Saturday, September 7
Villanova, Pa.
6:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-2
10
at
38
Villanova
2-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
0
3
7
0
10
Villanova
0
17
14
7
38
No. 24 Villanova pulls away from Lehigh in second half, 38-10
9/7/2019 9:58:00 PM | Football
VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Lehigh football team took an early second-quarter lead and pulled to within 17-10 early in the third, but No. 24 Villanova ended the game with 21 unanswered points to run past the Mountain Hawks, 38-10 Saturday at Villanova Stadium. Senior quarterback Tyler Monaco finished with 253 yards passing, including a 42-yard touchdown pass to junior Jorge Portorreal, who finished with seven receptions for a game-high 91 yards.
Lehigh's offense took strides against a tough CAA defense as senior Devon Bibbens added seven catches for 59 yards, freshman Jalen Burbage tallied six receptions for 66 yards and sophomore Alex Snyder had three receptions for 43 yards. Sophomore Peter Lucas led the rushing attack with 33 yards on just six carries.
Junior Pete Haffner was all over the field defensively, posting a team and game-high 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss. Senior Keith Woetzel had seven tackles and a sack while junior Divine Buckrham finished with seven tackles as well.
"The first half, I think we made some of the same errors we did the previous game," head coach Tom Gilmore said on the Fox Sports Radio postgame show. "Our timing was off, we were trying to do things that we shouldn't be doing. It was taking us out of sync offensively and same thing defensively. There are certain things we're trying to do. If we just do it the way we're coached to do it, we would have been in better shape.
"We showed some signs on offense in the second half," Gilmore continued. "I was really encouraged and then they got after us and we couldn't move the ball again. Again, there's some encouraging signs, but still a lot to work on."
The first quarter saw five combined punts before Lehigh broke through early in the second on a drive that started late in the first. A methodical 12-play, 48-yard drive ended in a 32-yard field goal from senior Austin Henning, putting the Mountain Hawks up 3-0 only 10 seconds into the second quarter.
Villanova immediately answered with a six-play, 72-yard drive, capped off by a 31-yard pitch and catch, to take a 7-3 lead. The Wildcats added 10 more points before the second quarter was over, including an interception return for a touchdown to go up 17-3 with 4:39 on the first-half clock.
Gallery: (9/7/2019) Football at No. 24 Villanova, 9/7/19
The Mountain Hawks wouldn't go away quietly, answering on the first drive of the second half. It took only four plays, all Monaco passes, to go 72 yards and find the end zone. Monaco connected with Portorreal for 22 yards on the second play, then after a seven-yard pass to Bibbens and a Lehigh false start penalty, Monaco found Portorreal again for 42 yards and the score. That pulled the Mountain Hawks within 17-10 with 12:46 left in the third quarter.
"There was definitely an improvement, even when the game was still on the line," Gilmore said. "We got the ball and drove down first drive of the second half. That's always a good sign. You always want to make a statement coming out of the locker room and I thought we did a really good job with that. We still have a lot to work on. I still think it was a good effort, but our execution is still not anywhere near where it needs to be. We need to obviously get the execution part with practice and just do things a lot better."
Barely over a minute later, Villanova responded with a four-play, 78-yard of its own to retake a two-score, 24-10 advantage. The Wildcats would go on to add touchdowns with 6:46 left in the third and 13:41 remaining in the fourth to take a 38-10 lead, which proved to be the final.
Late in the fourth quarter, new Lehigh quarterback, junior Addison Shoup, got the Mountain Hawks inches from the end zone. The 12-play, 88-yard drive ended with Shoup ruled just inches short of the goal line on a keeper.
For the game, the Wildcats held a 399-358 advantage in total yards, including 227-89 on the ground. Lehigh held a 269-172 edge through the air. The Mountain Hawks finished with a 35:47 to 24:13 edge in time of possession.
The Mountain Hawks continue their road swing next weekend with a visit to No. 4/5 UC Davis. It will be Lehigh's first game against the Aggies since the 1977 Division II semifinals and its first visit to California since 1998. Game time is set for 10 p.m. (ET) from Davis, Calif., with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 9 p.m.
EXTRA POINTS… Villanova won its eighth straight game in the series to take an 11-5 lead… four different Mountain Hawk runners carried the ball, including the first career carry for freshman Zaythan Hill… Lehigh finished minus-2 in turnover margin after finishing plus-2 with three takeaways last week against Saint Francis… junior Jaylen Floyd averaged 20.0 yards on four kickoff returns, including a 28-yarder…freshman Brendon Passarelli made his first career start at left guard, while sophomore Jack Fris made his first start at right tackle… Burbage and sophomore defensive lineman Michael Laurencelle also started for the first time… attendance for Villanova's home opener was 8,319.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Lehigh's offense took strides against a tough CAA defense as senior Devon Bibbens added seven catches for 59 yards, freshman Jalen Burbage tallied six receptions for 66 yards and sophomore Alex Snyder had three receptions for 43 yards. Sophomore Peter Lucas led the rushing attack with 33 yards on just six carries.
Junior Pete Haffner was all over the field defensively, posting a team and game-high 13 tackles, including a tackle for loss. Senior Keith Woetzel had seven tackles and a sack while junior Divine Buckrham finished with seven tackles as well.
