Saturday, September 30
Staten Island, N.Y.
6:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-5
20
at
37
Wagner
2-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
7
7
6
0
20
Wagner
7
10
14
6
37
Lehigh unable to maintain early momentum in 37-20 setback at Wagner
9/30/2017 10:12:00 PM | Football
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – An uncharacteristically rough night for the Lehigh offense combined with four big scoring plays allowed by the Mountain Hawks' defense contributed to Lehigh's 37-20 loss at Wagner Saturday at Hameline Field. The Mountain Hawks held leads of 7-0 and 14-7 in the first half but the Seahawks reeled off 24 unanswered points spanning the second and third quarters to deal Lehigh its fifth straight defeat to open the season.
Junior quarterback Brad Mayes completed just 18 of 45 passes for 306 yards with no touchdowns and five interceptions. Two receivers eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the night as freshman Jorge Portorreal established career highs with eight grabs for 132 yards and senior Troy Pelletier added six for 143.
The Mountain Hawks rushed for a season-high 139 yards, led by 102 yards and two touchdowns off 21 carries by junior Dominick Bragalone.
Somehow, none of Wagner's 37 points came off of Lehigh's five turnovers. The Seahawks rushed for 249 yards with Denzel Knight and Ryan Fulse each eclipsing 100 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
"Another disappointment," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said afterwards. "We got off to a pretty solid start. We finally found out that we could get in front of somebody, but it didn't last long. We gave up a big run after that. I'll tell you what though. I saw a big improvement with the defense today. They had multiple stops and kept giving the ball back to our offense.
"Brad was really off today," Coen continued. "There was a lot of pressure on him. There were a couple things working against us. The defense they run, they bring a lot of pressure right up the middle. We had Chris Fournier and Jackson Evans and Nick Rosen starting so you've got a sophomore and two freshmen against a pretty good defense we were playing against today. A lot of lessons for the young guys, and the veteran guys, they have to step up".
Lehigh was missing four injured starters on offense, including linemen Brandon Short and Liborio Ricottilli. Fournier made his first career start at center, joining classmate Evans on the offensive line.
For the first time since last year's Fordham game, Lehigh scored on its opening drive. On the second play from scrimmage, Mayes found Pelletier for 53 yards to the Wagner 30-yard line. Three plays later, Bragalone scampered into the end zone from 26 yards out as Lehigh took a 7-0 lead with 12:56 left in the first quarter.
The Seahawks responded with the tying touchdown less than 1:30 later as a 50-yard touchdown by Fulse run helped even the score. That proved to be the last points of the first quarter.
The Mountain Hawks retook a lead early in the second, driving 95 yards in 12 plays. On fourth-and-six from the Wagner 35-yard line, Mayes found Portorreal for 21 yards down to the Seahwawks' 14-yard line. After a penalty, Bragalone and Mayes followed with runs of 16 and three yards to get Lehigh back into the end zone, taking a 14-7 lead with 10:43 left in the second quarter on Mayes' second rushing touchdown in as many weeks.
Late in the quarter, Wagner used an 11-play drive, 70-yard drive to even the score at 14 with 4:34 on the clock. Then, the ensuing kickoff took a strange bounce and the Seahawks recovered at the Lehigh 23-yard line, leading to a field goal and a 17-14 lead, which proved to be the halftime score.
(9/30/2017) Football at Wagner, 9/30/17
It took Wagner less than two minutes to add to its lead in the third, driving 73 yards on just four plays as a 30-yard pass from Luke Massei to Willie Dale gave the hosts a 24-14 lead 1:45 into the second half. Less than four minutes later, a 24-yard rushing touchdown by Knight gave the Seahawks a 31-14 advantage with 9:18 on the clock.
Bragalone capped a 75-play drive with a one-yard scoring run on a direct snap to bring Lehigh within 31-20 late in the third quarter. With Lehigh unable to get any closer, Knight provided the exclamation point with a 60-yard touchdown run with just over under four minutes to play.
