Saturday, October 27
Worcester, Mass.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
1-7 , 0-3
0
at
56
Holy Cross
2-6 , 1-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
0
0
0
0
0
Holy Cross
7
21
14
14
56
Holy Cross runs past Lehigh in rainy Worcester
10/27/2018 4:50:00 PM | Football
WORCESTER, Mass. – On a wet, cold and windy Saturday at Fitton Field, nothing seemed to go Lehigh's way. The Mountain Hawks were stopped on an early 4th-and short and Holy Cross answered with an 84-yard touchdown drive to take the lead. The Crusaders never took their feet off the gas, rolling to a 56-0 win.
The Mountain Hawks were held to 203 yards of offense and turned the ball over four times. The loss is Lehigh's seventh straight and drops the Brown and White (1-7) to 0-3 for the first time ever in Patriot League play. Holy Cross picked up its first league win, improving to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Holy Cross gained 540 yards of offense, including 405 on the ground and won the time of possession battle 34:11-25:49. Domenic Cozier ran 24 times for 208 yards and a touchdown to lead the Crusaders' offense.
For Lehigh, senior quarterback Brad Mayes completed 10-of-19 passes for 146 yards. Sophomore Jorge Portorreal led the way with six catches for 61 yards, while junior Devon Bibbens added 71 yards on two catches. Following a strong first drive, in which he rushed for 31 yards, senior Dom Bragalone was limited to 49 yards on 19 carries.
"Hats off to Holy Cross," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "They made a lot of big plays. We didn't make any plays. We started out pretty well, Dom running the ball pretty well and completed a couple passes, but couldn't keep it going. It seemed like every time we did something well, Holy Cross did something better and then as the game went on and on, it was pouring down on us and we just weren't able to keep up with what they were doing."
Lehigh opened the game by picking up three first downs and marching deep into Holy Cross territory. Facing 4th-and-3 from the Holy Cross 18, going into the wind, Mayes hit Portorreal on a crossing route but Portorreal was stopped a yard short of the marker.
The Crusaders responded by driving 84 yards and went in front on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Geoff Wade to Derek Mountain on a throwback to convert a 3rd-and-19. Lehigh went three and out on its next drive. Holy Cross added to its lead three plays into the second quarter on a Peter Oliver two-yard touchdown run.
The Mountain Hawks' best chance to get back into the game came late in the second quarter when Mayes hit Bibbens deep for 55 yards into Holy Cross territory, but on fourth down, Ed Mish's 27-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Holy Cross came down and scored on a Geoff Wade to Martin Dorsey 26-yard connection to take a 28-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half Lehigh struggled to muster offensive continuity, and fell victim to three giveaways and a bad snap on a punt, while Holy Cross tacked on two touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters. Oliver finished with two touchdown runs, while Dorsey caught two scoring passes.
"We put ourselves in bad positions with field position," Coen said. "Short drives, putting the ball on the ground three or four times. We had two opportunities to get a fumble and we didn't get it. Any team, it doesn't matter who you're playing, if you're turning the ball over and giving short fields, it doesn't lead to anything good."
(10/27/2018) Football at Holy Cross, 10/27/18
Wade finished 8-of-12 for 135 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Crusaders.
Junior Keith Woetzel led Lehigh with 13 tackles. Senior Mark Walker made seven tackles and added a sack in his return to action, while junior Jon Seighman also added seven tackles.
The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to host Bucknell on Heroes Day with game time set for 12:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by visiting LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
EXTRA POINTS…In addition to its first-ever 0-3 league start, Lehigh has lost three straight league games for the first time since 1997… the shutout loss was Lehigh's first since a 24-0 loss at North Dakota State in the 2011 NCAA Quarterfinals… Both teams fumbled four times under wet and rainy conditions… Lehigh lost all four of its fumbles, while Holy Cross lost just one… Lehigh's defense held Holy Cross to 4-of-13 third down conversions, but the Crusaders were 5-of-6 on fourth down… sophomore Stuart Cundiff made his first career start at rover for the injured Jaylen Floyd… Lehigh wore brown pants for the first time this season.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
The Mountain Hawks were held to 203 yards of offense and turned the ball over four times. The loss is Lehigh's seventh straight and drops the Brown and White (1-7) to 0-3 for the first time ever in Patriot League play. Holy Cross picked up its first league win, improving to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Holy Cross gained 540 yards of offense, including 405 on the ground and won the time of possession battle 34:11-25:49. Domenic Cozier ran 24 times for 208 yards and a touchdown to lead the Crusaders' offense.
