Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh caps first full week of preseason camp with Sunday scrimmage
8/12/2018 5:37:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Preseason preparations continue for the Lehigh football team as the Mountain Hawks capped their first full week of camp with a Sunday morning scrimmage on Frank Banko Field. Heavy rains and thunderstorms on Saturday forced the postponement and venue change from Goodman Stadium. Saturday became the players' scheduled day off and while things started slow after the off day, the Mountain Hawks continued to improve over the course of the 90 play scrimmage, which ran just over 90 minutes.
"It was really good," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "A little sloppy at the beginning but as the scrimmage went on both the offense and defense started to get into a groove. We created some turnovers on defense and the offense did a good job running the football. Brad (Mayes) was really fired up to play today and overthrew a couple balls early but once he settled down he got right back to where he was. We made some big plays. Our offensive line, as young as it is, did a really nice job opening holes and all the running backs had good days out there which was great to see."
Sunday's scrimmage marked the ninth of 22 schedule practices for the camp portion of Lehigh's preseason. Coen noted positive give-and-take between the offense and defense thus far in camp which should pay dividends down the road.
(8/12/2018) Football Scrimmage, 8/12/18
"I'm very pleased with where we're at right now after into our ninth practice," Coen said. "That's usually where most of our offense has been installed. Now we're just trying to tweak some things, watching a lot of tape and practicing against our team. It's good to see the offense and the defense having some give and take. It's very important. We've had years where the offense was so far ahead and the defense couldn't really compete. This year we've been able to compete against each other every day and that's going to make us a better football team as we go into the season."
The defense had the upper hand over the first several series. The first big play from the offense came on a well-executed screen pass from Mayes to freshman Rashawn Allen. But that drive ended on a long fourth down incompletion.
The first team offense got things going in its next series, moving the ball down the field. A pass from Mayes to senior Luke Christiano converted a fourth down and on the next play Mayes was flushed from the pocket but scrambled to his right and ran in untouched for a touchdown.
Allen delivered another big play working with the second and third units. He opened a drive by taking a handoff around the right side for a long gainer inside the 20 yard line. Sophomore Addison Shoup scrambled to convert a fourth down, bringing the ball inside the five yard line before handing off to classmate Evan Chadbourn for a one-yard scoring run.
Senior All-American running back Dom Bragalone was given limited reps in Sunday's scrimmage but the depth behind Bragalone was showcased with senior Jake Buskirk, Chadbourn, Allen and freshman Peter Lucas all having strong days. Coen also liked what he saw from Lehigh's receiving corps as the depth continues to develop there.
"Cam Richardson had a good day out here, Conner Bianchini had a really good day," Coen noted. "The freshmen, (Raymond) Falcone and (Austin) Dambach, they've all done a really good job. They're going to keep getting better and better. What I'm excited about now is we have good depth there. We have about 10 guys that can be good players for us, which really important."
The defense bounced back a few series later when junior cornerback Marquis Wilson picked off Shoup near midfield and raced down the far sideline for a touchdown.
Freshman quarterback Alec Beesmer led the final series of the day and after a slow start, connected with Raymond Falcone on a long touchdown pass in what became the final play of the scrimmage.
Defensively, Coen sees the ability to be multiple, instead of being overly simple, as a reason for the unit's improvement.
"What's been important with our defense is that we're very multiple now," he said. "We tried to get better last year by being really simple and we weren't stopping anybody, so this year we've spent a lot of time becoming a more multiple defense. We have a lot more blitz packages and those kinds of things that are really going to challenge the offenses we're going to see in the Patriot League."
Lehigh will continue preseason camp with practices in each of the next five days, followed by a second scrimmage on Saturday August 18 in Goodman Stadium.
"This next week we'll take a long study of what this scrimmage looked like," Coen said. "You just keep working with your team and your players and making sure you're putting personnel in the right situations. We've done a pretty good job of that up to now. We got about 90 plays on tape today so there will be a lot to look at."
The camp portion of Lehigh's preseason runs through Sunday August 26 with the annual alumni Steak Fry set for that day. Lehigh's fall semester begins on Monday August 27, with Lehigh falling into its normal game week routine beginning Tuesday August 28.