Massei was 20-of-32 for 205 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Wagner (2-3). Sophomore Riley O'Neil and junior Harrison Kauffman tied for the team lead with nine tackles, while senior Quentin Jones added eight tackles and five pass breakups.
Wagner out-gained Lehigh by a slim 454-445 margin but the Mountain Hawks held a 27-20 edge in first downs.
"We're all tired of talking about trying to win a game; we have to go out and do it," Coen said. "But I thought we competed really well here today. We could have, if we didn't turn the ball over there on the last one, come close to getting back in the game actually. It's a bad day, really. We've had a lot of bad days and we have to find a way to get rid of those bad days."
The Mountain Hawks will open Patriot League play next weekend when they travel to Colgate. Game time is set for 1 p.m. from Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network as a Stadium exclusive. Audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com, beginning at noon.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh is 0-5 for the first time since 2014… the Mountain Hawks failed to win a non-league game for the first time since 2009… the last time a Lehigh team threw five interceptions in a game was against Bucknell on Oct. 11, 2014… the Mountain Hawks registered their first two interceptions of the season, with wide receiver Troy Pelletier picking off a pass on the final play of the first half and sophomore Jon Seighman adding one in the third quarter… Jones' five pass breakups were the most since Abdul Byron and Matt Salvaterra each had five in the 2001 Lafayette game… junior Tyler Cavenas had Lehigh's lone sack for the second straight week… Wagner sacked Mayes four times… Saturday's attendance was 2,073… Senior Gatlin Casey's streak of consecutive games with a reception ended at 23 and his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown catch ended at four.
Junior quarterback Brad Mayes completed just 18 of 45 passes for 306 yards with no touchdowns and five interceptions. Two receivers eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the night as freshman Jorge Portorreal established career highs with eight grabs for 132 yards and senior Troy Pelletier added six for 143.
The Mountain Hawks rushed for a season-high 139 yards, led by 102 yards and two touchdowns off 21 carries by junior Dominick Bragalone.
Somehow, none of Wagner's 37 points came off of Lehigh's five turnovers. The Seahawks rushed for 249 yards with Denzel Knight and Ryan Fulse each eclipsing 100 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
"Another disappointment," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said afterwards. "We got off to a pretty solid start. We finally found out that we could get in front of somebody, but it didn't last long. We gave up a big run after that. I'll tell you what though. I saw a big improvement with the defense today. They had multiple stops and kept giving the ball back to our offense.
"Brad was really off today," Coen continued. "There was a lot of pressure on him. There were a couple things working against us. The defense they run, they bring a lot of pressure right up the middle. We had Chris Fournier and Jackson Evans and Nick Rosen starting so you've got a sophomore and two freshmen against a pretty good defense we were playing against today. A lot of lessons for the young guys, and the veteran guys, they have to step up".
Lehigh was missing four injured starters on offense, including linemen Brandon Short and Liborio Ricottilli. Fournier made his first career start at center, joining classmate Evans on the offensive line.
For the first time since last year's Fordham game, Lehigh scored on its opening drive. On the second play from scrimmage, Mayes found Pelletier for 53 yards to the Wagner 30-yard line. Three plays later, Bragalone scampered into the end zone from 26 yards out as Lehigh took a 7-0 lead with 12:56 left in the first quarter.
The Seahawks responded with the tying touchdown less than 1:30 later as a 50-yard touchdown by Fulse run helped even the score. That proved to be the last points of the first quarter.
The Mountain Hawks retook a lead early in the second, driving 95 yards in 12 plays. On fourth-and-six from the Wagner 35-yard line, Mayes found Portorreal for 21 yards down to the Seahwawks' 14-yard line. After a penalty, Bragalone and Mayes followed with runs of 16 and three yards to get Lehigh back into the end zone, taking a 14-7 lead with 10:43 left in the second quarter on Mayes' second rushing touchdown in as many weeks.
Late in the quarter, Wagner used an 11-play drive, 70-yard drive to even the score at 14 with 4:34 on the clock. Then, the ensuing kickoff took a strange bounce and the Seahawks recovered at the Lehigh 23-yard line, leading to a field goal and a 17-14 lead, which proved to be the halftime score.
