Friday, September 4
New Britain, Conn.
7:00 PM
Lehigh University
1-0
20
at
14
Central Connecticut State
0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
0
17
3
0
20
Central Connecticut
0
7
0
7
14
Mountain Hawks post 20-14 win at Central Connecticut State in opener
9/4/2015 11:22:00 PM | Football
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – The Lehigh football team raced to a 17-0 first half lead and needing a strong final drive to put the game away, the offense delivered just that as the Mountain Hawks held off Central Connecticut State 20-14 Friday night at Arute Field in the season opener for both teams. The Blue Devils scored to get within six points late but junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky teamed with freshmen tailbacks Dom Bragalone and Micco Brisker to kill the final 3:40 with seven rushes for 45 yards and three first downs.
Shafnisky generated 346 yards of total offense, completing 19-of-27 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also led Lehigh with 83 rushing yards on 17 carries. Bragalone added 68 yards on 17 carries plus a 46 yard reception on a screen pass, while Brisker added 33 yards on 11 rushes.
With Lehigh's leading receiver from a year ago, Troy Pelletier, limited to one catch after a second quarter injury, junior Trevor Socarras and sophomore Gatlin Casey impressed in their varsity debuts. Socarras led Lehigh with 80 receiving yards on six catches while Casey hauled in seven receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.(9/4/2015) Football at CCSU, 9/4/2015
The Mountain Hawks gained 445 yards of total offense and limited the Blue Devils to 274. Junior Colton Caslow led the improved defensive effort with a career-high 17 tackles. Senior Matt Laub and junior T.J. Stubbs each recorded 1.5 sacks.
"I knew this group would hang tough together," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "They certainly did that. They've done a great job all through training camp. It's a fun group of kids to coach and they deserved to get this win today."
The first quarter saw Lehigh's pass rush come up with a pair of key sacks to stop Blue Devil drives but saw the Mountain Hawks' offense turn the ball over twice. Shafnisky was intercepted by Najae Brown to stop Lehigh's first possession. On its second, Shafnisky moved the Mountain Hawks down the field but was hit hard at the one yard line trying to carry the ball in and fumbled, with CCSU recovering in the end zone.
Lehigh's defense came up with a three-and-out on the opening possession of the second quarter. On the next drive, the Mountain Hawks moved the ball 59 yards in five plays, with Shafnisky opening the scoring on a 22-yard touchdown run up the middle to give Lehigh a 7-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks forced a fourth down on the ensuing Central Connecticut possession but the Blue Devils attempted a fake punt with punter Ed Groth beginning his slide a yard before the first down marker and giving Lehigh the ball on downs at the CCSU 34.
The Mountain Hawks capitalized on the miscue with a five-play scoring drive. Shafnisky capped it with an 11-yard pass to Casey to extend Lehigh's lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter.
Ed Mish's first career field goal, a 24-yarder, gave the Mountain Hawks a 17-0 advantage with 1:04 left in the half but Central Connecticut State got a three-play, 65-yard drive and got on the board on Tavion Pauldo's 32-yard pass to Joey Fields as Lehigh took a 17-7 lead into halftime.
Lehigh racked up 260 yards of offense in the first half and limited CCSU to 149. Shafnisky finished 10-of-14 for 132 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Socarras and Casey led the receiving corps with a combined seven catches for 92 yards. Shafnisky was Lehigh's leading rusher with 71 yards on 12 carries while Bragalone added 43 on 11.
On the opening drive of the second half Lehigh moved the ball deep into CCSU territory behind the screen pass from Shafnisky to Bragalone and a 26-yard pass to Socarras, but the drive stalled inside the ten and Mish booted a 27 yard field goal to extend Lehigh's lead to 20-7 with 10:27 to play in the third quarter.
Mish's field goal provided the only points of the third quarter as the teams exchanged punts twice. Central Connecticut's first drive of the fourth quarter started in Lehigh territory following a bad snap on a punt, but Lehigh's defense held, as an incompletion on 4th-and-7 from the Mountain Hawks' 30 gave Lehigh the ball back.
Central Connecticut State rebounded on its next drive, marching 70 yards in ten plays. Pauldo's six-yard touchdown pass to Dan Hebert and the ensuing extra point brought the Blue Devils within six.
