Saturday, November 25
Stony Brook, N.Y.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
5-7 , 5-1
29
at
59
Stony Brook
10-2 , 7-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
0
14
7
8
29
Stony Brook
0
24
14
21
59
Lehigh's season ends at Stony Brook with 59-29 setback in FCS first round
11/25/2017 6:43:00 PM | Football
STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Lehigh football team saw its season come to an end Saturday with a 59-29 loss to No. 10/11 Stony Brook in the opening round of the FCS playoffs at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. The Seawolves built a 24-14 halftime lead and then hit the Mountain Hawks early in the second half, adding two more touchdowns within their first five offensive plays.
Lehigh's offense gained 452 yards with junior quarterback Brad Mayes completing 33-of-48 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns and senior wide receivers Gatlin Casey and Troy Pelletier both eclipsing double-digit receptions. Casey led the Mountain Hawks with 11 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Pelletier added 94 yards and a touchdown on 10 grabs. Pelletier also set two records, claiming Lehigh's single-season reception mark, as he finished with 105, and the Patriot League's career receiving yardage record which now stands at 4,216.
In a game that was scoreless through 15 minutes, Stony Brook reeled off 59 points and 500 of its 622 total yards over the final three quarters. The Seawolves rushed for 354 yards and six touchdowns, led by Donald Liotine with 17 carries for 133 yards and two scores.
Lehigh, which made its second straight FCS playoff appearance, ends its season at 5-7, while Stony Brook improves to 10-2 and moves on to the second round next Saturday at No. 1 James Madison.
"We knew this was going to be a challenge," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "We knew this was a big, physical, downhill type of football program they have here. We're very young on defense and I'm proud that they held up as well as they did. We knew coming into this game that we were going to have to create some turnovers and we didn't get any so we made it hard on ourselves."
The scoreless opening quarter saw Stony Brook have a touchdown called back due to penalty, while Lehigh missed a 23-yard field goal and was later stopped on 4th-and-1 from its own 46. The Seawolves cashed in when Liotine scored on a two-yard run 15 seconds into the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks answered with an eight-play, 71-yard drive and tied the game when Mayes rolled right and hit Casey for a two-yard score.
Stony Brook went in front for good on Nick Courtney's 28-yard field goal with 8:37 left before halftime and tacked on two more touchdowns to go up 24-7 before the Mountain Hawks put together a nine-play, 78-yard drive late in the half capped by a five-yard pass from Mayes to Pelletier.
It took just two plays after halftime for the Seawolves to extend their lead as Joe Carbone hit Cal Daniels for a 40-yard touchdown. After a Lehigh three-and-out, Liotine's 12-yard touchdown run capped a three-play drive and gave Stony Brook a 38-14 lead.
Lehigh continued to battle, pulling within 38-21 after three quarters on a nine-yard pass from Mayes to junior Dominick Bragalone and then got within 17 again after senior Matt Timochenko ran in from a yard out to cap an 11-play, 74-yard drive, but each time Stony Brook answered with a big play.
Bragalone finished with 17 carries for 75 yards and added two catches for 40 yards, including a 31-yard screen pass that set up Lehigh's second touchdown.
"Our offensive staff and our defensive staff did a tremendous job putting a plan together every week," Coen said. "Those guys did a great job. Watching Stony Brook on tape it seemed they had 14 guys out there on defense. They're tremendously fast but we put together a good plan but weren't able to move the ball quickly. We didn't get as much in the running game because of their size and strength, but we did a good job throwing the ball. Brad had a great day throwing and we're blessed with a great wide receiving corps.
"There were some opportunities I thought we could take advantage of but we didn't finish those off the way we wanted to," he concluded.
Pending fifth-year candidates the Mountain Hawks lose 17 seniors, all of who were part of back-to-back Patriot League Championship teams, to graduation.