"The first half, I think we made some of the same errors we did the previous game," head coach Tom Gilmore said on the Fox Sports Radio postgame show. "Our timing was off, we were trying to do things that we shouldn't be doing. It was taking us out of sync offensively and same thing defensively. There are certain things we're trying to do. If we just do it the way we're coached to do it, we would have been in better shape.
"We showed some signs on offense in the second half," Gilmore continued. "I was really encouraged and then they got after us and we couldn't move the ball again. Again, there's some encouraging signs, but still a lot to work on."
The first quarter saw five combined punts before Lehigh broke through early in the second on a drive that started late in the first. A methodical 12-play, 48-yard drive ended in a 32-yard field goal from senior Austin Henning, putting the Mountain Hawks up 3-0 only 10 seconds into the second quarter.
Villanova immediately answered with a six-play, 72-yard drive, capped off by a 31-yard pitch and catch, to take a 7-3 lead. The Wildcats added 10 more points before the second quarter was over, including an interception return for a touchdown to go up 17-3 with 4:39 on the first-half clock.
The Mountain Hawks wouldn't go away quietly, answering on the first drive of the second half. It took only four plays, all Monaco passes, to go 72 yards and find the end zone. Monaco connected with Portorreal for 22 yards on the second play, then after a seven-yard pass to Bibbens and a Lehigh false start penalty, Monaco found Portorreal again for 42 yards and the score. That pulled the Mountain Hawks within 17-10 with 12:46 left in the third quarter.
"There was definitely an improvement, even when the game was still on the line," Gilmore said. "We got the ball and drove down first drive of the second half. That's always a good sign. You always want to make a statement coming out of the locker room and I thought we did a really good job with that. We still have a lot to work on. I still think it was a good effort, but our execution is still not anywhere near where it needs to be. We need to obviously get the execution part with practice and just do things a lot better."
Barely over a minute later, Villanova responded with a four-play, 78-yard of its own to retake a two-score, 24-10 advantage. The Wildcats would go on to add touchdowns with 6:46 left in the third and 13:41 remaining in the fourth to take a 38-10 lead, which proved to be the final.
Late in the fourth quarter, new Lehigh quarterback, junior Addison Shoup, got the Mountain Hawks inches from the end zone. The 12-play, 88-yard drive ended with Shoup ruled just inches short of the goal line on a keeper.
For the game, the Wildcats held a 399-358 advantage in total yards, including 227-89 on the ground. Lehigh held a 269-172 edge through the air. The Mountain Hawks finished with a 35:47 to 24:13 edge in time of possession.
The Mountain Hawks continue their road swing next weekend with a visit to No. 4/5 UC Davis. It will be Lehigh's first game against the Aggies since the 1977 Division II semifinals and its first visit to California since 1998. Game time is set for 10 p.m. (ET) from Davis, Calif., with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320 beginning at 9 p.m.
EXTRA POINTS… Villanova won its eighth straight game in the series to take an 11-5 lead… four different Mountain Hawk runners carried the ball, including the first career carry for freshman Zaythan Hill… Lehigh finished minus-2 in turnover margin after finishing plus-2 with three takeaways last week against Saint Francis… junior Jaylen Floyd averaged 20.0 yards on four kickoff returns, including a 28-yarder…freshman Brendon Passarelli made his first career start at left guard, while sophomore Jack Fris made his first start at right tackle… Burbage and sophomore defensive lineman Michael Laurencelle also started for the first time… attendance for Villanova's home opener was 8,319.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
VU
Total Yards
358
399
Pass Yards
269
172
Rushing Yards
89
227
Penalty Yards
41
77
1st Downs
19
18
3rd Downs
5
5
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
35:47
24:13
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 3, VU 0
LEHIGH - Henning, Austin 32 yd field goal 12 plays, 48 yards, TOP 5:37
LEHIGH 3, VU 7
VU - Hayek, J. 31 yd pass from Smith, Daniel (Kresge, D. kick) 6 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:30
LEHIGH 3, VU 10
VU - Kresge, D. 33 yd field goal 10 plays, 47 yards, TOP 2:55
LEHIGH 3, VU 17
VU - Trent, E. 37 yd interception (Kresge, D. kick)
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 10, VU 17
LEHIGH - Portorreal, J. 42 yd pass from Monaco, Tyler (Henning, Austin kick) 4 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:14
LEHIGH 10, VU 24
VU - Covington, J. 16 yd run (Kresge, D. kick), 4 plays, 78 yards, TOP 1:10
LEHIGH 10, VU 31
VU - Summers, T. 13 yd pass from Smith, Daniel (Kresge, D. kick) 4 plays, 46 yards, TOP 1:52
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 10, VU 38
VU - Boykin, D. 12 yd pass from Smith, Daniel (Kresge, D. kick) 5 plays, 88 yards, TOP 1:53
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
23
TD
1
YDS
253
INT
1
CMP
2
TD
0
YDS
16
INT
0
Players Mentioned
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DB
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WR
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DB
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LB
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K/P
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RB
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DL
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RB
/ FootballQB
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OL
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WR
/ FootballQB
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TE
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LB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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