Saturday, October 26
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:30 PM
Lehigh University
4-3 , 3-0
27
vs
24
Georgetown
5-3 , 1-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Georgetown
0
3
13
8
24
Lehigh
10
0
0
17
27
Henning's field goal lifts Lehigh past Georgetown 27-24 for second straight walk-off win
10/26/2019 5:22:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the third straight league game, Lehigh's fate went down to the game's final play. A 27-yard field goal by senior Austin Henning as time expired moved the Mountain Hawks to 3-0 in league play as Lehigh topped Georgetown 27-24 Saturday at Goodman Stadium in front of 7,031 as part of Family Weekend, presented by PSECU.
"When we got the ball back with 1:20 left, the only thing you can do is stay focused and remain calm," Henning said. "Props to our offense for getting it down there that quickly. Great snap from Jack (Dean), great hold from Addy (Shoup) and the other guys blocking."
Georgetown tied the game at 24-24 on a 72-yard touchdown pass and two point conversion with 1:23 to play, but the Lehigh offense responded with an eight-play, 59-yard drive that culminated in the winning kick and Lehigh's (4-3) fourth straight victory overall.
The freshman running back tandem of Zaythan Hill and Nate Hope combined for 107 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries for Lehigh, which is now 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot League. Senior Tyler Monaco completed 23-of-36 passes for 271 yards. Junior Jorge Portorreal was the top receiver with eight catches for 103 yards, while senior Devon Bibbens added six for 91 yards, including a 48-yard catch-and-run that set up the game-winning field goal.
"Don't leave a Lehigh game until after the final whistle," joked Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore. "Our guys found a way to win the last four games in very dramatic fashion. We're doing a lot of good things, and the improvement is there. If we can resolve a couple of minor things, we're going to win more games this year.
"These guys keep fighting to the end," Gilmore continued. "I think every coach preaches to keep fighting, but these men fight every time. The kids keep coming and working hard. We challenged the guys and they responded by having the best Wednesday and Thursday practices of the year."
The Mountain Hawks raced to a 10-0 lead with scores on their first two possessions. Henning capped an 11-play, 47-yard drive with a 36-yard field goal and then after defensive three-and-out, Hill scored on a 32-yard run to put Lehigh up 10.
Gallery: (10/26/2019) Football vs. Georgetown 10/26/19
Georgetown (5-3, 1-2 Patriot League) scored its first points on a Brad Hurst 23-yard field goal late in the first half as Lehigh took a 10-3 lead into the locker room.
The Hoyas scored on their first possession of the second half. After a Lehigh three-and-out, Georgetown marched 77 yards in nine plays. A three-yard pass from Gunther Johnson to Joshua Tomas brought the Hoyas within one, but a missed extra point kept Lehigh in front 10-9.
Just under six minutes later, Georgetown took its first lead on a Johnson to Cameron Crayton five yard pass, but Lehigh responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive. On 4th-and-goal from the one, Hill plunged in off right guard for a touchdown to put Lehigh back up by one at 17-16.
"It's the most gratifying thing I've experienced for an offensive line," Gilmore said. "To be quite honest with you, it was the exact opposite for two quarters. Georgetown got after us for two quarters. For a group of guys to respond, it's amazing. It says a lot about them, we came back in the fourth quarter and they dominated in every way."
The Lehigh defense came up with another three-and-out and after getting the ball back, the Mountain Hawks milked 9:16 off the clock, moving 73 yards over 15 plays. Hope scored his second touchdown of the day, this one from two yards out, to give Lehigh a 24-16 lead.
Down to its last chance, Georgetown came up with the big play as Johnson hit Michael Dereus for a 72-yard touchdown on 4th-and-4. A two point pass from Johnson to Joshua Stakely knotted the score at 24-24.
The senior Monaco-to-Bibbens connection provided the heavy lifting on the final drive. A 12-yard completion moved the sticks on 3rd-and-10. Two plays later they connected for 48, moving the ball to the Georgetown nine. Two plays later, Henning banged through his second field goal of the day, sending the Family Weekend crowd into celebration.
