Saturday, October 20
Washington, D.C.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
1-6 , 0-2
16
at
22
Georgetown
4-4 , 3-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
OT
OT
F
Lehigh
6
0
0
3
7
0
16
Georgetown
9
0
0
0
7
6
22
Lehigh falls 22-16 in overtime in defensive battle at Georgetown
10/20/2018 6:10:00 PM | Football
WASHINGTON – A defensive battle between Lehigh and Georgetown needed overtime to be decided. A three-yard touchdown run by Jackson Saffold in the second overtime gave the Hoyas a 22-16 win over the Mountain Hawks Saturday at Cooper Field. It was the Hoyas' first win over Lehigh since 1925, snapping a 17-game Lehigh winning streak in the series.
Lehigh trailed 9-6 through much of the game, but pulled even on Ed Mish's 27-yard field goal with 7:46 to play. Georgetown's Brad Hurst missed five field goals, including two which were blocked to keep the teams level.
Georgetown scored on its first possession of overtime and Lehigh answered with a 20-yard pass from senior Brad Mayes to junior Devon Bibbens on a 4th-and-5 to extend the game. The Mountain Hawks' second overtime possession ended on an interception on a ball that was ruled to be deflected off sophomore Jorge Portorreal before Saffold's second overtime touchdown gave the Hoyas the win.
"The streak was never going to last forever," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "You have to give the Georgetown players a lot of credit, there are a lot of dynamic players on that squad. When you're in such a defensive game and it's going back and forth, it's eventually going to break one way, but unfortunately, it didn't break our way."
The loss is Lehigh's sixth straight as the Mountain Hawks fall to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the league. Georgetown is now 4-4 and 3-0 in the league.
Georgetown's biggest play through regulation came on its third play from scrimmage as Michael Dereus got behind the Lehigh defense on third down and Gunther Johnson connected for a 70-yard touchdown.
Lehigh answered on its second offensive possession as Mayes hit sophomore Jorge Portorreal for an 85-yard catch-and-run to get the Mountain Hawks in the end zone. Unfortunately for the visiting Mountain Hawks, Mish's extra point attempt was blocked and Georgetown returned the blocked kick for two points.
From there the Lehigh defense stood tall, keeping the Hoyas off the scoreboard through the final 58:27 of regulation.
Lehigh got its ground game going in the second half. Senior Dom Bragalone rushed eight times for five yards in the first half but came back with 85 in the second half to finish with 90 yards on 28 carries. The Mountain Hawks moved the ball well in the second half, but struggled to sustain drives and put points on the board.
Mish's tying field goal capped a 13-play, 66-yard drive that knocked 5:36 off the clock.
The Hoyas had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Marquis Wilson blocked Hurst's 41-yard field goal attempt.
Mayes finished 16-of-40 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Portorreal hauled in a career-high 151 yards on six catches.
Georgetown finished with a slight 363-357 edge in total yards and a 31:19-28:41 advantage in time of possession.
"We've got to find a way to get balanced,". We're not going to be a good offense if we can't run and throw the ball consistently."
Johnson finished 16-of-37 for 270 yards and one touchdown. Saffold did most of his damage in overtime, finishing with 50 yards on 18 carries.
Starting linebackers Jon Seighman and Keith Woetzel totaled 31 tackles, four tackles for loss and Seighman added half a sack.
"I ask these kids to play their hearts out, and that's what they did today," Coen said. "I'm proud of how they reacted and how they played in this situation. This was probably one of the first times our defense played consistently and it's a shame that the difference in this game was two big plays."
The Mountain Hawks continue their road swing next Saturday when they visit Holy Cross, with game time set for 1:05 p.m. from Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass. The game will be streamed on the Patriot League Network with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320.
EXTRA POINTS… The loss was Lehigh's first against the Hoyas since Georgetown joined the Patriot League in 2001… the Mountain Hawks are 0-2 in the Patriot League for just the third time in program history (2007, 2014)… the six game losing streak is Lehigh's longest since the 1967 lost its last eight games… seniors Harrison Kauffman and Juwan Morrow each had sacks, while sophomore Erik Slater shared a sack with Seighman… Lehigh is now 7-5 in overtime games and suffered its first-ever loss in a double overtime game (2-1)… the Mountain Hawks' last overtime game prior to Saturday was a 51-44 double overtime win over Central Connecticut State in the 2013 season opener… Bragalone went over the 4,000 yard rushing mark for his career, finishing the day at 4,001… the long touchdown pass to Portorreal tied the sixth longest pass play in school history and the first 80-plus yard pass since an 84 yard touchdown pass from Nick Shafnisky to Derek Knott in the 2016 Fordham game… Lehigh paired its white helmets and white jerseys with gold pants for the first time.
Lehigh trailed 9-6 through much of the game, but pulled even on Ed Mish's 27-yard field goal with 7:46 to play. Georgetown's Brad Hurst missed five field goals, including two which were blocked to keep the teams level.
