Ripanti, Mish garner Patriot League awards following Lehigh's title-clinching win
11/7/2016 3:15:00 PM | Football
STATS FCS Top 25 | FCS Coaches Poll | Lehigh Patriot League Champions Merchandise
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh football program captured its 11th Patriot League championship Saturday with a 20-13 win over Bucknell at Goodman Stadium. On Monday, two Mountain Hawks who contributed to the title-clinching win were recognized with Patriot League weekly awards. Senior linebacker Pierce Ripanti won Lehigh's first Defensive Player of the Week award of the 2016 season, while sophomore kicker/punter Ed Mish garnered his fifth Special Teams Player of the Week award of the season, and his fourth in as many weeks.
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Defensively, the Mountain Hawks shut out Bucknell in the second half to help overcome a 13-7 halftime deficit.
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Ripanti registered a season-high 10 tackles in the victory, including a pair of tackles for loss. His biggest play of the game came late in the fourth quarter, when on 4th-and-13 Ripanti sped around the edge and sacked Bison quarterback R.J. Nitti, turning the ball over on downs and allowing the Mountain Hawks to run out the clock.
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Earlier in the game, Ripanti made his first career interception. On Bucknell's first play after Lehigh took a 17-13 lead, Ripanti got his hands on a Nitti rollout pass and then caught the ball, giving the Mountain Hawks possession in Bison territory. The interception led to a Mish field goal, which gave Lehigh its 20-13 advantage, which proved to be the final margin.
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For the season, the Wilmington, Del., native ranks third on the Mountain Hawks with 58 tackles. He has three tackles for loss and two sacks.
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Mish enjoyed another strong special teams day, scoring eight points on two extra points and a pair of field goals. His 37-yarder early in the third quarter was a season long and brought Lehigh within 13-10. Mish also averaged 60.2 yards on five kickoffs with a pair of touchbacks. After not punting at all in Lehigh's Oct. 29 win over Fordham, Mish punted three times against the Bison, averaging 46 yards per kick, highlighted by a career long-tying 62 yard boot that was downed inside the Bucknell 20.
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The Old Bridge, N.J. product is now 53-for-53 on the season on extra points and has made four of his last five field goal attempts after starting the year 1-for-4. Twenty-five of Mish's 69 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks, while his punting average has risen to 42.6 yards per punt.
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The Mountain Hawks (8-2) won their eighth straight game on Saturday to wrap-up the league title and the league's automatic berth to the FCS playoffs prior to their bye week. Lehigh rose one spot to No. 23 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and jumped three places to No. 18 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
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Following this week's bye, Lehigh will set its sights on the 152nd meeting of college football's most-played rivalry when the Mountain Hawks visit Lafayette Nov. 19 at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. Lehigh is now sold out of its ticket allotment for the rivalry game but tickets can still be obtained via Lafayette. The game will be televised on WFMZ-TV in the Lehigh Valley and streamed on the Patriot League Network.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh football program captured its 11th Patriot League championship Saturday with a 20-13 win over Bucknell at Goodman Stadium. On Monday, two Mountain Hawks who contributed to the title-clinching win were recognized with Patriot League weekly awards. Senior linebacker Pierce Ripanti won Lehigh's first Defensive Player of the Week award of the 2016 season, while sophomore kicker/punter Ed Mish garnered his fifth Special Teams Player of the Week award of the season, and his fourth in as many weeks.
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Defensively, the Mountain Hawks shut out Bucknell in the second half to help overcome a 13-7 halftime deficit.
Â
Ripanti registered a season-high 10 tackles in the victory, including a pair of tackles for loss. His biggest play of the game came late in the fourth quarter, when on 4th-and-13 Ripanti sped around the edge and sacked Bison quarterback R.J. Nitti, turning the ball over on downs and allowing the Mountain Hawks to run out the clock.
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Earlier in the game, Ripanti made his first career interception. On Bucknell's first play after Lehigh took a 17-13 lead, Ripanti got his hands on a Nitti rollout pass and then caught the ball, giving the Mountain Hawks possession in Bison territory. The interception led to a Mish field goal, which gave Lehigh its 20-13 advantage, which proved to be the final margin.
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For the season, the Wilmington, Del., native ranks third on the Mountain Hawks with 58 tackles. He has three tackles for loss and two sacks.
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Mish enjoyed another strong special teams day, scoring eight points on two extra points and a pair of field goals. His 37-yarder early in the third quarter was a season long and brought Lehigh within 13-10. Mish also averaged 60.2 yards on five kickoffs with a pair of touchbacks. After not punting at all in Lehigh's Oct. 29 win over Fordham, Mish punted three times against the Bison, averaging 46 yards per kick, highlighted by a career long-tying 62 yard boot that was downed inside the Bucknell 20.
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The Old Bridge, N.J. product is now 53-for-53 on the season on extra points and has made four of his last five field goal attempts after starting the year 1-for-4. Twenty-five of Mish's 69 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks, while his punting average has risen to 42.6 yards per punt.
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The Mountain Hawks (8-2) won their eighth straight game on Saturday to wrap-up the league title and the league's automatic berth to the FCS playoffs prior to their bye week. Lehigh rose one spot to No. 23 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and jumped three places to No. 18 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
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Following this week's bye, Lehigh will set its sights on the 152nd meeting of college football's most-played rivalry when the Mountain Hawks visit Lafayette Nov. 19 at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. Lehigh is now sold out of its ticket allotment for the rivalry game but tickets can still be obtained via Lafayette. The game will be televised on WFMZ-TV in the Lehigh Valley and streamed on the Patriot League Network.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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Players Mentioned
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