12 Rings, 12 Weeks: Player Buy-In Sparked Mountain Hawks to First of Back-to-Back Titles in 2010
10/28/2020 5:03:00 PM | Football, Support
With the cancellation of the fall 2020 football season, Lehigh Athletics is taking a look back at Lehigh football's 12 Patriot League championship teams with the 12 Rings, 12 Weeks series, presented by Lehigh Valley Health Network and Coordinated Health. Three of those championship teams are celebrating noteworthy anniversaries in 2020. We continue with a look back at the 2010 Patriot League champions, 10 years later.
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By Eli Fraerman '21
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OCTOBER 16, 2010: On a cool, blustery day in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with winds gusting from 30 to 45 mph, Lehigh's football team found themselves trudging into the locker room down 17-0 against Harvard at halftime.
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The offense didn't look good. The defense didn't look good. The team — which hadn't had a winning season since 2006 — didn't look good. At 3-2 coming into the game, Lehigh was hoping 2010 would be a turning point in the recent success of the program. Now, doubt was creeping in that it would be another lost season with talented players that couldn't put it all together.
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When head coach Andy Coen came in to deliver his halftime speech, he didn't scream, yell or scold his players. After seeing his teams falter for a few years, Coen was honest about the state of the program. His speech was heartfelt, authentic and ultimately — inspiring.Â
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"The coaches just left it on the players and essentially said, 'We don't know what else we can do here, if you guys aren't going to listen to us and adjust as we have told you to and prepared as we have tried to prepare you, then there's nothing we can do, and we're not going to have jobs here,'" said wide receiver Jake Drwal '12.Â
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Linebacker Mike Groome '12, said Coen communicated that regardless of the coaches' job security, the players would still be there, and it was up to them to determine the path of the season and the program.Â
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Drwal, Groome and several other players said Coen's halftime speech sparked a change in culture that carried through the entire season. While the intricacies of the speech have been forgotten by many 10 years later, the message has not.
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"That was absolutely the turning point in the season," said running back Jay Campbell '11. "Some guys remember very specific plays and very specific things, my memory is not that great, but that halftime and just that feeling after we came out, I will never forget that."
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Galvanized by Coen's message, Lehigh came out in the second half with a new energy and confidence. With three touchdown passes in the third quarter, the Mountain Hawks quickly erased their 17-point deficit and edged out a 21-19 victory. Other than taking an intentional safety late in an attempt to run out the clock, the Mountain Hawks held the Crimson scoreless in the second half.
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After being asleep and going through the motions in the first half, Campbell said a completely new team came out of the locker room. And that new team didn't look back. Lehigh subsequently went on to win its next six games, securing a Patriot League championship and beating Northern Iowa in the first round of the FCS playoffs.Â
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With an eight-game winning streak that started against Fordham on Sept. 25, Lehigh wouldn't lose again until Dec. 4, when they faced off against eventual national runner-up Delaware. Prior to that game, the Mountain Hawks held their final eight opponents of the season under 20 points. The success built in the 2010 season carried into 2011, where Lehigh won its second consecutive Patriot League championship, finishing 11-2.
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As the Mountain Hawks kept winning in 2010, their confidence kept growing, said quarterback Chris Lum '12. Lum said the defense, which was led by first team All-Patriot League linebackers Groome and Al Pierce '11, anchored the team, but said the talent of the offense and defense fed off of each other throughout the year.
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Groome and Pierce both had more limited roles in 2009 before exploding for 131 and 110 tackles, respectively, in 2010. Groome said people forget that if it weren't for an injury to all-league linebacker Troy Taylor '11, two days before the start of the season, he still would've been a second-stringer in 2010.
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"Two days before that game, (Troy Taylor) ended up tearing his ACL I think," Groome said. "I got thrown into the starting role two days before we were traveling to Drake. That was a big change for me, what I think it came down to as a whole defensive unit was playing against such a great offense in practice."
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Aside from Lum and Campbell, the offensive unit was led by then sophomore wide receiver Ryan Spadola and senior offensive lineman Will Rackley. Both three-time first team All-Patriot League selections, Spadola and Rackley are two of Lehigh football's all-time great players. Spadola went undrafted in 2013, but spent time in the league from 2013-2016, mainly as a practice squad player.Â
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Rackley, on the other hand, was drafted in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, starting 25 games from 2011-2014 for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens.Â
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Besides the star power on both sides of the ball, Lum said it was the seniors, who helped change the culture of the team, who deserve most recognition from that 2010 season.
