Saturday, September 28
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:30 PM
Lehigh University
1-3
10
vs
3
Merrimack
2-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Merrimack College
0
3
0
0
3
Lehigh
0
0
3
7
10
Strong defensive effort carries Lehigh past Merrimack 10-3
9/28/2019 5:22:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Powered by one of its best defensive efforts in recent memory, the Lehigh football team picked up its first victory of the season by a 10-3 margin over Merrimack at Goodman Stadium on Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Tackle Cancer Day presented by Red Robin.
The Mountain Hawk defense held the Warriors to minus-25 rushing yards, recorded six sacks, took the ball away twice, and gave up just a second quarter field goal, despite being on the field for nearly 37 minutes.
On a day in which the offense struggled, a 36-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Addison Shoup put Lehigh in front with 14:09 to play, and despite two lengthy fourth-quarter drives by Merrimack, the Mountain Hawks' defense stood tall to give Tom Gilmore his first win as Lehigh head coach.
"Well, it wasn't the prettiest game for us but I'll take it," Gilmore said. "I'll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day of the week. We obviously need to improve in a lot of areas, but we found a way to win today's game. This is a reward that I think our team needed desperately at this point. I'm also really proud of how our team played today. There were a lot of things not going well, but our guys found a way to gut things out and make plays when we really needed to."
Senior Keith Woetzel led the defensive effort with 12 tackles. Junior Erik Slater had three of Lehigh's six sacks as the Brown and White hit 10 tackles for loss for the second consecutive game.
The defense came through on a day when the Lehigh offense was limited to 280 yards. The Mountain Hawks also turned the ball over four times.
"There's a lot of lessons learned in football," Gilmore said. "The only thing that ultimately matters is if you win or lose. You're learning a lot of lessons along the way, and that's going to help us progress as a team. We still need to improve in so many areas.'
Gallery: (9/28/2019) Football vs, Merrimack 9-28-19
Lehigh (1-3) moved the ball into Merrimack territory on the game's opening drive, but turned the ball over on downs. A fumble recovery by freshman Brandon Spencer set Lehigh up at its 43-yard line, but the Mountain Hawks turned the ball over on their next play.
Merrimack (2-3) failed to capitalize on a second interception as Corey Resendes missed a 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Shoup then hit senior Devon Bibbens for an apparent 81-yard touchdown but after review, it was determined that Bibbens was down at the one yard line. Lehigh was unable to put the ball in the end zone and after a missed field goal the game remained scoreless.
The Warriors hit their biggest play of the day, a 62-yard pass from Christian Carter to Marquis Spence, but a touchdown saving tackle by senior Marquis Wilson gave Lehigh a chance and the Mountain Hawks held for a Resendes 25-yard field goal to put Merrimack up 3-0 with 2:51 to play before halftime.
Wilson later recorded Lehigh's first interception of the season and returned the ball to the Merrimack 30, but Lehigh's third interception of the half sent the Mountain Hawks into the locker room down 3-0.
Lehigh's first drive of the second half also ended in an interception, but the defense stood tall, and special teams came through with a big play as freshman TyGee Leach blocked a Resendes punt with sophomore Alex Snyder recovering at the Merrimack 17. Four plays later, senior Austin Henning booted a career-long 40-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
"Our guys did really well on special teams," Gilmore said. "They executed really well! They take a lot of pride in it. Anthony DiMichele is our Special Teams Coordinator and if you ask any guys on the team, he's the most enthusiastic guy on the team. Our team feeds off that and you need that in special teams. With that kind of energy behind them, the kids get behind it and have a lot of pride on it."
On the final play of the third quarter Shoup hit freshman Jalen Burbage for 34 yards down the right sideline, moving the ball into Merrimack territory. Two plays into the fourth, Shoup dropped back to pass, stepped up to avoid the rush, and raced 36 yards for the go-ahead score.
Merrimack opened the fourth quarter with a 13-play drive that ended with a punt after a sack by freshman Jackson Michaels on second down from the Lehigh 37. The Warriors got the ball back after a missed field goal and drove 55 yards in 13 plays, converting three 3rd-and-long situations along the way. The drive ended when backup quarterback Cam Hayes threw incomplete to Bubba Shkliew on 4th-and-8 from the Lehigh 20.
