Saturday, September 20
New Haven, Conn.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-3
43
at
54
Yale
1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
21
14
8
0
43
Yale
7
19
14
14
54
Lehigh unable to hold early lead as Yale rallies to win 54-43 shootout
9/20/2014 5:41:00 PM | Football
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – In a wild shootout that saw Lehigh and Yale combine for 97 points and 1,204 yards, the Mountain Hawks let an early 21 point lead get away as the Bulldogs opened the 100th anniversary season of the Yale Bowl with a come-from-behind 54-43 win Saturday afternoon. Yale outscored Lehigh 28-8 in the second half with Morgan Roberts' 23 yard touchdown pass to Chandler Rich with 12:14 to play accounting for the go-ahead score.
Lehigh mustered 521 yards of total offense, including a career-high 313 from sophomore quarterback Nick Shafnisky, but the Mountain Hawk defense allowed over 600 yards for the third consecutive week. Yale finished with 683 yards of offense and 31 first downs to win its season-opener while dropping Lehigh to 0-3.
Shafnisky completed 20-of-36 passes and threw three touchdown passes but also threw three interceptions, including two in the fourth quarter.
The Mountain Hawks rushed for 210 yards as a team, with sophomore Brandon Yosha leading the way with 75 yards on eight carries before departing with an injury. Freshman Chris Leigh gained 52 yards on six carries while Shafniksy ran for 46 and senior Rich Sodeke carried seven times for 37.
Senior Josh Parris led the receiving corps with 82 yards on seven receptions, while freshman Troy Pelletier caught his third touchdown of the year and had five receptions for 113 yards.
"We did what we had talked about all week in terms of starting fast," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said afterwards. "We had a 28-7 lead and they came back largely thanks to big plays. They made some big plays. We left too many big plays out there. Ultimately that's the ballgame."
Lehigh won the coin toss and deferred its choice to the second half. A holding penalty on Yale's first offensive play led to an early Bulldog punt. On the Mountain Hawks' second play from scrimmage Yosha raced 59 yards off the right side for a touchdown to give Lehigh an early 7-0 lead.
After another stop, Lehigh went back to work with a 72 yard drive. Shafnisky completed a key third down pass to junior Stefan Sansone and two plays later, Shafnisky rolled left and threw back right to a wide open Parris for a 26 yard score.
The Mountain Hawks continued their early attack two plays into Yale's next possession as sophomore Brandon Leaks jumped in front of a Yale receiver, intercepted, Roberts, and raced 23 yards for a touchdown. Ryan Pandy's extra point put Lehigh up 21-0 just over eight minutes in.
Yale answered on its next possession, putting together a seven-play, 70-yard drive. Deon Randall broke several tackles on his way to an impressive 20 yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs within 21-7.
Early in the second quarter, Lehigh extended its lead as Shafnisky used his legs to scramble left and dive across the pylon for a 12 yard touchdown run.
The Bulldogs battled back however to pull within five at 28-23 following a pair of long touchdowns; a 51 yard Rich rush and a 68 yard pass from Roberts to Randall. Following a Shafnisky interception, Kyle Cazzetta booted a 41 yard field goal to make the score 28-23 lead.
Needing a big play to re-establish some cushion, Lehigh went to its bag of tricks. On a flea-flicker, Shafnisky handed to Sodeke, who pitched back to Shafnisky. The Lehigh sophomore found Pelletier wide open deep for a 49 yard touchdown that made the score 35-23.
Late in the half, the Bulldogs put together a 16 play drive but the Lehigh defense stood tall inside the red zone, forcing a 37 yard Cazzetta field goal that made the score 35-26 Lehigh at halftime.
Yale outgained Lehigh 324-301 through the first 30 minutes, with Yosha, Shafnisky and Sodeke combining for 134 yards rushing in the opening half.
Shafnisky was 12-for-17 for 167 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and also ran eight times for 23 yards. Senior tight end Tyler Coyle caught four passes, all four of which went for first downs, while Pelletier gained 65 yards on three receptions.
Lehigh was stopped after one first down in its first drive of the second half and Yale answered with a long touchdown drive that was aided by a pair of Mountain Hawk penalties. A 26 yard pass from Roberts to Stephen Buric brought the Bulldogs within two.