For Lehigh, senior quarterback Brad Mayes completed 10-of-19 passes for 146 yards. Sophomore Jorge Portorreal led the way with six catches for 61 yards, while junior Devon Bibbens added 71 yards on two catches. Following a strong first drive, in which he rushed for 31 yards, senior Dom Bragalone was limited to 49 yards on 19 carries.
"Hats off to Holy Cross," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "They made a lot of big plays. We didn't make any plays. We started out pretty well, Dom running the ball pretty well and completed a couple passes, but couldn't keep it going. It seemed like every time we did something well, Holy Cross did something better and then as the game went on and on, it was pouring down on us and we just weren't able to keep up with what they were doing."
Lehigh opened the game by picking up three first downs and marching deep into Holy Cross territory. Facing 4th-and-3 from the Holy Cross 18, going into the wind, Mayes hit Portorreal on a crossing route but Portorreal was stopped a yard short of the marker.
The Crusaders responded by driving 84 yards and went in front on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Geoff Wade to Derek Mountain on a throwback to convert a 3rd-and-19. Lehigh went three and out on its next drive. Holy Cross added to its lead three plays into the second quarter on a Peter Oliver two-yard touchdown run.
The Mountain Hawks' best chance to get back into the game came late in the second quarter when Mayes hit Bibbens deep for 55 yards into Holy Cross territory, but on fourth down, Ed Mish's 27-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Holy Cross came down and scored on a Geoff Wade to Martin Dorsey 26-yard connection to take a 28-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half Lehigh struggled to muster offensive continuity, and fell victim to three giveaways and a bad snap on a punt, while Holy Cross tacked on two touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters. Oliver finished with two touchdown runs, while Dorsey caught two scoring passes.
"We put ourselves in bad positions with field position," Coen said. "Short drives, putting the ball on the ground three or four times. We had two opportunities to get a fumble and we didn't get it. Any team, it doesn't matter who you're playing, if you're turning the ball over and giving short fields, it doesn't lead to anything good."
Wade finished 8-of-12 for 135 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Crusaders.
Junior Keith Woetzel led Lehigh with 13 tackles. Senior Mark Walker made seven tackles and added a sack in his return to action, while junior Jon Seighman also added seven tackles.
The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to host Bucknell on Heroes Day with game time set for 12:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by visiting LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
EXTRA POINTS…In addition to its first-ever 0-3 league start, Lehigh has lost three straight league games for the first time since 1997… the shutout loss was Lehigh's first since a 24-0 loss at North Dakota State in the 2011 NCAA Quarterfinals… Both teams fumbled four times under wet and rainy conditions… Lehigh lost all four of its fumbles, while Holy Cross lost just one… Lehigh's defense held Holy Cross to 4-of-13 third down conversions, but the Crusaders were 5-of-6 on fourth down… sophomore Stuart Cundiff made his first career start at rover for the injured Jaylen Floyd… Lehigh wore brown pants for the first time this season.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
HC
Total Yards
203
540
Pass Yards
146
135
Rushing Yards
57
405
Penalty Yards
43
40
1st Downs
11
25
3rd Downs
2
4
4th Downs
0
5
TOP
25:49
34:11
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 0, HC 7
HC - Mountain,Derek 22 yd pass from Wade,Geoff (Ng,Derek kick) 12 plays, 84 yards, TOP 5:14
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 0, HC 14
HC - Oliver,Peter 2 yd run (Ng,Derek kick), 10 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:18
LEHIGH 0, HC 21
HC - Cozier,Domenic 16 yd run (Ng,Derek kick), 3 plays, 77 yards, TOP 1:20
LEHIGH 0, HC 28
HC - Dorsey,Martin 26 yd pass from Wade,Geoff (Ng,Derek kick) 7 plays, 81 yards, TOP 2:32
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 0, HC 35
HC - Alexander,Miles 4 yd run (Ng,Derek kick), 7 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:24
LEHIGH 0, HC 42
HC - Dorsey,Martin 19 yd pass from Wade,Geoff (Ng,Derek kick) 6 plays, 28 yards, TOP 2:23
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 0, HC 49
HC - Ayeni,Tenio 15 yd pass from Wade,Geoff (Ng,Derek kick) 1 plays, 15 yards, TOP 0:11
LEHIGH 0, HC 56
HC - Oliver,Peter 9 yd run (Ng,Derek kick), 2 plays, 10 yards, TOP 0:19
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
10
TD
0
YDS
146
INT
0
Players Mentioned
WR
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DB
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DB
/ FootballQB
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WR
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DB
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LB
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LB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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