Saturday, October 9
Philadelphia, Pa.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-6 , 0-1
0
at
20
Penn
2-2 , 0-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
0
0
0
0
0
Penn
0
0
3
17
20
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Penn Pulls Away From Lehigh Late In Defensive Battle
10/9/2021 5:24:00 PM | Football
PHILADELPHIA – Lehigh and Penn engaged in a scoreless defensive battle for two and a half quarters Saturday, but the Quakers kicked a field goal in the third quarter and added 17 points late to claim a 20-0 victory over the Mountain Hawks Saturday at Franklin Field.
The Mountain Hawks defense limited Penn to just 232 yards and three points through three quarters but the unit spent more than 37 minutes on the field, allowing the Quakers to pull away late.
The loss drops Lehigh to 0-6 on the season, while Penn improves to 2-2.
"Any time you lose a game, it's a disappointing outcome, but today it was one of those cases where we came out with a lot of energy, a lot of spirit and our guys played extremely hard," said Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore. "It was really difficult to see how the game unfolded at the end. I thought we played outstanding for the most part on defense until the fourth quarter where we missed some tackles that resulted in some big plays for Penn. The final score wasn't indicative of how the game was going for the most part.
Offensively, Lehigh was limited to 119 yards. The Mountain Hawks had a golden scoring opportunity in the second quarter but turned the ball over in the red zone.
Lehigh's defensive effort was led by senior Nate Norris, who made 13 tackles and sophomore Spencer Roof, who added 11. Sophomore Trevor Harris had two tackles for loss and a sack to go with six tackles, while junior Mikhari Sibblis added a sack and a fumble recovery.
The Mountain Hawks went 3-and-out on their first possession of the game, but the defense came up with a big play on Penn's first play of the day. Freshman Logan Jones forced a fumble on Penn's Isaiah Malcome with a big hit and Sibblis recovered at the Penn 39. The Mountain Hawks were unable to capitalize.
Lehigh's best drive of the day was its first drive of the second quarter. Sophomore Dante Perri connected with freshman Dajuan Fields on a 50 yard catch and run to move the ball into Penn territory. Perri then scrambled 14 yards to give Lehigh a first and goal at the Penn 10, but on the next play, Lehigh fumbled a handoff with Penn recovering.
"Offensively, we had some opportunities and we unfortunately didn't capitalize on them," Gilmore said. "We did have a quarterback go down in the first quarter and Dante (Perri) was back in the lineup after a week and a half, so he was able to come in and take the reins. I thought we were able to do some good things at times, but we need to be able to string together more big plays to get the ball into the end zone."
Penn put together a 14-play, 54-yard drive late in the half, but Daniel Karrash hit the right upright on a 32 yard field goal attempt and the game went into halftime scoreless.
The Quakers finally broke through on their second drive of the third quarter. Penn march 33 yards in 11 plays with Karrash converting a field goal from 39 yards to give the Quakers a 3-0 lead.
Lehigh struggled to get its offense going in the second half, with just one first down on its first four drives of the first half.
Penn opened the final quarter with a 12 play drive and extended its lead on a 40 yard Karrash field goal. Trey Flowers delivered the first touchdown of the game on a six yard rush with 4:32 to play. The Quakers added a 40 yard touchdown run from Malcome with 2:13 left.
Junior Nigel Summerville started at quarterback for Lehigh but left with an injury after Lehigh's first drive of the game. Perri was 7-of-27 for 118 yards and an interception. Fields caught four passes for 69 yards and added one rush for four yards. Lehigh was held to -3 rushing yards, largely in part to 25 yards lost on four Penn sacks.
Gallery: (10-9-2021) Football at Penn, 10/9/21
"There's been some challenging things this year, without a doubt," said Gilmore. "But I always felt like we were moving in the right direction and I still do. To have your quarterback get knocked out in the beginning of the game like that, you never expect it. But it always needs to be next man up. It's the nature of the game and it's not something we want to use as an excuse, but this year we have been challenged more than most."
Penn gained 404 yards, including 366 on the ground. Malcome finished with 201 yards on 21 carries, while Flowers added 115 on 22 rushes.
"The effort and the enthusiasm was there," Gilmore said. "I think the positive changes we were able to make this week in practice showed up on the field. That's why the game was so close until the very end.
"I do think we are moving in the right direction and the guys are sticking together and starting to believe even more that we can get this done. Each week we see ourselves doing some different things just a little bit better than the week before and it's just a matter of putting it all together in one week."
The Mountain Hawks have their bye next week and will return to action at Fordham on Oct. 23. Game time is set for 1 p.m. from the Bronx, N.Y. with video coverage on ESPN+ and audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh's current 13-game losing streak is its longest in program history… the Mountain Hawks were shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since the final two games of the 1966 season (vs. Bucknell, at Lafayette)… Lehigh was 2-for-14 on third downs and 0-for-3 on fourth downs… Penn was 5-for-14 on third downs and converted its only fourth down attempt… Perri's 50 yard pass to Fields was Lehigh's longest play from scrimmage this season.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
The Mountain Hawks defense limited Penn to just 232 yards and three points through three quarters but the unit spent more than 37 minutes on the field, allowing the Quakers to pull away late.