Lehigh finished with a 347-331 edge in total yards and a 32:40-27:20 advantage in time of possession. Neither team reached 100 yards rushing in a battle of the league's top two defenses. The Mountain Hawks limited the Hoyas to just 64. Lehigh also held Georgetown to just 2-of-12 third down conversions.
"We're overcoming a lot of adversity," Gilmore said. "We're not playing perfect games. Georgetown turned the momentum around, but we countered. The guys never lost faith in the coaches or their teammates."
Johnson was 20-of-30 for 267 yards and three touchdowns for Georgetown, while Tomas had seven catches for 54 yards and Dereus finished with six for 155.
Lehigh will play its second straight home game as Holy Cross visits Goodman Stadium in the Salute to Service game on Nov. 2. Head coach Tom Gilmore will square off against the school where he coached for 14 seasons. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
EXTRA POINTS…The victory is the 700th in program history, bringing Lehigh's all-time record to 700-607-45… Lehigh moved to 3-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2016 and the fifth time in 10 seasons… The Mountain Hawks are now 9-0 all-time against Georgetown at Goodman Stadium… Hope finished with 30 yards rushing and 41 yards receiving on four catches… his 13-yard reception on 3rd-and-goal set up the go-ahead score from the one… Hill had 77 rushing yards and reached the end zone for the third consecutive game… After notching 19 sacks over their last three games, the Mountain Hawks were held without a sack… Lehigh did have six tackles for loss, by six different players… junior linebacker Pete Haffner led Lehigh with seven tackles and two pass breakups… senior Riley O'Neil added six stops… the last time Lehigh won a game on a field goal at the final gun was on Sept. 29, 2012 when Jake Peery's 22-yard field goal beat Fordham 34-31.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
"When we got the ball back with 1:20 left, the only thing you can do is stay focused and remain calm," Henning said. "Props to our offense for getting it down there that quickly. Great snap from Jack (Dean), great hold from Addy (Shoup) and the other guys blocking."
Georgetown tied the game at 24-24 on a 72-yard touchdown pass and two point conversion with 1:23 to play, but the Lehigh offense responded with an eight-play, 59-yard drive that culminated in the winning kick and Lehigh's (4-3) fourth straight victory overall.
The freshman running back tandem of Zaythan Hill and Nate Hope combined for 107 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries for Lehigh, which is now 4-3 overall and 3-0 in the Patriot League. Senior Tyler Monaco completed 23-of-36 passes for 271 yards. Junior Jorge Portorreal was the top receiver with eight catches for 103 yards, while senior Devon Bibbens added six for 91 yards, including a 48-yard catch-and-run that set up the game-winning field goal.
"Don't leave a Lehigh game until after the final whistle," joked Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore. "Our guys found a way to win the last four games in very dramatic fashion. We're doing a lot of good things, and the improvement is there. If we can resolve a couple of minor things, we're going to win more games this year.
"These guys keep fighting to the end," Gilmore continued. "I think every coach preaches to keep fighting, but these men fight every time. The kids keep coming and working hard. We challenged the guys and they responded by having the best Wednesday and Thursday practices of the year."
The Mountain Hawks raced to a 10-0 lead with scores on their first two possessions. Henning capped an 11-play, 47-yard drive with a 36-yard field goal and then after defensive three-and-out, Hill scored on a 32-yard run to put Lehigh up 10.
Georgetown (5-3, 1-2 Patriot League) scored its first points on a Brad Hurst 23-yard field goal late in the first half as Lehigh took a 10-3 lead into the locker room.
The Hoyas scored on their first possession of the second half. After a Lehigh three-and-out, Georgetown marched 77 yards in nine plays. A three-yard pass from Gunther Johnson to Joshua Tomas brought the Hoyas within one, but a missed extra point kept Lehigh in front 10-9.
Just under six minutes later, Georgetown took its first lead on a Johnson to Cameron Crayton five yard pass, but Lehigh responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive. On 4th-and-goal from the one, Hill plunged in off right guard for a touchdown to put Lehigh back up by one at 17-16.
"It's the most gratifying thing I've experienced for an offensive line," Gilmore said. "To be quite honest with you, it was the exact opposite for two quarters. Georgetown got after us for two quarters. For a group of guys to respond, it's amazing. It says a lot about them, we came back in the fourth quarter and they dominated in every way."