Shoup finished 6-of-11 passing for 173 yards and two interceptions, and also ran seven times for 13 yards and the game's lone touchdown. Senior Tyler Monaco finished 5-of-13 for 34 yards and two interceptions.
"I honestly believe our offense is going to get better," Gilmore said. "This is our fourth game and our fourth game with a different O-Line configuration. I really see this unit getting better, but we have to get our run game and pass protection going. Ultimately as an offense, we have to make people pay. We have the players that can do that, but we need to play with that kind of confidence to get that job done."
Bibbens set career highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (133) in posting his second straight 100-yard game.
"All three phases contributed, so I think a lot of credit goes around," Gilmore said. "There are a lot of things to build on from this game and what we've done this season, so I'm really encouraged coming out of this one."
The Mountain Hawks open Patriot League play next Saturday when they visit defending champion Colgate, with game time set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Stadium and the Patriot League Network, with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh has now won 16 consecutive home games against first-time opponents and is now 7-0 all-time against first-time foes at Goodman Stadium… freshman Zaythan Hill rushed four times for 60 yards, including a 48-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, the longest rushing play of the year for Lehigh… in addition to Slater's three sacks and Michaels' sack, junior Pete Haffner and freshman Mikhari Sibblis also recorded sacks… Slater's three sacks were the most by a Lehigh player since Tyler Cavenas netted three at Fordham in 2016… Lehigh's six sacks were its most since registering 10 at Bucknell in 2011… the minus-25 rushing yards allowed were the fewest since at least 2001… the last time Lehigh allowed negative rushing yards in a game was Sept. 7, 2002 when the Mountain Hawks held Georgetown to minus-8… in addition to Leukemia and Lymphoma's Tackle Cancer Day, presented by Red Robin, Lehigh participated in the Game Day Recycling Challenge; honored newly-minted Hall of Fame inductees Chris Marshall '88 (swimming and diving), Matt McBride '07 (baseball) and Lisa Sweeney Van Ackeren '09 (softball); and honored past offensive and defensive linemen on the Football Partnerships annual Linemen Day… attendance was 4,511.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
The Mountain Hawk defense held the Warriors to minus-25 rushing yards, recorded six sacks, took the ball away twice, and gave up just a second quarter field goal, despite being on the field for nearly 37 minutes.
On a day in which the offense struggled, a 36-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Addison Shoup put Lehigh in front with 14:09 to play, and despite two lengthy fourth-quarter drives by Merrimack, the Mountain Hawks' defense stood tall to give Tom Gilmore his first win as Lehigh head coach.
"Well, it wasn't the prettiest game for us but I'll take it," Gilmore said. "I'll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day of the week. We obviously need to improve in a lot of areas, but we found a way to win today's game. This is a reward that I think our team needed desperately at this point. I'm also really proud of how our team played today. There were a lot of things not going well, but our guys found a way to gut things out and make plays when we really needed to."
Senior Keith Woetzel led the defensive effort with 12 tackles. Junior Erik Slater had three of Lehigh's six sacks as the Brown and White hit 10 tackles for loss for the second consecutive game.
The defense came through on a day when the Lehigh offense was limited to 280 yards. The Mountain Hawks also turned the ball over four times.
"There's a lot of lessons learned in football," Gilmore said. "The only thing that ultimately matters is if you win or lose. You're learning a lot of lessons along the way, and that's going to help us progress as a team. We still need to improve in so many areas.'
Lehigh (1-3) moved the ball into Merrimack territory on the game's opening drive, but turned the ball over on downs. A fumble recovery by freshman Brandon Spencer set Lehigh up at its 43-yard line, but the Mountain Hawks turned the ball over on their next play.
Merrimack (2-3) failed to capitalize on a second interception as Corey Resendes missed a 36-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Shoup then hit senior Devon Bibbens for an apparent 81-yard touchdown but after review, it was determined that Bibbens was down at the one yard line. Lehigh was unable to put the ball in the end zone and after a missed field goal the game remained scoreless.
The Warriors hit their biggest play of the day, a 62-yard pass from Christian Carter to Marquis Spence, but a touchdown saving tackle by senior Marquis Wilson gave Lehigh a chance and the Mountain Hawks held for a Resendes 25-yard field goal to put Merrimack up 3-0 with 2:51 to play before halftime.
Wilson later recorded Lehigh's first interception of the season and returned the ball to the Merrimack 30, but Lehigh's third interception of the half sent the Mountain Hawks into the locker room down 3-0.