The Mountain Hawks will open the 2018 season against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, September 1 at 12:30 p.m. at Goodman Stadium. Tickets to that game and all Lehigh home football games can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
"It was really good," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "A little sloppy at the beginning but as the scrimmage went on both the offense and defense started to get into a groove. We created some turnovers on defense and the offense did a good job running the football. Brad (Mayes) was really fired up to play today and overthrew a couple balls early but once he settled down he got right back to where he was. We made some big plays. Our offensive line, as young as it is, did a really nice job opening holes and all the running backs had good days out there which was great to see."
Sunday's scrimmage marked the ninth of 22 schedule practices for the camp portion of Lehigh's preseason. Coen noted positive give-and-take between the offense and defense thus far in camp which should pay dividends down the road.
"I'm very pleased with where we're at right now after into our ninth practice," Coen said. "That's usually where most of our offense has been installed. Now we're just trying to tweak some things, watching a lot of tape and practicing against our team. It's good to see the offense and the defense having some give and take. It's very important. We've had years where the offense was so far ahead and the defense couldn't really compete. This year we've been able to compete against each other every day and that's going to make us a better football team as we go into the season."
The defense had the upper hand over the first several series. The first big play from the offense came on a well-executed screen pass from Mayes to freshman Rashawn Allen. But that drive ended on a long fourth down incompletion.
The first team offense got things going in its next series, moving the ball down the field. A pass from Mayes to senior Luke Christiano converted a fourth down and on the next play Mayes was flushed from the pocket but scrambled to his right and ran in untouched for a touchdown.
Allen delivered another big play working with the second and third units. He opened a drive by taking a handoff around the right side for a long gainer inside the 20 yard line. Sophomore Addison Shoup scrambled to convert a fourth down, bringing the ball inside the five yard line before handing off to classmate Evan Chadbourn for a one-yard scoring run.
Senior All-American running back Dom Bragalone was given limited reps in Sunday's scrimmage but the depth behind Bragalone was showcased with senior Jake Buskirk, Chadbourn, Allen and freshman Peter Lucas all having strong days. Coen also liked what he saw from Lehigh's receiving corps as the depth continues to develop there.
"Cam Richardson had a good day out here, Conner Bianchini had a really good day," Coen noted. "The freshmen, (Raymond) Falcone and (Austin) Dambach, they've all done a really good job. They're going to keep getting better and better. What I'm excited about now is we have good depth there. We have about 10 guys that can be good players for us, which really important."
The defense bounced back a few series later when junior cornerback Marquis Wilson picked off Shoup near midfield and raced down the far sideline for a touchdown.
Freshman quarterback Alec Beesmer led the final series of the day and after a slow start, connected with Raymond Falcone on a long touchdown pass in what became the final play of the scrimmage.
Defensively, Coen sees the ability to be multiple, instead of being overly simple, as a reason for the unit's improvement.
"What's been important with our defense is that we're very multiple now," he said. "We tried to get better last year by being really simple and we weren't stopping anybody, so this year we've spent a lot of time becoming a more multiple defense. We have a lot more blitz packages and those kinds of things that are really going to challenge the offenses we're going to see in the Patriot League."
Lehigh will continue preseason camp with practices in each of the next five days, followed by a second scrimmage on Saturday August 18 in Goodman Stadium.
"This next week we'll take a long study of what this scrimmage looked like," Coen said. "You just keep working with your team and your players and making sure you're putting personnel in the right situations. We've done a pretty good job of that up to now. We got about 90 plays on tape today so there will be a lot to look at."
The camp portion of Lehigh's preseason runs through Sunday August 26 with the annual alumni Steak Fry set for that day. Lehigh's fall semester begins on Monday August 27, with Lehigh falling into its normal game week routine beginning Tuesday August 28.
The Mountain Hawks will open the 2018 season against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday, September 1 at 12:30 p.m. at Goodman Stadium. Tickets to that game and all Lehigh home football games can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME or by visiting LehighTickets.com.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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