Following a Lehigh three-and-out, junior Austin Devine pinned the Bulldogs at their 12 yard line with a 61 yard punt, but the Bulldogs moved 88 yards in nine plays, with Tyler Varga's 17 yard run giving Yale its first lead of the day at 40-35.
The back-and-forth scoring continued as Lehigh regained the lead late in the third quarter. Shafnisky scrambled right and uncorked a long pass to a wide open Derek Gaul for a 53 yard touchdown. A two point conversion pass from Shafnisky to Parris gave Lehigh a 43-40 lead.
Yale went ahead again early in the fourth quarter. Roberts capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 23 yard touchdown pass to Rich. On the ensuing Lehigh possession, Shafnisky was intercepted by Robert Ries in Lehigh territory and Roberts extended the Bulldog lead, capping the drive with a five yard keeper to make it 54-43 Yale with just under nine minutes remaining.
Lehigh tried to answer but turned the ball over on downs on its next possession and after a an apparent 67-yard touchdown pass to Pelletier was called back by an illegal block, that drive ended with an interception.
Roberts threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-39 passing, Two Bulldogs rushed for over 100 yards, with Varga gaining 152 on 19 carries and Rich rushing for 104 on 11. Randall led the Yale receiving corps with 152 yards on 13 catches.
"Yale's offensive approach was obviously very effective," Coen said. "Too many big plays. We missed some tackles but really we were putting them down and then giving up some big plays."
The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to host Monmouth on Community Day, with Community Day activities beginning at 11 a.m., including face painting, music, and inflatables presented by All About Fun. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during normal business hours.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh was minus-2 in turnovers Saturday after entering the game at plus-2 for the season… the Mountain Hawks' eight-game winning streak against Ivy League opponents came to an end… Lehigh is now 2-8 all-time at the Yale Bowl… sophomore Pierce Ripanti led the defense with nine tackles, and added Lehigh's first sack of the season… Leaks broke up three passes to go along with his interception… the teams combined for 19 penalties for 216 yards.
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Team Stats
LEHIGH
YALE
Total Yards
521
683
Pass Yards
311
376
Rushing Yards
210
307
Penalty Yards
89
127
1st Downs
24
31
3rd Downs
7
7
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
26:08
33:52
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 7, YALE 0
LEHIGH - Yosha, Brandon 59 yd run (Pandy, Ryan kick), 2 plays, 67 yards, TOP 0:31
LEHIGH 14, YALE 0
LEHIGH - Parris, Josh 26 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Pandy, Ryan kick) 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 3:44
LEHIGH 21, YALE 0
LEHIGH - Leaks, Brandon 23 yd interception (Pandy, Ryan kick)
LEHIGH 21, YALE 7
YALE - Randall, Deon 20 yd pass from Roberts, Morgan (Cazzetta, Kyle kick) 7 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:51
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 28, YALE 7
LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 12 yd run (Pandy, Ryan kick), 11 plays, 71 yards, TOP 5:04
LEHIGH 28, YALE 13
YALE - Rich, Candler 51 yd run (Scott, Logan rushfailed), 3 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:53
LEHIGH 28, YALE 20
YALE - Randall, Deon 68 yd pass from Roberts, Morgan (Cazzetta, Kyle kick) 1 plays, 68 yards, TOP 0:08
LEHIGH 28, YALE 23
YALE - Cazzetta, Kyle 41 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 2:06
LEHIGH 35, YALE 23
LEHIGH - Pelletier, Troy 49 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Pandy, Ryan kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:24
LEHIGH 35, YALE 26
YALE - Cazzetta, Kyle 37 yd field goal 16 plays, 68 yards, TOP 4:08
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 35, YALE 33
YALE - Buric, Stephen 26 yd pass from Roberts, Morgan (Cazzetta, Kyle kick) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:59
LEHIGH 35, YALE 40
YALE - Varga, Tyler 17 yd run (Cazzetta, Kyle kick), 9 plays, 88 yards, TOP 3:14
LEHIGH 43, YALE 40
LEHIGH - Gaul, Derek 53 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Parris, Josh pass) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:16
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 43, YALE 47
YALE - Rich, Candler 23 yd pass from Roberts, Morgan (Cazzetta, Kyle kick) 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:28
LEHIGH 43, YALE 54
YALE - Roberts, Morgan 5 yd run (Cazzetta, Kyle kick), 7 plays, 44 yards, TOP 2:15
Game Leaders
CMP
20
TD
3
YDS
311
INT
3
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