Georgetown scored on its first possession of overtime and Lehigh answered with a 20-yard pass from senior Brad Mayes to junior Devon Bibbens on a 4th-and-5 to extend the game. The Mountain Hawks' second overtime possession ended on an interception on a ball that was ruled to be deflected off sophomore Jorge Portorreal before Saffold's second overtime touchdown gave the Hoyas the win.
"The streak was never going to last forever," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "You have to give the Georgetown players a lot of credit, there are a lot of dynamic players on that squad. When you're in such a defensive game and it's going back and forth, it's eventually going to break one way, but unfortunately, it didn't break our way."
The loss is Lehigh's sixth straight as the Mountain Hawks fall to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in the league. Georgetown is now 4-4 and 3-0 in the league.
Georgetown's biggest play through regulation came on its third play from scrimmage as Michael Dereus got behind the Lehigh defense on third down and Gunther Johnson connected for a 70-yard touchdown.
Lehigh answered on its second offensive possession as Mayes hit sophomore Jorge Portorreal for an 85-yard catch-and-run to get the Mountain Hawks in the end zone. Unfortunately for the visiting Mountain Hawks, Mish's extra point attempt was blocked and Georgetown returned the blocked kick for two points.
From there the Lehigh defense stood tall, keeping the Hoyas off the scoreboard through the final 58:27 of regulation.
Lehigh got its ground game going in the second half. Senior Dom Bragalone rushed eight times for five yards in the first half but came back with 85 in the second half to finish with 90 yards on 28 carries. The Mountain Hawks moved the ball well in the second half, but struggled to sustain drives and put points on the board.
Mish's tying field goal capped a 13-play, 66-yard drive that knocked 5:36 off the clock.
The Hoyas had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Marquis Wilson blocked Hurst's 41-yard field goal attempt.
Mayes finished 16-of-40 for 253 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Portorreal hauled in a career-high 151 yards on six catches.
Georgetown finished with a slight 363-357 edge in total yards and a 31:19-28:41 advantage in time of possession.
"We've got to find a way to get balanced,". We're not going to be a good offense if we can't run and throw the ball consistently."
Johnson finished 16-of-37 for 270 yards and one touchdown. Saffold did most of his damage in overtime, finishing with 50 yards on 18 carries.
Starting linebackers Jon Seighman and Keith Woetzel totaled 31 tackles, four tackles for loss and Seighman added half a sack.
"I ask these kids to play their hearts out, and that's what they did today," Coen said. "I'm proud of how they reacted and how they played in this situation. This was probably one of the first times our defense played consistently and it's a shame that the difference in this game was two big plays."
The Mountain Hawks continue their road swing next Saturday when they visit Holy Cross, with game time set for 1:05 p.m. from Fitton Field in Worcester, Mass. The game will be streamed on the Patriot League Network with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320.
EXTRA POINTS… The loss was Lehigh's first against the Hoyas since Georgetown joined the Patriot League in 2001… the Mountain Hawks are 0-2 in the Patriot League for just the third time in program history (2007, 2014)… the six game losing streak is Lehigh's longest since the 1967 lost its last eight games… seniors Harrison Kauffman and Juwan Morrow each had sacks, while sophomore Erik Slater shared a sack with Seighman… Lehigh is now 7-5 in overtime games and suffered its first-ever loss in a double overtime game (2-1)… the Mountain Hawks' last overtime game prior to Saturday was a 51-44 double overtime win over Central Connecticut State in the 2013 season opener… Bragalone went over the 4,000 yard rushing mark for his career, finishing the day at 4,001… the long touchdown pass to Portorreal tied the sixth longest pass play in school history and the first 80-plus yard pass since an 84 yard touchdown pass from Nick Shafnisky to Derek Knott in the 2016 Fordham game… Lehigh paired its white helmets and white jerseys with gold pants for the first time.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
GU
Total Yards
357
363
Pass Yards
253
270
Rushing Yards
104
93
Penalty Yards
66
64
1st Downs
19
18
3rd Downs
5
7
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
28:41
31:19
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 0, GU 7
GU - Dereus, M. 70 yd pass from Johnson, G. (Hurst, B. kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:33
LEHIGH 6, GU 7
LEHIGH - Portorreal, J. 85 yd pass from Mayes, Brad (Mish, Ed kickblocked) 3 plays, 87 yards, TOP 0:52
LEHIGH 6, GU 9
GU - Bowers, W. 98 yd PAT return
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 9, GU 9
LEHIGH - Mish, Ed 27 yd field goal 13 plays, 66 yards, TOP 5:36
OT Quarter
LEHIGH 9, GU 16
GU - Saffold, J. 2 yd run (Hurst, B. kick), 7 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00
LEHIGH 16, GU 16
LEHIGH - Bibbens, Devon 20 yd pass from Mayes, Brad (Mish, Ed kick) 7 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:00
LEHIGH 16, GU 22
GU - Saffold, J. 3 yd run (), 2 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
16
TD
2
YDS
253
INT
2
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
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DL
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WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
QB
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LB
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DB
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LB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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