Lehigh's first drive of the second half also ended in an interception, but the defense stood tall, and special teams came through with a big play as freshman TyGee Leach blocked a Resendes punt with sophomore Alex Snyder recovering at the Merrimack 17. Four plays later, senior Austin Henning booted a career-long 40-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
"Our guys did really well on special teams," Gilmore said. "They executed really well! They take a lot of pride in it. Anthony DiMichele is our Special Teams Coordinator and if you ask any guys on the team, he's the most enthusiastic guy on the team. Our team feeds off that and you need that in special teams. With that kind of energy behind them, the kids get behind it and have a lot of pride on it."
On the final play of the third quarter Shoup hit freshman Jalen Burbage for 34 yards down the right sideline, moving the ball into Merrimack territory. Two plays into the fourth, Shoup dropped back to pass, stepped up to avoid the rush, and raced 36 yards for the go-ahead score.
Merrimack opened the fourth quarter with a 13-play drive that ended with a punt after a sack by freshman Jackson Michaels on second down from the Lehigh 37. The Warriors got the ball back after a missed field goal and drove 55 yards in 13 plays, converting three 3rd-and-long situations along the way. The drive ended when backup quarterback Cam Hayes threw incomplete to Bubba Shkliew on 4th-and-8 from the Lehigh 20.
Shoup finished 6-of-11 passing for 173 yards and two interceptions, and also ran seven times for 13 yards and the game's lone touchdown. Senior Tyler Monaco finished 5-of-13 for 34 yards and two interceptions.
"I honestly believe our offense is going to get better," Gilmore said. "This is our fourth game and our fourth game with a different O-Line configuration. I really see this unit getting better, but we have to get our run game and pass protection going. Ultimately as an offense, we have to make people pay. We have the players that can do that, but we need to play with that kind of confidence to get that job done."
Bibbens set career highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (133) in posting his second straight 100-yard game.
"All three phases contributed, so I think a lot of credit goes around," Gilmore said. "There are a lot of things to build on from this game and what we've done this season, so I'm really encouraged coming out of this one."
The Mountain Hawks open Patriot League play next Saturday when they visit defending champion Colgate, with game time set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Stadium and the Patriot League Network, with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh has now won 16 consecutive home games against first-time opponents and is now 7-0 all-time against first-time foes at Goodman Stadium… freshman Zaythan Hill rushed four times for 60 yards, including a 48-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, the longest rushing play of the year for Lehigh… in addition to Slater's three sacks and Michaels' sack, junior Pete Haffner and freshman Mikhari Sibblis also recorded sacks… Slater's three sacks were the most by a Lehigh player since Tyler Cavenas netted three at Fordham in 2016… Lehigh's six sacks were its most since registering 10 at Bucknell in 2011… the minus-25 rushing yards allowed were the fewest since at least 2001… the last time Lehigh allowed negative rushing yards in a game was Sept. 7, 2002 when the Mountain Hawks held Georgetown to minus-8… in addition to Leukemia and Lymphoma's Tackle Cancer Day, presented by Red Robin, Lehigh participated in the Game Day Recycling Challenge; honored newly-minted Hall of Fame inductees Chris Marshall '88 (swimming and diving), Matt McBride '07 (baseball) and Lisa Sweeney Van Ackeren '09 (softball); and honored past offensive and defensive linemen on the Football Partnerships annual Linemen Day… attendance was 4,511.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
MER
LEHIGH
Total Yards
303
280
Pass Yards
328
207
Rushing Yards
-25
73
Penalty Yards
15
5
1st Downs
17
9
3rd Downs
11
2
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
36:49
23:11
2nd Quarter
MER 3, LEHIGH 0
MER - RESENDES, Corey 25 yd field goal 7 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:38
3rd Quarter
MER 3, LEHIGH 3
LEHIGH - Henning, Austin 40 yd field goal 4 plays, -7 yards, TOP 2:09
4th Quarter
MER 3, LEHIGH 10
LEHIGH - Shoup, Addison 36 yd run (Henning, Austin kick), 3 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:06
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
6
TD
0
YDS
173
INT
2
CMP
5
TD
0
YDS
34
INT
2
Players Mentioned
WR
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WR
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DL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DB
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DL
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DL
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DL
/ Football
TE
/ Football
DB
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DB
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/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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