Â
"(The seniors) had some rough seasons prior to that, they're the ones that can take the credit for that culture transformation," Lum said. "They deserve a lot of credit, the senior class that stuck it out—some players quit, some got injured, whatever, but they stuck it out and it paid off for them because they got a championship ring. A lot of credit needs to go to the senior leaders, the senior class."
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While Andy Coen took over as head coach in January prior to the 2006 season, the class of the 2011 was the first recruiting class that had been recruited entirely during his tenure. They, like Coen, endured some struggles from 2007-2009.
Â
Compiling records of 5-6, 5-6 and 4-7, during those previous three years, Pierce said there was a lot of talent on those teams but said they had trouble putting it all together and finishing games. In 2009 alone, Lehigh lost five games by a touchdown or less. That season, Pierce said, left a sour taste in the mouths of the senior class.
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Embodying a hard-working spirit and a will to improve every day, Campbell, said, the senior class helped push the team toward a Patriot League Championship.
Â
"There was something special about that team my senior year," Campbell said. "Everyone really truly rallied behind each other and was always trying to pick each other up, encouraging each other."
Â
More than anything, though, Rackley said, the 2010 team was able to break through and have the year they did because of diligent and grueling hard work prior to the season. He said the players had been working so hard they felt like they had to come away with a championship.
Â
In the summer prior to the 2010 season, Lehigh had significantly more players than usual stay in Bethlehem to train and develop together, Drwal said. While he said Lehigh had begun to change the culture in the spring, the relationships built in the summer helped set them up for success.Â
Â
"I think building that sort of camaraderie and cohesion really set tone for the season just in a different manner and obviously results kind of spoke for themselves," Drwal said.
Â
Drwal said there isn't as much disparity between talent-level in the FCS, but that Lehigh's ability to be intelligent, adaptable and gritty helped set the Mountain Hawks apart in that 2010 season. Those qualities were enhanced by the Mountain Hawks dedication in the spring and summer.
Â
"Prior to the summer, in our spring workouts, we started working out at like 5 a.m., which we had never done before," Drwal said. "It set the tone right away after the season, you could feel it. These coaches had like one more shot, one more season and then we had a group of people that were coming up to be juniors that just were sick of losing."
Â
While some may have felt that time was running out for Lehigh's coaches to deliver a successful season, Lehigh's offense received a spark with the return of Dave Cecchini as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator prior to the 2010 season.Â
Â
In just his first year back as offensive coordinator, Cecchini helped mold Lum into a first team All-Patriot League quarterback, and under his watch from 2010-2012, Spadola blossomed into a superstar.Â
Â
For the offense, Cecchini, who is now the head coach at Bucknell, represented a necessary shake-up.
Â
"It was a big change," Rackley said. "He's a hard-nosed coach. He's kind of like a military style coach. There's one way to do it, do it the right way, we're going to work on it, we're going to work hard. He expects our best. And I think he brought some great schemes to our offense that really complemented the players that were on the field. Him coming, he added a lot, he played a vital role at least to our offense."
Â
Campbell said the offense felt confident in the schemes Cecchini brought, and that Lum and Cecchini being on the same page was an important piece to getting the offense up and running.
Â
"He was a great coach," Lum said. "He came in during the offseason, the winter months. Very fortunate that we were able to work with him before the season even started. As soon as he came in, he set the tone, set the expectations. As for as the x's and o's he was great."
Â
With Coen leading the way, Cecchini sparking the offense and the stability that defensive coordinator Dave Kotulski provided, Lehigh, with a renewed sense of confidence, cruised to a Patriot League title. The Harvard win was the second of seven straight wins to secure a 9-2 regular season. Lehigh then went on the road to defeat Northern Iowa 14-7 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa in the first round of the NCAA playoffs..
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Campbell remembers what it was like to finally come away as a champion after those disappointing seasons following a 24 -7 win against Georgetown.
Â
"It was a huge kind of relief, but then a lot of excitement just thinking about what it meant," Campbell said. "Even during the week leading up to that game, I remember the running backs coach (R.J. Ryan) brought in his championship ring back from his playing days. Getting an understanding of like 'Wow, this is really something special, this will be in history forever, we'll always be the 2010 Patriot League champs.'"
Â
Campbell said although the championship was gratifying, the attention of the team immediately shifted to the Lafayette game the following week, where Lehigh pulled out a 20-13 victory that included a key goal line stand near the end of the game.
Â
Ultimately, after that win and the victory against Northern Iowa in the playoffs, Lum said Lehigh cemented itself as a top team in the country. That confidence of being able to beat anybody carried forward beyond 2010.