Needing several first downs to put the game away, Lehigh got just that as Shafnisky, Bragalone and Brisker each rushed for a first down on the final drive as the Mountain Hawks successfully ran out the clock. Shafnisky ran for 11 on a draw play on the second play of the drive, then two plays later Brisker converted a 2nd-and-5 by gaining seven. Bragalone put the icing on the cake with a 22-yard burst on the next play, allowing Lehigh to move into the victory formation.
"It was a great way to finish the game," Shafnisky said. "The offense was fired up after seeing Dom Bragalone, a true freshman, running people over and trying to get that first down. I told him and Micco that they were going to be our workhorses and they were going to win us this game."
"We took over the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball towards the end of the game," Coen added. "We made a lot of big plays. We've done a lot of physical work on our fourth quarter offense and we executed it tremendously tonight."
Pauldo finished 12-of-21 for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 49 yards to lead CCSU.
The Mountain Hawks will play on the road for a second straight week when they visit No. 12/13 James Madison. Kickoff is set for just after 4 p.m. from Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Va. Audio coverage on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 and ESPNLV.com will begin at 3 p.m.
Lehigh will open its home schedule against Penn on September 19 at Goodman Stadium on Youth Sports Day. Kickoff is set for just after 12:30 p.m. Tickets for that game and all Lehigh football home games can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh is now 4-1 all-time versus Central Connecticut State… the Mountain Hawks won their opener for the fifth time in six years… the game was Lehigh's first Friday night tilt since beating Penn 35-6 on Sept. 26, 1980 and its first non-Saturday game since winning 37-26 at Buffalo in 2002… Lehigh is now 4-3 all-time in non-Saturday games and has won three straight… the Mountain Hawks are now 83-43-6 in season-openers… Six different players caught passes from Shafnisky, with Casey, Socarras, Bragalone and sophomore tight end Drew Paulsen earning their first career receptions… Lehigh turned the ball over twice after giving the ball away just 16 times in 11 games last season… senior Olivier Rigaud had ten tackles and a pass breakup.
Shafnisky generated 346 yards of total offense, completing 19-of-27 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also led Lehigh with 83 rushing yards on 17 carries. Bragalone added 68 yards on 17 carries plus a 46 yard reception on a screen pass, while Brisker added 33 yards on 11 rushes.
With Lehigh's leading receiver from a year ago, Troy Pelletier, limited to one catch after a second quarter injury, junior Trevor Socarras and sophomore Gatlin Casey impressed in their varsity debuts. Socarras led Lehigh with 80 receiving yards on six catches while Casey hauled in seven receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.
The Mountain Hawks gained 445 yards of total offense and limited the Blue Devils to 274. Junior Colton Caslow led the improved defensive effort with a career-high 17 tackles. Senior Matt Laub and junior T.J. Stubbs each recorded 1.5 sacks.
"I knew this group would hang tough together," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "They certainly did that. They've done a great job all through training camp. It's a fun group of kids to coach and they deserved to get this win today."
The first quarter saw Lehigh's pass rush come up with a pair of key sacks to stop Blue Devil drives but saw the Mountain Hawks' offense turn the ball over twice. Shafnisky was intercepted by Najae Brown to stop Lehigh's first possession. On its second, Shafnisky moved the Mountain Hawks down the field but was hit hard at the one yard line trying to carry the ball in and fumbled, with CCSU recovering in the end zone.
Lehigh's defense came up with a three-and-out on the opening possession of the second quarter. On the next drive, the Mountain Hawks moved the ball 59 yards in five plays, with Shafnisky opening the scoring on a 22-yard touchdown run up the middle to give Lehigh a 7-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks forced a fourth down on the ensuing Central Connecticut possession but the Blue Devils attempted a fake punt with punter Ed Groth beginning his slide a yard before the first down marker and giving Lehigh the ball on downs at the CCSU 34.
The Mountain Hawks capitalized on the miscue with a five-play scoring drive. Shafnisky capped it with an 11-yard pass to Casey to extend Lehigh's lead to 14-0 midway through the second quarter.
Ed Mish's first career field goal, a 24-yarder, gave the Mountain Hawks a 17-0 advantage with 1:04 left in the half but Central Connecticut State got a three-play, 65-yard drive and got on the board on Tavion Pauldo's 32-yard pass to Joey Fields as Lehigh took a 17-7 lead into halftime.
