Saturday, August 31
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:30 PM
Lehigh University
0-1
13
vs
14
Saint Francis (Pa.)
1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Saint Francis
0
0
7
7
14
Lehigh
10
3
0
0
13
Late score pushes Saint Francis past Lehigh 14-13 in defense-oriented opener
8/31/2019 5:29:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh raced out to a 13-0 halftime lead but two long touchdown passes in the second half allowed Saint Francis (Pa.) to rally for a 14-13 victory over the Mountain Hawks in the season-opener for both teams at Goodman Stadium. A 35-yard touchdown pass from Jason Brown to Terell Johnson and subsequent extra point put the visiting Red Flash up with 1:17 to play.
The Mountain Hawks drove down the field in the final minute, helped by a 26-yard connection from senior Tyler Monaco to sophomore tight end Alex Snyder. Lehigh moved into position for a 40-yard field goal. An apparent game-winning field goal by Austin Henning was nullified by a Saint Francis timeout. After the timeout, Henning's second attempt just missed to the right.
"You go into every game expecting to win and we didn't get that done today," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "It wasn't due to a lack of effort, but it was due to a lack of execution as everyone saw. I thought we were really close. There were a lot of things that we did well today. We made some critical errors on defense that caught up with us. We looked very good on special teams at times. On offense, we did a lot of good things, but the run game really sputtered. Credit to Saint Francis, they really packed the box and we weren't able to break any runs and it put them in the driver's seat from that standpoint. With that said, I'm disappointed with the outcome, but I'm not disappointed with the energy today."
Both offenses struggled in the first half, with Lehigh gaining just 88 yards and Saint Francis mustering just 107, but special teams carried the Mountain Hawks to a 13-0 lead.
Lehigh went three-and-out on the game's first possession but caught a break when Henning's punt hit a Saint Francis player with senior Sam McCloskey recovering at the SFU 31. The Mountain Hawks reached the Saint Francis one yard line but settled for a 21-yard Henning field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Saint Francis missed a field goal on its first offensive possession and Lehigh capitalized on another special teams miscue after its second. Ryan Oliver bobbled the snap on a Saint Francis punt and eventually fumbled, with McCloskey recovering and racing 56 yards for a touchdown, putting the Mountain Hawks 10-0 after one quarter.
Lehigh added another Henning field goal, from 37 yards out, in the second quarter to go up 13-0.
Saint Francis got on the board with its first big play as Brown threw a long 75-yard touchdown pass to EJ Jenkins to get Saint Francis within six points with 3:34 remaining in the third. Brown hit Ra'Shaun Henry for 36 yards on the Red Flash's first play of the next drive, but senior Keith Woetzel stripped Henry from behind and junior Pete Haffner recovered for the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh responded by moving the ball into scoring position, but Monaco was intercepted by Nick Rinella at the Saint Francis four yard line on the second play of the fourth quarter.
The Lehigh defense forced a punt and then a turnover on downs on the next two Red Flash possessions, before Saint Francis went ahead on the Brown to Johnson touchdown, which capped an eight-play, 62-yard drive.
"Our defense was great today," Gilmore said. "We lost containment on the quarterback a couple times. It's a team sport. We win plays individually, but we win or lose games as a team. The effort was tremendous. They played really hard, but we just need to execute better than we did."
Gallery: (8/31/2019) Football vs. Saint Francis 8/31/19
Saint Francis out-gained Lehigh 361-281 and limited the Mountain Hawks to just 11 rushing yards. Lehigh's defense held the Red Flash to just 68 yards on the ground.
Monaco finished 21-of-51 for 270 yards and an interception. Portorreal and senior Devon Bibbens each caught six passes for 66 and 73 yards, respectively. Sophomore Rashawn Allen gained just 22 yards on 14 carries.
"The effort was good on the offense today," Gilmore said. "There were a lot of run plays in which we were close. Certainly, we can be a lot better on the running game. We need to find a better way as a staff to find ways to make these men successful."
Brown was 22-of-37 for 293 yards with two touchdowns for Saint Francis, with 110 of those yards coming on the two big plays.
Woetzel led Lehigh's defensive effort with nine tackles, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a first fumble. Haffner added nine tackles and a fumble recovery.
The Mountain Hawks take to the road next Saturday to battle regional rival Villanova. Game time is set for 6 p.m. from Villanova, Pa., with streaming video on FloSports and audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 5 p.m.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh's three fumble recoveries were its most since recovering three in a win at Central Connecticut State on Sept. 8, 2012… Lehigh is now 84-46-6 in season-openers and has dropped three of its last four… Gilmore is now 6-9 in season-openers as a head coach… Lehigh was 4-0 in openers in Gilmore's stint as defensive coordinator in the early 2000s… three freshmen started for the Mountain Hawks: tight end Ian O'Connor (in a two tight end set), defensive end Mikhari Sibblis and cornerback Brandon Spencer… McCloskey's touchdown was the first of his career and marked the second straight game that Lehigh's first touchdown came via fumble return… Saturday's attendance of 4,161 included approximately 45 dogs on Dog Day… it was the second annual Dog Day opener, which featured donations being accepted at the stadium gates with proceeds going to the Center for Animal Health and Welfare.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
The Mountain Hawks drove down the field in the final minute, helped by a 26-yard connection from senior Tyler Monaco to sophomore tight end Alex Snyder. Lehigh moved into position for a 40-yard field goal. An apparent game-winning field goal by Austin Henning was nullified by a Saint Francis timeout. After the timeout, Henning's second attempt just missed to the right.