EXTRA POINTS… Pelletier finishes his senior season with 105 receptions for 1292 yards and 10 touchdowns and caps his career with 328 catches for 4,216 yards and 37 touchdowns… he is Lehigh's career leader in receptions and yards and the Patriot League's career leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns… Pelletier finished one reception shy of the league's single-season receptions record held by Brendan Flaherty of Holy Cross… Lee Kurfis '14 set the old single season receptions record with 99 in 2013… the Mountain Hawks lost for the first time this season when stopping their opponents on the opening drive… Bragalone's streak of 100-yard rushing games ended at seven… Mayes finished the season with 31 touchdown passes, one shy of the school record set by Chris Lum '12 in 2011… Lehigh is now 9-13 overall in the NCAA playoffs and 6-11 at the FCS level… the Mountain Hawks were just 3-of-12 on third downs and 0-2 on fourth downs… freshman Jorge Portorreal had a career-high nine receptions, for 84 yards… sophomore Keith Woetzel led Lehigh's defense with 10 tackles… junior Julian Lynn had Lehigh's lone sack… the Mountain Hawks were minus-2 on turnovers with both coming on kickoff returns… Thanksgiving weekend attendance at Stony Brook was 4,131.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Lehigh's offense gained 452 yards with junior quarterback Brad Mayes completing 33-of-48 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns and senior wide receivers Gatlin Casey and Troy Pelletier both eclipsing double-digit receptions. Casey led the Mountain Hawks with 11 catches for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Pelletier added 94 yards and a touchdown on 10 grabs. Pelletier also set two records, claiming Lehigh's single-season reception mark, as he finished with 105, and the Patriot League's career receiving yardage record which now stands at 4,216.
In a game that was scoreless through 15 minutes, Stony Brook reeled off 59 points and 500 of its 622 total yards over the final three quarters. The Seawolves rushed for 354 yards and six touchdowns, led by Donald Liotine with 17 carries for 133 yards and two scores.
Lehigh, which made its second straight FCS playoff appearance, ends its season at 5-7, while Stony Brook improves to 10-2 and moves on to the second round next Saturday at No. 1 James Madison.
"We knew this was going to be a challenge," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "We knew this was a big, physical, downhill type of football program they have here. We're very young on defense and I'm proud that they held up as well as they did. We knew coming into this game that we were going to have to create some turnovers and we didn't get any so we made it hard on ourselves."
The scoreless opening quarter saw Stony Brook have a touchdown called back due to penalty, while Lehigh missed a 23-yard field goal and was later stopped on 4th-and-1 from its own 46. The Seawolves cashed in when Liotine scored on a two-yard run 15 seconds into the second quarter. The Mountain Hawks answered with an eight-play, 71-yard drive and tied the game when Mayes rolled right and hit Casey for a two-yard score.
Stony Brook went in front for good on Nick Courtney's 28-yard field goal with 8:37 left before halftime and tacked on two more touchdowns to go up 24-7 before the Mountain Hawks put together a nine-play, 78-yard drive late in the half capped by a five-yard pass from Mayes to Pelletier.
It took just two plays after halftime for the Seawolves to extend their lead as Joe Carbone hit Cal Daniels for a 40-yard touchdown. After a Lehigh three-and-out, Liotine's 12-yard touchdown run capped a three-play drive and gave Stony Brook a 38-14 lead.
Lehigh continued to battle, pulling within 38-21 after three quarters on a nine-yard pass from Mayes to junior Dominick Bragalone and then got within 17 again after senior Matt Timochenko ran in from a yard out to cap an 11-play, 74-yard drive, but each time Stony Brook answered with a big play.
Bragalone finished with 17 carries for 75 yards and added two catches for 40 yards, including a 31-yard screen pass that set up Lehigh's second touchdown.