Lehigh racked up 260 yards of offense in the first half and limited CCSU to 149. Shafnisky finished 10-of-14 for 132 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Socarras and Casey led the receiving corps with a combined seven catches for 92 yards. Shafnisky was Lehigh's leading rusher with 71 yards on 12 carries while Bragalone added 43 on 11.
On the opening drive of the second half Lehigh moved the ball deep into CCSU territory behind the screen pass from Shafnisky to Bragalone and a 26-yard pass to Socarras, but the drive stalled inside the ten and Mish booted a 27 yard field goal to extend Lehigh's lead to 20-7 with 10:27 to play in the third quarter.
Mish's field goal provided the only points of the third quarter as the teams exchanged punts twice. Central Connecticut's first drive of the fourth quarter started in Lehigh territory following a bad snap on a punt, but Lehigh's defense held, as an incompletion on 4th-and-7 from the Mountain Hawks' 30 gave Lehigh the ball back.
Central Connecticut State rebounded on its next drive, marching 70 yards in ten plays. Pauldo's six-yard touchdown pass to Dan Hebert and the ensuing extra point brought the Blue Devils within six.
Needing several first downs to put the game away, Lehigh got just that as Shafnisky, Bragalone and Brisker each rushed for a first down on the final drive as the Mountain Hawks successfully ran out the clock. Shafnisky ran for 11 on a draw play on the second play of the drive, then two plays later Brisker converted a 2nd-and-5 by gaining seven. Bragalone put the icing on the cake with a 22-yard burst on the next play, allowing Lehigh to move into the victory formation.
"It was a great way to finish the game," Shafnisky said. "The offense was fired up after seeing Dom Bragalone, a true freshman, running people over and trying to get that first down. I told him and Micco that they were going to be our workhorses and they were going to win us this game."
"We took over the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball towards the end of the game," Coen added. "We made a lot of big plays. We've done a lot of physical work on our fourth quarter offense and we executed it tremendously tonight."
Pauldo finished 12-of-21 for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 49 yards to lead CCSU.
The Mountain Hawks will play on the road for a second straight week when they visit No. 12/13 James Madison. Kickoff is set for just after 4 p.m. from Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Va. Audio coverage on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 and ESPNLV.com will begin at 3 p.m.
Lehigh will open its home schedule against Penn on September 19 at Goodman Stadium on Youth Sports Day. Kickoff is set for just after 12:30 p.m. Tickets for that game and all Lehigh football home games can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh is now 4-1 all-time versus Central Connecticut State… the Mountain Hawks won their opener for the fifth time in six years… the game was Lehigh's first Friday night tilt since beating Penn 35-6 on Sept. 26, 1980 and its first non-Saturday game since winning 37-26 at Buffalo in 2002… Lehigh is now 4-3 all-time in non-Saturday games and has won three straight… the Mountain Hawks are now 83-43-6 in season-openers… Six different players caught passes from Shafnisky, with Casey, Socarras, Bragalone and sophomore tight end Drew Paulsen earning their first career receptions… Lehigh turned the ball over twice after giving the ball away just 16 times in 11 games last season… senior Olivier Rigaud had ten tackles and a pass breakup.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
CCSU
Total Yards
445
274
Pass Yards
263
116
Rushing Yards
182
158
Penalty Yards
61
64
1st Downs
23
14
3rd Downs
6
5
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
32:55
27:05
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 7, CCSU 0
LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 22 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 5 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:57
LEHIGH 14, CCSU 0
LEHIGH - Casey, Gatlin 11 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Mish, Ed kick) 5 plays, 34 yards, TOP 1:25
LEHIGH 17, CCSU 0
LEHIGH - Mish, Ed 24 yd field goal 10 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:43
LEHIGH 17, CCSU 7
CCSU - FIELDS, Joey 32 yd pass from PAULDO, Tavion (GROTH, Ed kick) 3 plays, 91 yards, TOP 0:24
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 20, CCSU 7
LEHIGH - Mish, Ed 27 yd field goal 9 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:27
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 20, CCSU 14
CCSU - HEBERT, Dan 6 yd pass from PAULDO, Tavion (GROTH, Ed kick) 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2:38
Game Leaders
CMP
19
TD
1
YDS
263
INT
1
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
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WR
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