Â
"I think a lot of guys just bought into the program," Pierce said. "A lot of the guys that had been around for a while bought into the program, and just showing up in the offseason, everyone giving everything they had in a selfless fashion. And that kind of carried through to the younger guys."
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Â
By Eli Fraerman '21
Â
OCTOBER 16, 2010: On a cool, blustery day in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with winds gusting from 30 to 45 mph, Lehigh's football team found themselves trudging into the locker room down 17-0 against Harvard at halftime.
Â
The offense didn't look good. The defense didn't look good. The team — which hadn't had a winning season since 2006 — didn't look good. At 3-2 coming into the game, Lehigh was hoping 2010 would be a turning point in the recent success of the program. Now, doubt was creeping in that it would be another lost season with talented players that couldn't put it all together.
Â
When head coach Andy Coen came in to deliver his halftime speech, he didn't scream, yell or scold his players. After seeing his teams falter for a few years, Coen was honest about the state of the program. His speech was heartfelt, authentic and ultimately — inspiring.Â
Â
"The coaches just left it on the players and essentially said, 'We don't know what else we can do here, if you guys aren't going to listen to us and adjust as we have told you to and prepared as we have tried to prepare you, then there's nothing we can do, and we're not going to have jobs here,'" said wide receiver Jake Drwal '12.Â
Â
Linebacker Mike Groome '12, said Coen communicated that regardless of the coaches' job security, the players would still be there, and it was up to them to determine the path of the season and the program.Â
Â
Drwal, Groome and several other players said Coen's halftime speech sparked a change in culture that carried through the entire season. While the intricacies of the speech have been forgotten by many 10 years later, the message has not.
Â
"That was absolutely the turning point in the season," said running back Jay Campbell '11. "Some guys remember very specific plays and very specific things, my memory is not that great, but that halftime and just that feeling after we came out, I will never forget that."
Â
Galvanized by Coen's message, Lehigh came out in the second half with a new energy and confidence. With three touchdown passes in the third quarter, the Mountain Hawks quickly erased their 17-point deficit and edged out a 21-19 victory. Other than taking an intentional safety late in an attempt to run out the clock, the Mountain Hawks held the Crimson scoreless in the second half.
Â
After being asleep and going through the motions in the first half, Campbell said a completely new team came out of the locker room. And that new team didn't look back. Lehigh subsequently went on to win its next six games, securing a Patriot League championship and beating Northern Iowa in the first round of the FCS playoffs.Â
Â
With an eight-game winning streak that started against Fordham on Sept. 25, Lehigh wouldn't lose again until Dec. 4, when they faced off against eventual national runner-up Delaware. Prior to that game, the Mountain Hawks held their final eight opponents of the season under 20 points. The success built in the 2010 season carried into 2011, where Lehigh won its second consecutive Patriot League championship, finishing 11-2.
Â
As the Mountain Hawks kept winning in 2010, their confidence kept growing, said quarterback Chris Lum '12. Lum said the defense, which was led by first team All-Patriot League linebackers Groome and Al Pierce '11, anchored the team, but said the talent of the offense and defense fed off of each other throughout the year.
Â
Groome and Pierce both had more limited roles in 2009 before exploding for 131 and 110 tackles, respectively, in 2010. Groome said people forget that if it weren't for an injury to all-league linebacker Troy Taylor '11, two days before the start of the season, he still would've been a second-stringer in 2010.
Â
"Two days before that game, (Troy Taylor) ended up tearing his ACL I think," Groome said. "I got thrown into the starting role two days before we were traveling to Drake. That was a big change for me, what I think it came down to as a whole defensive unit was playing against such a great offense in practice."
Â
Aside from Lum and Campbell, the offensive unit was led by then sophomore wide receiver Ryan Spadola and senior offensive lineman Will Rackley. Both three-time first team All-Patriot League selections, Spadola and Rackley are two of Lehigh football's all-time great players. Spadola went undrafted in 2013, but spent time in the league from 2013-2016, mainly as a practice squad player.Â
Â
Rackley, on the other hand, was drafted in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, starting 25 games from 2011-2014 for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens.Â
Â
Besides the star power on both sides of the ball, Lum said it was the seniors, who helped change the culture of the team, who deserve most recognition from that 2010 season.
Â
"(The seniors) had some rough seasons prior to that, they're the ones that can take the credit for that culture transformation," Lum said. "They deserve a lot of credit, the senior class that stuck it out—some players quit, some got injured, whatever, but they stuck it out and it paid off for them because they got a championship ring. A lot of credit needs to go to the senior leaders, the senior class."