"You go into every game expecting to win and we didn't get that done today," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "It wasn't due to a lack of effort, but it was due to a lack of execution as everyone saw. I thought we were really close. There were a lot of things that we did well today. We made some critical errors on defense that caught up with us. We looked very good on special teams at times. On offense, we did a lot of good things, but the run game really sputtered. Credit to Saint Francis, they really packed the box and we weren't able to break any runs and it put them in the driver's seat from that standpoint. With that said, I'm disappointed with the outcome, but I'm not disappointed with the energy today."
Both offenses struggled in the first half, with Lehigh gaining just 88 yards and Saint Francis mustering just 107, but special teams carried the Mountain Hawks to a 13-0 lead.
Lehigh went three-and-out on the game's first possession but caught a break when Henning's punt hit a Saint Francis player with senior Sam McCloskey recovering at the SFU 31. The Mountain Hawks reached the Saint Francis one yard line but settled for a 21-yard Henning field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Saint Francis missed a field goal on its first offensive possession and Lehigh capitalized on another special teams miscue after its second. Ryan Oliver bobbled the snap on a Saint Francis punt and eventually fumbled, with McCloskey recovering and racing 56 yards for a touchdown, putting the Mountain Hawks 10-0 after one quarter.
Lehigh added another Henning field goal, from 37 yards out, in the second quarter to go up 13-0.
Saint Francis got on the board with its first big play as Brown threw a long 75-yard touchdown pass to EJ Jenkins to get Saint Francis within six points with 3:34 remaining in the third. Brown hit Ra'Shaun Henry for 36 yards on the Red Flash's first play of the next drive, but senior Keith Woetzel stripped Henry from behind and junior Pete Haffner recovered for the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh responded by moving the ball into scoring position, but Monaco was intercepted by Nick Rinella at the Saint Francis four yard line on the second play of the fourth quarter.
The Lehigh defense forced a punt and then a turnover on downs on the next two Red Flash possessions, before Saint Francis went ahead on the Brown to Johnson touchdown, which capped an eight-play, 62-yard drive.
"Our defense was great today," Gilmore said. "We lost containment on the quarterback a couple times. It's a team sport. We win plays individually, but we win or lose games as a team. The effort was tremendous. They played really hard, but we just need to execute better than we did."
Saint Francis out-gained Lehigh 361-281 and limited the Mountain Hawks to just 11 rushing yards. Lehigh's defense held the Red Flash to just 68 yards on the ground.
Monaco finished 21-of-51 for 270 yards and an interception. Portorreal and senior Devon Bibbens each caught six passes for 66 and 73 yards, respectively. Sophomore Rashawn Allen gained just 22 yards on 14 carries.
"The effort was good on the offense today," Gilmore said. "There were a lot of run plays in which we were close. Certainly, we can be a lot better on the running game. We need to find a better way as a staff to find ways to make these men successful."
Brown was 22-of-37 for 293 yards with two touchdowns for Saint Francis, with 110 of those yards coming on the two big plays.
Woetzel led Lehigh's defensive effort with nine tackles, a sack, 2.5 tackles for loss and a first fumble. Haffner added nine tackles and a fumble recovery.
The Mountain Hawks take to the road next Saturday to battle regional rival Villanova. Game time is set for 6 p.m. from Villanova, Pa., with streaming video on FloSports and audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 5 p.m.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh's three fumble recoveries were its most since recovering three in a win at Central Connecticut State on Sept. 8, 2012… Lehigh is now 84-46-6 in season-openers and has dropped three of its last four… Gilmore is now 6-9 in season-openers as a head coach… Lehigh was 4-0 in openers in Gilmore's stint as defensive coordinator in the early 2000s… three freshmen started for the Mountain Hawks: tight end Ian O'Connor (in a two tight end set), defensive end Mikhari Sibblis and cornerback Brandon Spencer… McCloskey's touchdown was the first of his career and marked the second straight game that Lehigh's first touchdown came via fumble return… Saturday's attendance of 4,161 included approximately 45 dogs on Dog Day… it was the second annual Dog Day opener, which featured donations being accepted at the stadium gates with proceeds going to the Center for Animal Health and Welfare.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
SFU
LEHIGH
Total Yards
361
281
Pass Yards
293
270
Rushing Yards
68
11
Penalty Yards
59
25
1st Downs
15
16
3rd Downs
5
5
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
32:57
27:03
1st Quarter
SFU 0, LEHIGH 3
LEHIGH - Henning, Austin 21 yd field goal 7 plays, 27 yards, TOP 2:58
SFU 0, LEHIGH 10
LEHIGH - McCloskey, Sam 56 yd fumble recovery (Henning, Austin kick)
2nd Quarter
SFU 0, LEHIGH 13
LEHIGH - Henning, Austin 37 yd field goal 5 plays, 20 yards, TOP 1:50
3rd Quarter
SFU 7, LEHIGH 13
SFU - EJ Jenkins 75 yd pass from Jason Brown (Trevor Thompson kick) 2 plays, 77 yards, TOP 0:54
4th Quarter
SFU 14, LEHIGH 13
SFU - Terell Johnson 35 yd pass from Jason Brown (Trevor Thompson kick) 8 plays, 62 yards, TOP 2:07
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
21
TD
0
YDS
270
INT
1
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
DL
/ Football
TE
/ Football
DB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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2025 Lehigh Football Season Preview: Special Teams
Thursday, August 21
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2025 Lehigh Football Season Preview: Offense
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