Saturday, March 13
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-1 , 0-1
3
vs
20
Holy Cross
1-0 , 1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Holy Cross
7
10
3
0
20
Lehigh
3
0
0
0
3
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Defense Creates Opportunities But Mountain Hawks Drop Spring 2021 Opener To Holy Cross
3/13/2021 4:37:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Playing in its first game in 476 days the Lehigh football team dropped the opener of its 2021 spring campaign 20-3 to Holy Cross Saturday at Goodman Stadium. The game had a level of sloppiness that would be expected from two teams that haven't played since November 2019 as the Mountain Hawks and Crusaders combined for six turnovers and just 348 yards of total offense.
Ultimately, three Lehigh turnovers led to 17 Holy Cross points, while the Mountain Hawks only scored three points off of their three takeaways.
Lehigh's defense picked up where it left off last year, allowing just 209 total yards while racking up three sacks and three takeaways.
"Everyone associated with the program was excited to play after such a long layoff," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "It was really great to be out there on a beautiful day for football.
"Even with the circumstances we've been dealing with, I really felt like we could've played a lot better in all three phases," Gilmore continued. "Some of our mistakes were youth-type mistakes. Some of them were a result of some things we haven't been able to do in practice. Hopefully this experience gives us some experience going into next week."
The Mountain Hawk defense forced turnovers on Holy Cross' first two possessions of the game but Lehigh could only muster three points from two possessions that started in Crusader territory.
On the fourth play from scrimmage, sophomore Jack Bush dislodged the ball from Holy Cross' Byron Shipman, with senior Pete Haffner recovering at the Crusader 43 yard line.
Sophomore transfer Cross Wilkinson started at quarterback and completed his first Lehigh pass attempt for 28 yards to freshman Eric Johnson, but the drive stalled inside the Holy Cross 10 yard line. A mishandled snap on the field goal attempt led to a missed opportunity for the Mountain Hawks.
Two plays after the missed field goal sophomore TyGee Leach stepped in front of a Connor Degenhardt pass for his first career interception and returned the ball to the Holy Cross six yard line. Lehigh couldn't get into the end zone but sophomore Dylan Van Dusen kicked a 20-yard field goal to give Lehigh the early 3-0 lead.
Lehigh's first turnover of the day came deep in its own territory as Wilkinson fumbled after a sack with Jacob Dobbs recovering at the Mountain Hawks' six. Three plays later, Degenhardt's pass towards the end zone was tipped but caught at the goal line by Dean Nagle with the four-yard scoring pass giving the Crusaders a 7-3 lead.
The Mountain Hawks' next drive ended in a John Smith interception. Holy Cross capitalized on the short field and moved 33 yards in eight plays and taking a 14-3 lead with 12:37 left before halftime.
The only scoring the rest of the way came from Holy Cross kicker Derek Ng, who booted a 42 yard field goal in the second quarter, which gave the Crusaders a 17-3 lead at halftime, and a Goodman Stadium-record 51 yarder in the third quarter to account for the final margin.
Lehigh's defense held the Crusaders to just 91 yards passing and 118 on the ground. Leach led the defensive effort with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Haffner added eight tackles, including three for loss, and a sack.
"Defensively, we did a lot of good things," Gilmore said. "We were really close to playing a really exceptional game. I hope we can close those loops and make sure that we're not giving up some of those plays next week and in the future."
The Mountain Hawks struggled to get their offense going as Lehigh rushed for just 24 yards and gained just 113 through the air. Wilkinson finished 8-for-13 for 56 yards and was sacked twice. Senior Addison Shoup came in and completed a 46-yard pass to sophomore Johnny Foley for Lehigh's longest play of the day. Foley finished with two catches for 52 yards, while Johnson added three grabs for 44 yards.
Gallery: (3-13-2021) Football vs. Holy Cross, 3/13/21
Junior Rashawn Allen was the top rusher with 29 yards on 16 carries. Sophomore Zaythan Hill carried 10 times for 14 yards.
Degenhardt finished 14-of-24 for 91 yards and two touchdowns for Holy Cross and added 28 yards on 12 rushes. Jonathan Abrams rushed eight times for 62 yards for the Crusaders.
The Mountain Hawks will travel to Colgate next Saturday to face the Raiders. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. from Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown.
EXTRA POINTS… Holy Cross has now won three straight games in the series after Lehigh had won seven of the previous eight… 12 Lehigh players made their first career starts, including freshmen Justin Watson, Eric Johnson, Christian Jablonski and LaTreil Wimberly… in all 16 of the 30 freshmen on the roster saw action… freshman Mike DeNucci recorded a sack while classmate Trevor Harris had two tackles for loss… Lehigh finished with nine tackles for loss as a team… sophomore Nigel Summerville saw his first career action at quarterback in the fourth quarter.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Ultimately, three Lehigh turnovers led to 17 Holy Cross points, while the Mountain Hawks only scored three points off of their three takeaways.
Lehigh's defense picked up where it left off last year, allowing just 209 total yards while racking up three sacks and three takeaways.