"Our offensive staff and our defensive staff did a tremendous job putting a plan together every week," Coen said. "Those guys did a great job. Watching Stony Brook on tape it seemed they had 14 guys out there on defense. They're tremendously fast but we put together a good plan but weren't able to move the ball quickly. We didn't get as much in the running game because of their size and strength, but we did a good job throwing the ball. Brad had a great day throwing and we're blessed with a great wide receiving corps.
"There were some opportunities I thought we could take advantage of but we didn't finish those off the way we wanted to," he concluded.
Pending fifth-year candidates the Mountain Hawks lose 17 seniors, all of who were part of back-to-back Patriot League Championship teams, to graduation.
EXTRA POINTS… Pelletier finishes his senior season with 105 receptions for 1292 yards and 10 touchdowns and caps his career with 328 catches for 4,216 yards and 37 touchdowns… he is Lehigh's career leader in receptions and yards and the Patriot League's career leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns… Pelletier finished one reception shy of the league's single-season receptions record held by Brendan Flaherty of Holy Cross… Lee Kurfis '14 set the old single season receptions record with 99 in 2013… the Mountain Hawks lost for the first time this season when stopping their opponents on the opening drive… Bragalone's streak of 100-yard rushing games ended at seven… Mayes finished the season with 31 touchdown passes, one shy of the school record set by Chris Lum '12 in 2011… Lehigh is now 9-13 overall in the NCAA playoffs and 6-11 at the FCS level… the Mountain Hawks were just 3-of-12 on third downs and 0-2 on fourth downs… freshman Jorge Portorreal had a career-high nine receptions, for 84 yards… sophomore Keith Woetzel led Lehigh's defense with 10 tackles… junior Julian Lynn had Lehigh's lone sack… the Mountain Hawks were minus-2 on turnovers with both coming on kickoff returns… Thanksgiving weekend attendance at Stony Brook was 4,131.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
SBU
Total Yards
452
622
Pass Yards
339
268
Rushing Yards
113
354
Penalty Yards
20
27
1st Downs
23
25
3rd Downs
3
6
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
30:29
29:31
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 0, SBU 7
SBU - Donald Liotine 2 yd run (Nick Courtney kick), 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 1:18
LEHIGH 7, SBU 7
LEHIGH - Casey, Gatlin 2 yd pass from Mayes, Brad (Mish, Ed kick) 8 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:44
LEHIGH 7, SBU 10
SBU - Nick Courtney 28 yd field goal 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:16
LEHIGH 7, SBU 17
SBU - Stacey Bedell 5 yd run (Nick Courtney kick), 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 3:07
LEHIGH 7, SBU 24
SBU - Jordan Gowins 1 yd run (Nick Courtney kick), 5 plays, 29 yards, TOP 0:52
LEHIGH 14, SBU 24
LEHIGH - Pelletier, Troy 5 yd pass from Mayes, Brad (Mish, Ed kick) 9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 1:40
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 14, SBU 31
SBU - Cal Daniels 40 yd pass from Joe Carbone (Nick Courtney kick) 2 plays, 71 yards, TOP 0:40
LEHIGH 14, SBU 38
SBU - Donald Liotine 12 yd run (Nick Courtney kick), 3 plays, 47 yards, TOP 0:50
LEHIGH 21, SBU 38
LEHIGH - Bragalone, Dom 9 yd pass from Mayes, Brad (Mish, Ed kick) 7 plays, 49 yards, TOP 2:22
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 21, SBU 45
SBU - H. Jackson 76 yd pass from Joe Carbone (Nick Courtney kick) 1 plays, 76 yards, TOP 0:11
LEHIGH 29, SBU 45
LEHIGH - Timochenko, Mat 1 yd run (Pelletier, Troy pass), 11 plays, 74 yards, TOP 2:59
LEHIGH 29, SBU 52
SBU - Jordan Gowins 15 yd run (Nick Courtney kick), 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 3:05
LEHIGH 29, SBU 59
SBU - Sherman Alston 47 yd run (Nick Courtney kick), 2 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:59
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
33
TD
3
YDS
333
INT
0
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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