It took Wagner less than two minutes to add to its lead in the third, driving 73 yards on just four plays as a 30-yard pass from Luke Massei to Willie Dale gave the hosts a 24-14 lead 1:45 into the second half. Less than four minutes later, a 24-yard rushing touchdown by Knight gave the Seahawks a 31-14 advantage with 9:18 on the clock.
Bragalone capped a 75-play drive with a one-yard scoring run on a direct snap to bring Lehigh within 31-20 late in the third quarter. With Lehigh unable to get any closer, Knight provided the exclamation point with a 60-yard touchdown run with just over under four minutes to play.
Massei was 20-of-32 for 205 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Wagner (2-3). Sophomore Riley O'Neil and junior Harrison Kauffman tied for the team lead with nine tackles, while senior Quentin Jones added eight tackles and five pass breakups.
Wagner out-gained Lehigh by a slim 454-445 margin but the Mountain Hawks held a 27-20 edge in first downs.
"We're all tired of talking about trying to win a game; we have to go out and do it," Coen said. "But I thought we competed really well here today. We could have, if we didn't turn the ball over there on the last one, come close to getting back in the game actually. It's a bad day, really. We've had a lot of bad days and we have to find a way to get rid of those bad days."
The Mountain Hawks will open Patriot League play next weekend when they travel to Colgate. Game time is set for 1 p.m. from Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network as a Stadium exclusive. Audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com, beginning at noon.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh is 0-5 for the first time since 2014… the Mountain Hawks failed to win a non-league game for the first time since 2009… the last time a Lehigh team threw five interceptions in a game was against Bucknell on Oct. 11, 2014… the Mountain Hawks registered their first two interceptions of the season, with wide receiver Troy Pelletier picking off a pass on the final play of the first half and sophomore Jon Seighman adding one in the third quarter… Jones' five pass breakups were the most since Abdul Byron and Matt Salvaterra each had five in the 2001 Lafayette game… junior Tyler Cavenas had Lehigh's lone sack for the second straight week… Wagner sacked Mayes four times… Saturday's attendance was 2,073… Senior Gatlin Casey's streak of consecutive games with a reception ended at 23 and his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown catch ended at four.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
WAGNER
Total Yards
445
454
Pass Yards
306
205
Rushing Yards
139
249
Penalty Yards
52
113
1st Downs
27
20
3rd Downs
1
7
4th Downs
5
0
TOP
27:36
32:24
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 7, WAGNER 0
LEHIGH - Bragalone, Dom 26 yd run (Henning, Austin kick), 5 plays, 83 yards, TOP 2:04
LEHIGH 7, WAGNER 7
WAGNER - FULSE, Ryan 50 yd run (COOPER, James kick), 4 plays, 61 yards, TOP 1:18
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 14, WAGNER 7
LEHIGH - Mayes, Brad 3 yd run (Henning, Austin kick), 12 plays, 95 yards, TOP 4:35
LEHIGH 14, WAGNER 14
WAGNER - FULSE, Ryan 1 yd run (COOPER, James kick), 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 6:00
LEHIGH 14, WAGNER 17
WAGNER - COOPER, James 26 yd field goal 5 plays, 14 yards, TOP 1:18
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 14, WAGNER 24
WAGNER - DALE, Willie 30 yd pass from MASSEI, Luke (COOPER, James kick) 4 plays, 73 yards, TOP 1:37
LEHIGH 14, WAGNER 31
WAGNER - KNIGHT, Denzel 24 yd run (COOPER, James kick), 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:49
LEHIGH 20, WAGNER 31
LEHIGH - Bragalone, Dom 1 yd run (Henning, Austin kickblocked), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:55
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 20, WAGNER 37
WAGNER - KNIGHT, Denzel 60 yd run (COOPER, James kickfailed), 4 plays, 71 yards, TOP 2:26
Game Leaders
CMP
18
TD
0
YDS
306
INT
5
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
WR
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DL
/ Football
OL
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DB
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DL
/ FootballQB
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DB
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WR
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WR
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
OL
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