The loss drops Lehigh to 0-6 on the season, while Penn improves to 2-2.
"Any time you lose a game, it's a disappointing outcome, but today it was one of those cases where we came out with a lot of energy, a lot of spirit and our guys played extremely hard," said Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore. "It was really difficult to see how the game unfolded at the end. I thought we played outstanding for the most part on defense until the fourth quarter where we missed some tackles that resulted in some big plays for Penn. The final score wasn't indicative of how the game was going for the most part.
Offensively, Lehigh was limited to 119 yards. The Mountain Hawks had a golden scoring opportunity in the second quarter but turned the ball over in the red zone.
Lehigh's defensive effort was led by senior Nate Norris, who made 13 tackles and sophomore Spencer Roof, who added 11. Sophomore Trevor Harris had two tackles for loss and a sack to go with six tackles, while junior Mikhari Sibblis added a sack and a fumble recovery.
The Mountain Hawks went 3-and-out on their first possession of the game, but the defense came up with a big play on Penn's first play of the day. Freshman Logan Jones forced a fumble on Penn's Isaiah Malcome with a big hit and Sibblis recovered at the Penn 39. The Mountain Hawks were unable to capitalize.
Lehigh's best drive of the day was its first drive of the second quarter. Sophomore Dante Perri connected with freshman Dajuan Fields on a 50 yard catch and run to move the ball into Penn territory. Perri then scrambled 14 yards to give Lehigh a first and goal at the Penn 10, but on the next play, Lehigh fumbled a handoff with Penn recovering.
"Offensively, we had some opportunities and we unfortunately didn't capitalize on them," Gilmore said. "We did have a quarterback go down in the first quarter and Dante (Perri) was back in the lineup after a week and a half, so he was able to come in and take the reins. I thought we were able to do some good things at times, but we need to be able to string together more big plays to get the ball into the end zone."
Penn put together a 14-play, 54-yard drive late in the half, but Daniel Karrash hit the right upright on a 32 yard field goal attempt and the game went into halftime scoreless.
The Quakers finally broke through on their second drive of the third quarter. Penn march 33 yards in 11 plays with Karrash converting a field goal from 39 yards to give the Quakers a 3-0 lead.
Lehigh struggled to get its offense going in the second half, with just one first down on its first four drives of the first half.
Penn opened the final quarter with a 12 play drive and extended its lead on a 40 yard Karrash field goal. Trey Flowers delivered the first touchdown of the game on a six yard rush with 4:32 to play. The Quakers added a 40 yard touchdown run from Malcome with 2:13 left.
Junior Nigel Summerville started at quarterback for Lehigh but left with an injury after Lehigh's first drive of the game. Perri was 7-of-27 for 118 yards and an interception. Fields caught four passes for 69 yards and added one rush for four yards. Lehigh was held to -3 rushing yards, largely in part to 25 yards lost on four Penn sacks.
"There's been some challenging things this year, without a doubt," said Gilmore. "But I always felt like we were moving in the right direction and I still do. To have your quarterback get knocked out in the beginning of the game like that, you never expect it. But it always needs to be next man up. It's the nature of the game and it's not something we want to use as an excuse, but this year we have been challenged more than most."
Penn gained 404 yards, including 366 on the ground. Malcome finished with 201 yards on 21 carries, while Flowers added 115 on 22 rushes.
"The effort and the enthusiasm was there," Gilmore said. "I think the positive changes we were able to make this week in practice showed up on the field. That's why the game was so close until the very end.
"I do think we are moving in the right direction and the guys are sticking together and starting to believe even more that we can get this done. Each week we see ourselves doing some different things just a little bit better than the week before and it's just a matter of putting it all together in one week."
The Mountain Hawks have their bye next week and will return to action at Fordham on Oct. 23. Game time is set for 1 p.m. from the Bronx, N.Y. with video coverage on ESPN+ and audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh's current 13-game losing streak is its longest in program history… the Mountain Hawks were shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since the final two games of the 1966 season (vs. Bucknell, at Lafayette)… Lehigh was 2-for-14 on third downs and 0-for-3 on fourth downs… Penn was 5-for-14 on third downs and converted its only fourth down attempt… Perri's 50 yard pass to Fields was Lehigh's longest play from scrimmage this season.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
PENN
Total Yards
119
404
Pass Yards
122
76
Rushing Yards
-3
328
Penalty Yards
39
94
1st Downs
8
21
3rd Downs
2
5
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
23:02
36:58
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 0, PENN 3
PENN - Karrash,Daniel 39 yd field goal plays, yards, TOP
4th Quarter
LEHIGH 0, PENN 6
PENN - Karrash,Daniel 40 yd field goal plays, yards, TOP
LEHIGH 0, PENN 13
PENN - Flowers,Trey 6 yd run (Karrash,Daniel kick), plays, yards, TOP
LEHIGH 0, PENN 20
PENN - Malcome,Isaiah 40 yd run (Karrash,Daniel kick), plays, yards, TOP
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
7
TD
0
YDS
118
INT
1
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
4
INT
0
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DL
/ FootballQB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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