Â
While Andy Coen took over as head coach in January prior to the 2006 season, the class of the 2011 was the first recruiting class that had been recruited entirely during his tenure. They, like Coen, endured some struggles from 2007-2009.
Â
Compiling records of 5-6, 5-6 and 4-7, during those previous three years, Pierce said there was a lot of talent on those teams but said they had trouble putting it all together and finishing games. In 2009 alone, Lehigh lost five games by a touchdown or less. That season, Pierce said, left a sour taste in the mouths of the senior class.
Â
Embodying a hard-working spirit and a will to improve every day, Campbell, said, the senior class helped push the team toward a Patriot League Championship.
Â
"There was something special about that team my senior year," Campbell said. "Everyone really truly rallied behind each other and was always trying to pick each other up, encouraging each other."
Â
More than anything, though, Rackley said, the 2010 team was able to break through and have the year they did because of diligent and grueling hard work prior to the season. He said the players had been working so hard they felt like they had to come away with a championship.
Â
In the summer prior to the 2010 season, Lehigh had significantly more players than usual stay in Bethlehem to train and develop together, Drwal said. While he said Lehigh had begun to change the culture in the spring, the relationships built in the summer helped set them up for success.Â
Â
"I think building that sort of camaraderie and cohesion really set tone for the season just in a different manner and obviously results kind of spoke for themselves," Drwal said.
Â
Drwal said there isn't as much disparity between talent-level in the FCS, but that Lehigh's ability to be intelligent, adaptable and gritty helped set the Mountain Hawks apart in that 2010 season. Those qualities were enhanced by the Mountain Hawks dedication in the spring and summer.
Â
"Prior to the summer, in our spring workouts, we started working out at like 5 a.m., which we had never done before," Drwal said. "It set the tone right away after the season, you could feel it. These coaches had like one more shot, one more season and then we had a group of people that were coming up to be juniors that just were sick of losing."
Â
While some may have felt that time was running out for Lehigh's coaches to deliver a successful season, Lehigh's offense received a spark with the return of Dave Cecchini as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator prior to the 2010 season.Â
Â
In just his first year back as offensive coordinator, Cecchini helped mold Lum into a first team All-Patriot League quarterback, and under his watch from 2010-2012, Spadola blossomed into a superstar.Â
Â
For the offense, Cecchini, who is now the head coach at Bucknell, represented a necessary shake-up.
Â
"It was a big change," Rackley said. "He's a hard-nosed coach. He's kind of like a military style coach. There's one way to do it, do it the right way, we're going to work on it, we're going to work hard. He expects our best. And I think he brought some great schemes to our offense that really complemented the players that were on the field. Him coming, he added a lot, he played a vital role at least to our offense."
Â
Campbell said the offense felt confident in the schemes Cecchini brought, and that Lum and Cecchini being on the same page was an important piece to getting the offense up and running.
Â
"He was a great coach," Lum said. "He came in during the offseason, the winter months. Very fortunate that we were able to work with him before the season even started. As soon as he came in, he set the tone, set the expectations. As for as the x's and o's he was great."
Â
With Coen leading the way, Cecchini sparking the offense and the stability that defensive coordinator Dave Kotulski provided, Lehigh, with a renewed sense of confidence, cruised to a Patriot League title. The Harvard win was the second of seven straight wins to secure a 9-2 regular season. Lehigh then went on the road to defeat Northern Iowa 14-7 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa in the first round of the NCAA playoffs..
Â
Campbell remembers what it was like to finally come away as a champion after those disappointing seasons following a 24 -7 win against Georgetown.
Â
"It was a huge kind of relief, but then a lot of excitement just thinking about what it meant," Campbell said. "Even during the week leading up to that game, I remember the running backs coach (R.J. Ryan) brought in his championship ring back from his playing days. Getting an understanding of like 'Wow, this is really something special, this will be in history forever, we'll always be the 2010 Patriot League champs.'"
Â
Campbell said although the championship was gratifying, the attention of the team immediately shifted to the Lafayette game the following week, where Lehigh pulled out a 20-13 victory that included a key goal line stand near the end of the game.
Â
Ultimately, after that win and the victory against Northern Iowa in the playoffs, Lum said Lehigh cemented itself as a top team in the country. That confidence of being able to beat anybody carried forward beyond 2010.
Â
"I think a lot of guys just bought into the program," Pierce said. "A lot of the guys that had been around for a while bought into the program, and just showing up in the offseason, everyone giving everything they had in a selfless fashion. And that kind of carried through to the younger guys."
Â
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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