Lehigh drops 31-28 heartbreaker to James Madison

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - In a game that went down to the wire, the Lehigh football team suffered a heartbreaking 31-28 season-opening loss to the James Madison Dukes on Saturday afternoon in Goodman Stadium. The Mountain Hawks had the chance to pull even or take a lead on their final possession, but the Dukes blocked the potential game-tying field goal with 51 seconds remaining to walk away winners.

"We played a talented football team, but are obviously disappointed with the outcome," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "We played well enough to win the game in a lot of aspects, but we left too many plays on the field. We drove the ball pretty much every time we had it. We moved the ball well against a big, strong defense. We ran the ball well and weren't one-dimensional. I was a little concerned about how well we'd be able to run the ball, but we ran it for 289 yards."
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Sophomore quarterback Nick Shafnisky completed 19-of-32 passes for 214 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also led the Mountain Hawks with 121 rushing yards. Senior Rich Sodeke shattered a career high with 98 rushing yards, along with a touchdown, and also made four receptions for 48 yards. Sophomore Brandon Yosha ran for 70 yards and a touchdown in his Mountain Hawks' senior. Senior Josh Parris caught four passes for 34 yards, while senior Derek Gaul added three receptions for 46 yards.

Junior Laquan Lambert led the way with 11 tackles while senior Stephen Wilmington had a strong game with seven tackles, a tackle for loss and forced fumble.

After a James Madison three-and-out on the game's opening drive, Lehigh took advantage. With the ball on the Dukes' 49-yard line, Shafnisky immediately ran 11 yards for a first down. Seven plays later, Yosha ran it in from one yard out to make it 7-0 Lehigh with 11:11 left in the first quarter. Seniors Tyler Coyle had a big 14-yard catch to get the Mountain Hawks down to the 18-yard line to set up Yosha for the score five plays later.

James Madison responded by driving 69 yards on 13 plays down to the Lehigh four-yard line, but the Mountain Hawks defense forced a 21-yard field goal as the Dukes pulled within 7-3 with 7:48 on the clock.

Following a three-and-out for Lehigh, JMU started at its 24-yard line. On the second play of its drive, Rashard Davis took a shuffle pass and went 76 yards down the left sidelines to make it 10-7 Dukes with 5:40 left in the first quarter.

James Madison tried an onside kick, but junior Noah Robb recovered. A five-play drive began with a Sodeke 23-yard run and ended with a 16-yard catch from Parris, who sprinted into the corner of the end zone. The extra point made it 14-10 Mountain Hawks with 3:27 left in the first.

Lehigh forced a punt on the ensuing possession. Shafnisky opened up Lehigh's drive with a 35-yard pass to junior Stefan Sansone that was tipped by a Duke before Sansone quickly snatched it up to get Lehigh out of its own end. A pair of ten-plus yard rushes by Yosha set Lehigh up at JMU's 27 as the first quarter clock expired.

The JMU defense pressured Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks attempted a field goal. Sophomore Ryan Pandy missed the 41-yard attempt as the score remained 14-10 in favor of Lehigh.

Khalid Abdullah opened JMU's ensuing drive with a 46-yard run to set the Dukes up at Lehigh's 30. JMU worked its way into the red zone at Lehigh's seven-yard line, but a false start and pair of incomplete passes forced the Dukes to attempt a field goal. JMU kicker Connor Arnone missed the attempt wide right to keep the score at 14-10 with 9:24 to play in the second quarter.

Sodeke opened Lehigh's ensuing drive with a 13-yard rush as the Mountain Hawks used 13 plays to drive 72 yards and take 5:42 off the clock, setting up another attempt for Pandy. However, Pandy's kick soared wide right with 3:42 to play in the half.

(9/6/2014) Football vs. James Madison, 9/6/14

After forcing a James Madison punt, Parris made the catch and returned the ball 30 yards to set up Lehigh at its own 48-yard line with just under two minutes to play in the second quarter. Shafnisky sent a 17-yard pass to Sodeke before finding Gaul for six yards. Two plays later, Shafnisky found Gaul in the end zone with a 23-yard heave. An extra point from Pandy made the score 21-10 with 43 seconds to play.