"Everyone associated with the program was excited to play after such a long layoff," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "It was really great to be out there on a beautiful day for football.
"Even with the circumstances we've been dealing with, I really felt like we could've played a lot better in all three phases," Gilmore continued. "Some of our mistakes were youth-type mistakes. Some of them were a result of some things we haven't been able to do in practice. Hopefully this experience gives us some experience going into next week."
The Mountain Hawk defense forced turnovers on Holy Cross' first two possessions of the game but Lehigh could only muster three points from two possessions that started in Crusader territory.
On the fourth play from scrimmage, sophomore Jack Bush dislodged the ball from Holy Cross' Byron Shipman, with senior Pete Haffner recovering at the Crusader 43 yard line.
Sophomore transfer Cross Wilkinson started at quarterback and completed his first Lehigh pass attempt for 28 yards to freshman Eric Johnson, but the drive stalled inside the Holy Cross 10 yard line. A mishandled snap on the field goal attempt led to a missed opportunity for the Mountain Hawks.
Two plays after the missed field goal sophomore TyGee Leach stepped in front of a Connor Degenhardt pass for his first career interception and returned the ball to the Holy Cross six yard line. Lehigh couldn't get into the end zone but sophomore Dylan Van Dusen kicked a 20-yard field goal to give Lehigh the early 3-0 lead.
Lehigh's first turnover of the day came deep in its own territory as Wilkinson fumbled after a sack with Jacob Dobbs recovering at the Mountain Hawks' six. Three plays later, Degenhardt's pass towards the end zone was tipped but caught at the goal line by Dean Nagle with the four-yard scoring pass giving the Crusaders a 7-3 lead.
The Mountain Hawks' next drive ended in a John Smith interception. Holy Cross capitalized on the short field and moved 33 yards in eight plays and taking a 14-3 lead with 12:37 left before halftime.
The only scoring the rest of the way came from Holy Cross kicker Derek Ng, who booted a 42 yard field goal in the second quarter, which gave the Crusaders a 17-3 lead at halftime, and a Goodman Stadium-record 51 yarder in the third quarter to account for the final margin.
Lehigh's defense held the Crusaders to just 91 yards passing and 118 on the ground. Leach led the defensive effort with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Haffner added eight tackles, including three for loss, and a sack.
"Defensively, we did a lot of good things," Gilmore said. "We were really close to playing a really exceptional game. I hope we can close those loops and make sure that we're not giving up some of those plays next week and in the future."
The Mountain Hawks struggled to get their offense going as Lehigh rushed for just 24 yards and gained just 113 through the air. Wilkinson finished 8-for-13 for 56 yards and was sacked twice. Senior Addison Shoup came in and completed a 46-yard pass to sophomore Johnny Foley for Lehigh's longest play of the day. Foley finished with two catches for 52 yards, while Johnson added three grabs for 44 yards.
Junior Rashawn Allen was the top rusher with 29 yards on 16 carries. Sophomore Zaythan Hill carried 10 times for 14 yards.
Degenhardt finished 14-of-24 for 91 yards and two touchdowns for Holy Cross and added 28 yards on 12 rushes. Jonathan Abrams rushed eight times for 62 yards for the Crusaders.
The Mountain Hawks will travel to Colgate next Saturday to face the Raiders. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. from Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with audio coverage on Fox Sports Radio 1230/1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown.
EXTRA POINTS… Holy Cross has now won three straight games in the series after Lehigh had won seven of the previous eight… 12 Lehigh players made their first career starts, including freshmen Justin Watson, Eric Johnson, Christian Jablonski and LaTreil Wimberly… in all 16 of the 30 freshmen on the roster saw action… freshman Mike DeNucci recorded a sack while classmate Trevor Harris had two tackles for loss… Lehigh finished with nine tackles for loss as a team… sophomore Nigel Summerville saw his first career action at quarterback in the fourth quarter.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
HC
LEHIGH
Total Yards
209
137
Pass Yards
91
113
Rushing Yards
118
24
Penalty Yards
51
20
1st Downs
14
8
3rd Downs
7
6
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
32:07
27:53
1st Quarter
HC 0, LEHIGH 3
LEHIGH - Van Dusen, D. 20 yd field goal 4 plays, 3 yards, TOP 1:55
HC 7, LEHIGH 3
HC - Nagle, Dean 4 yd pass from Degenhardt, Con (Ng, Derek kick) 3 plays, 6 yards, TOP 0:47
2nd Quarter
HC 14, LEHIGH 3
HC - Asante, Ayir 14 yd pass from Degenhardt, Con (Ng, Derek kick) 8 plays, 33 yards, TOP 3:40
HC 17, LEHIGH 3
HC - Ng, Derek 42 yd field goal 11 plays, 41 yards, TOP 6:10
3rd Quarter
HC 20, LEHIGH 3
HC - Ng, Derek 51 yd field goal 4 plays, 3 yards, TOP 1:44
Game Leaders
CMP
8
TD
0
YDS
56
INT
1
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
46
INT
0
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
11
INT
0
Players Mentioned
RB
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LB
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WR
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LB
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DL
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RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
OL
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DB
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