The Lehigh defense came up with another three-and-out and after getting the ball back, the Mountain Hawks milked 9:16 off the clock, moving 73 yards over 15 plays. Hope scored his second touchdown of the day, this one from two yards out, to give Lehigh a 24-16 lead.
Down to its last chance, Georgetown came up with the big play as Johnson hit Michael Dereus for a 72-yard touchdown on 4th-and-4. A two point pass from Johnson to Joshua Stakely knotted the score at 24-24.
The senior Monaco-to-Bibbens connection provided the heavy lifting on the final drive. A 12-yard completion moved the sticks on 3rd-and-10. Two plays later they connected for 48, moving the ball to the Georgetown nine. Two plays later, Henning banged through his second field goal of the day, sending the Family Weekend crowd into celebration.
Lehigh finished with a 347-331 edge in total yards and a 32:40-27:20 advantage in time of possession. Neither team reached 100 yards rushing in a battle of the league's top two defenses. The Mountain Hawks limited the Hoyas to just 64. Lehigh also held Georgetown to just 2-of-12 third down conversions.
"We're overcoming a lot of adversity," Gilmore said. "We're not playing perfect games. Georgetown turned the momentum around, but we countered. The guys never lost faith in the coaches or their teammates."
Johnson was 20-of-30 for 267 yards and three touchdowns for Georgetown, while Tomas had seven catches for 54 yards and Dereus finished with six for 155.
Lehigh will play its second straight home game as Holy Cross visits Goodman Stadium in the Salute to Service game on Nov. 2. Head coach Tom Gilmore will square off against the school where he coached for 14 seasons. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
EXTRA POINTS…The victory is the 700th in program history, bringing Lehigh's all-time record to 700-607-45… Lehigh moved to 3-0 in the Patriot League for the first time since 2016 and the fifth time in 10 seasons… The Mountain Hawks are now 9-0 all-time against Georgetown at Goodman Stadium… Hope finished with 30 yards rushing and 41 yards receiving on four catches… his 13-yard reception on 3rd-and-goal set up the go-ahead score from the one… Hill had 77 rushing yards and reached the end zone for the third consecutive game… After notching 19 sacks over their last three games, the Mountain Hawks were held without a sack… Lehigh did have six tackles for loss, by six different players… junior linebacker Pete Haffner led Lehigh with seven tackles and two pass breakups… senior Riley O'Neil added six stops… the last time Lehigh won a game on a field goal at the final gun was on Sept. 29, 2012 when Jake Peery's 22-yard field goal beat Fordham 34-31.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
GU
LEHIGH
Total Yards
331
347
Pass Yards
267
271
Rushing Yards
64
76
Penalty Yards
31
55
1st Downs
16
20
3rd Downs
2
7
4th Downs
3
1
TOP
27:20
32:40
1st Quarter
GU 0, LEHIGH 3
LEHIGH - Henning, Austin 36 yd field goal 11 plays, 47 yards, TOP 6:13
GU 0, LEHIGH 10
LEHIGH - Hill, Zaythan 32 yd run (Henning, Austin kick), 5 plays, 71 yards, TOP 1:57
2nd Quarter
GU 3, LEHIGH 10
GU - Hurst, B. 23 yd field goal 11 plays, 48 yards, TOP 5:33
3rd Quarter
GU 9, LEHIGH 10
GU - Tomas, J. 3 yd pass from Johnson, G. (Hurst, B. kickfailed) 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:13
GU 16, LEHIGH 10
GU - Crayton, C. 25 yd pass from Johnson, G. (Hurst, B. kick) 5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 2:05
4th Quarter
GU 16, LEHIGH 17
LEHIGH - Hope, Nate 1 yd run (Henning, Austin kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:12
GU 16, LEHIGH 24
LEHIGH - Hope, Nate 2 yd run (Henning, Austin kick), 15 plays, 73 yards, TOP 9:14
GU 24, LEHIGH 24
GU - Dereus, M. 72 yd pass from Johnson, G. (Stakely, J. pass) 8 plays, 90 yards, TOP 1:30
GU 24, LEHIGH 27
LEHIGH - Henning, Austin 27 yd field goal 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 1:16
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
23
TD
0
YDS
271
INT
0
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
RB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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