigh deep into Fordham territory. Sophomore Brandon Yosha also converted a fourth-and-two at the Fordham 17. Three plays later, Shafnisky found freshman Troy Pelletier for the five-yard touchdown connection. The two-point conversion was no good as Lehigh trailed Fordham 45-27 with 11:52 left in the fourth quarter.
On its next drive, Fordham drove all the way down to the Lehigh 14-yard line, but the Mountain Hawks forced their second straight field goal, a 31-yarder which made it 48-27 with 5:52 on the clock.
Lehigh reached the 41-yard line on its ensuing drive, but a fourth-down pass fell incomplete. The Rams took over and ran out the clock to close out the game.
"Obviously, we had dug ourselves into a deep hole, but I like how the kids responded in the second half," Coen said. "Through all of these losses, there are some positive things that you see. We've done things well for one or two quarters, but we've got to find a way over the next four weeks to put one together for the whole game. That's the biggest challenge moving forward here, to put our best foot forward and win the rest of the games that we have."
Final yards were 587-317 in favor of Fordham, including 304-190 on the ground and 283-127 through the air. The Rams held a 34:21 to 25:39 edge in time of possession while gaining 25 first downs to the Mountain Hawks' 18.
Lehigh returns to action at Georgetown next Saturday (Nov. 1) to face the Hoyas. Opening kickoff is set for 12 p.m. After a road game at Holy Cross, the Mountain Hawks return home on Saturday, Nov. 15 to host Colgate at 12:30 p.m. 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.
EXTRA POINTS ... Lehigh is now 0-2 in league play for the first time since 2007 (and the second time ever)... Fordham has won two straight against the Mountain Hawks to cut Lehigh's lead in the all-time series to 23-4... Fordham converted 10-of-16 third downs and both of its fourth down opportunities, while Lehigh was just 3-for-11 on third downs and 3-for-5 on fourth... neither team turned the ball over... junior Randall Lawson led Lehigh with 13 tackles... junior Matt Laub had two sacks, marking the fifth consecutive game Lehigh recorded exactly two sacks... paid attendance was 9,372 on Homecoming and Family Weekend.
Team Stats
FOR
LEHIGH
Total Yards
588
317
Pass Yards
292
127
Rushing Yards
296
190
Penalty Yards
115
38
1st Downs
25
18
3rd Downs
10
3
4th Downs
2
3
TOP
34:21
25:39
1st Quarter
FOR 7, LEHIGH 0
FOR - Edmonds, Chase 1 yd run (Marando, Michae kick), 12 plays, 65 yards, TOP 4:20
FOR 14, LEHIGH 0
FOR - Edmonds, Chase 6 yd run (Marando, Michae kick), 14 plays, 78 yards, TOP 6:39
2nd Quarter
FOR 21, LEHIGH 0
FOR - Edmonds, Chase 5 yd run (Marando, Michae kick), 9 plays, 83 yards, TOP 3:21
FOR 21, LEHIGH 7
LEHIGH - Sodeke, Rich 24 yd run (Pandy, Ryan kick), 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 5:27
FOR 28, LEHIGH 7
FOR - Light, Dan 51 yd pass from Nebrich, Mike (Marando, Michae kick) 5 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:03
FOR 28, LEHIGH 14
LEHIGH - Parris, Josh 32 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Pandy, Ryan kick) 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 2:21
FOR 35, LEHIGH 14
FOR - Edmonds, Chase 1 yd run (Marando, Michae kick), 5 plays, 81 yards, TOP 1:24
3rd Quarter
FOR 42, LEHIGH 14
FOR - Edmonds, Chase 38 yd run (Marando, Michae kick), 5 plays, 67 yards, TOP 2:02
FOR 45, LEHIGH 14
FOR - Marando, Michae 42 yd field goal 9 plays, 30 yards, TOP 3:22
FOR 45, LEHIGH 21
LEHIGH - Coyle, Tyler 3 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Pandy, Ryan kick) 4 plays, 71 yards, TOP 1:17
4th Quarter
FOR 45, LEHIGH 27
LEHIGH - Pelletier, Troy 5 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Shafnisky, Nick passintercepted) 12 plays, 64 yards, TOP 5:27
FOR 48, LEHIGH 27
FOR - Marando, Michae 31 yd field goal 11 plays, 63 yards, TOP 5:51
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
16
TD
3
YDS
127
INT
0
Players Mentioned
TE
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WR
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DB
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WR
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WR
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RB
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RB
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