The Dukes threated with a quick 61-yard drive composed of six plays, but as quarterback Vad Lee was attempting to run his way into the end zone, he fumbled the ball as time expired and the Mountain Hawks rode a 21-10 lead into halftime.

Following a 35-minute lightening delay, the Dukes forced a Lehigh three-and-out to open the second half. JMU was faced with a third-and-one on their own 45, but Lee completed a 46-yard pass to DeAndre' Smith to put the Dukes on the Lehigh nine. John Miller followed with a nine-yard run into the end zone. The extra point from Arnone made it 21-17 with 12:03 left in the third quarter.

Lehigh converted a pair of third downs on its ensuing possession and drove 50 yards in 14 plays, taking over six minutes off the clock. The Mountain Hawks were eventually stopped at the JMU 42-yard line and were forced to punt.

The Dukes responded with a nine-play, 99-yard drive that was capped off by a 35-yard catch by Davis to claim their first lead of the day, 24-21, with 2:40 remaining on the third-quarter clock.

The Mountain Hawks faced a third down quickly into their next drive, but Shafnisky scampered 12 yards to set the Mountain Hawks up on their own 46. Facing a fourth and three, Shafnisky made another drive-saving run to the James Madison 35. Following a JMU timeout and pass interference penalty, Sodeke ran 14 yards into the end zone to help made it 28-24 Lehigh with just 3.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Lehigh picked up a big defensive stop on JMU's ensuing drive after the Dukes had marched across midfield in seven plays. James Madison was forced to punt and a touchback gave the Mountain Hawks the ball at their own 20 with 13:07 left in regulation.

Lehigh drove 29 yards in eight plays to take 5:43 of the clock, but was forced to punt. The Dukes started their possession with the ball on their own two-yard line with 7:24 left on the clock.

JMU promptly marched 98 yards downfield as a six-yard rush from Jauan Latney resulted in a touchdown. With Arnone's extra point, the Dukes took a three-point lead at 31-28 with 4:32 left to play.

After an 11-yard pass to Parris set the Mountain Hawks up on their own 25, Lehigh faced a third and nine. Shafnisky converted with a pass to Sodeke who scampered around the JMU defense to get a first down at the JMU 41 yard line. A pass interference penalty gave Lehigh a first-and-ten at the JMU 30 yard line before Shafnisky rushed for 14 yards to get the Mountain Hawks to the 15.

Following a JMU timeout, Pandy was set up to attempt the game-tying field goal with 59 seconds to play. The Dukes' blocked the attempt and took over possession with 51 seconds remaining before running out the clock and claiming the 31-28 win.

JMU held a 606-504 edge in total yards, including a 322-287 advantage on the ground. The Dukes held a 284-217 edge in passing yards. The Dukes gained 31 first down compared to Lehigh's 30. Lehigh led time of possession 37:19 to 22:41.

"There are a lot of positives you can take out of today's game," said Coen. "Nick played well as a first-time starter. The offensive line did well. Both tailbacks did a nice job. I always say there's something special about Lehigh seniors and Rich Sodeke coming into his senior year had the biggest day of his career. It's great to see guys continue to grow in the program."

The Mountain Hawks return to action next Saturday when they head to UNH. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. from Durham, N.H. The game will be broadcast on American Sports Network and audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 and ESPNLV.com. Lehigh returns home to host Monmouth on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 12:30 p.m. Tickets for the game 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.

"There are a lot of positives, but it eats at me that this was a very, very winnable football game and we didn't win it," said Coen. "We're young. Sometimes you have to learn what it really takes to win a game. Maybe we're not there right now. We'll be playing a better football team next weekend and will need to prepare very, very well for that game."

EXTRA POINTS: The Mountain Hawks lost their season opener for the first time in the past five years … The loss breaks Lehigh's streak of 11 consecutive wins against non-league opponents … There was a 35-minute weather delay following halftime due to lightning strikes detected in the area … Sodeke's 98 yards rushing were a career high, more than triple his previous high of 30 set during his sophomore season … Shafnisky's 121 rush yards shattered his previous career high of 55 … Junior punter Austin Devine 45.5 yards per punt and twice pinned James Madison inside the five yard line.

Lehigh drops 31-28 heartbreaker to James Madison

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Lehigh drops 31-28 heartbreaker to James Madison

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