Saturday, September 11
Richmond, Va.
2:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-2
3
at
31
Richmond
2-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lehigh
3
0
0
0
3
Richmond
0
28
3
0
31
Photo by: Josh Liddick
Second Quarter Run Pushes No. 22/25 Richmond Past Lehigh
9/11/2021 6:02:00 PM | Football
RICHMOND, Va. – A 28-point second quarter proved to be the difference as the Lehigh football team fell 31-3 to No. 22/25 Richmond Saturday at Robins Stadium. The Mountain Hawks led 3-0 after one quarter but Richmond capitalized on several short fields and Lehigh miscues to take control of the game. Lehigh's defense held Richmond to just a third quarter field goal but the Mountain Hawks were held to three points offensively for the second consecutive week.
Richmond's Aaron Dykes accounted for 107 all purpose yards and scored two touchdowns, while quarterback Joe Mancuso threw for 131 yards and a pair of second quarter touchdowns.
"We got a few things straightened out, but there's a few things on each side of the ball that we need to improve quite a bit," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "We saw some improvement in some areas in that first half, but we broke down in the second quarter. We gave up a lot of big plays. We turned the ball over. We're not consistently moving the ball and putting ourselves in a scoring position."
Lehigh (0-2) was out-gained 390-224, but the Mountain Hawks only allowed 100 yards and three points after halftime. The Mountain Hawks rushed for 158 yards after being limited to -12 against Villanova last week.
Senior Alec Beesmer took over at quarterback late in the second quarter and led the Mountain Hawks with 65 rushing yards on 10 carries. He also completed 4-of-10 passes for 28 yards. Junior Cross Wilkinson started 4-for-4 but finished 6-for-12 for 38 yards. Both Lehigh quarterbacks threw one interception.
Freshman Gaige Garcia led Lehigh's running backs with 43 yards on six carries. Junior Zaythan Hill added 41 on nine attempts and senior RaShawn Allen rushed seven times for 16 yards.
"I said at the very beginning of the season in the preseason that I think we have a really good backfield," Gilmore said. "Our running backs are going to be great players and we're very deep in that position. We have to block it up and we have to set up situations better in order to spring them, and I thought we did that in the second half.
"Richmond had to make some adjustments to some of the RPO things that we were doing," he continued. "That opened up some running lanes, but we just couldn't block it up. We were able to get some small gains, but they should have been bigger gains. We just need to finish those blocks, finish plays a little bit better when we're opening that up with the RPO game. I think that, and just having an established run game is going to help us moving forward."
The Mountain Hawks caught the game's first break as Richmond fumbled on a Mancuso option pitch attempt and sophomore Christian Jablonski pounced on the ball at the Richmond 30 yard line.
Richmond (2-0) answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive and took the lead on a Mancuso seven yard scoring pass to Dykes.
The Spiders' next three drives in the half all started in Lehigh territory as a result of two short punts and an interception. Savon Smith scored on a two-yard run for Richmond and then Dykes scored on a two-yarder of his own. A four yard pass from Mancuso to Leroy Henley put the Spiders up 28-3 at halftime.
"On defense, we need to tackle better, we need to play our assignments better and we need to play situational football much better," Gilmore said. "We gave up a lot of third downs where we had them in a good position and we allowed them to convert. On offense, we've got to take care of the football, we've got to rush the ball much better and then we've got to string those drives along, making critical plays when we need them in those third-down situations. Like I said about the defense, we need to make those plays on offense."
Lehigh held Richmond to a 35 yard field goal on the Spiders' first drive of the second half but the Mountain Hawks tightened from there on.
Gallery: (9-11-2021) Football at Richmond, 9/11/21
Sophomore Liam McIntyre paced the defense with nine tackles and a tackles for loss, while freshman Logan Jones and sophomore LaTreil Wimberly each had eight stops. Senior Nate Norris had six tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to face the Princeton Tigers as part of Family Weekend, presented by PSECU. Game time is set for noon. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
EXTRA POINTS… Richmond's victory evened the all-time series at 1-1… the Spiders rushed for 238 yards and passed for 260… Lehigh quarterbacks connected with eight different receivers… junior Johnny Foley led the way with two catches for 19 yards… junior defensive lineman Dean Colton and freshman defensive backs Logan Jones and DJ Lawrence made their first career starts… Lehigh was -1 in turnover margin… the Mountain Hawks were 3-of-11 on third downs, while Richmond converted 10-of-16… Saturday's attendance in Richmond was 6,003.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Richmond's Aaron Dykes accounted for 107 all purpose yards and scored two touchdowns, while quarterback Joe Mancuso threw for 131 yards and a pair of second quarter touchdowns.
"We got a few things straightened out, but there's a few things on each side of the ball that we need to improve quite a bit," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "We saw some improvement in some areas in that first half, but we broke down in the second quarter. We gave up a lot of big plays. We turned the ball over. We're not consistently moving the ball and putting ourselves in a scoring position."
Lehigh (0-2) was out-gained 390-224, but the Mountain Hawks only allowed 100 yards and three points after halftime. The Mountain Hawks rushed for 158 yards after being limited to -12 against Villanova last week.
Senior Alec Beesmer took over at quarterback late in the second quarter and led the Mountain Hawks with 65 rushing yards on 10 carries. He also completed 4-of-10 passes for 28 yards. Junior Cross Wilkinson started 4-for-4 but finished 6-for-12 for 38 yards. Both Lehigh quarterbacks threw one interception.
Freshman Gaige Garcia led Lehigh's running backs with 43 yards on six carries. Junior Zaythan Hill added 41 on nine attempts and senior RaShawn Allen rushed seven times for 16 yards.
"I said at the very beginning of the season in the preseason that I think we have a really good backfield," Gilmore said. "Our running backs are going to be great players and we're very deep in that position. We have to block it up and we have to set up situations better in order to spring them, and I thought we did that in the second half.
"Richmond had to make some adjustments to some of the RPO things that we were doing," he continued. "That opened up some running lanes, but we just couldn't block it up. We were able to get some small gains, but they should have been bigger gains. We just need to finish those blocks, finish plays a little bit better when we're opening that up with the RPO game. I think that, and just having an established run game is going to help us moving forward."
The Mountain Hawks caught the game's first break as Richmond fumbled on a Mancuso option pitch attempt and sophomore Christian Jablonski pounced on the ball at the Richmond 30 yard line.
Richmond (2-0) answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive and took the lead on a Mancuso seven yard scoring pass to Dykes.
The Spiders' next three drives in the half all started in Lehigh territory as a result of two short punts and an interception. Savon Smith scored on a two-yard run for Richmond and then Dykes scored on a two-yarder of his own. A four yard pass from Mancuso to Leroy Henley put the Spiders up 28-3 at halftime.
"On defense, we need to tackle better, we need to play our assignments better and we need to play situational football much better," Gilmore said. "We gave up a lot of third downs where we had them in a good position and we allowed them to convert. On offense, we've got to take care of the football, we've got to rush the ball much better and then we've got to string those drives along, making critical plays when we need them in those third-down situations. Like I said about the defense, we need to make those plays on offense."
Lehigh held Richmond to a 35 yard field goal on the Spiders' first drive of the second half but the Mountain Hawks tightened from there on.
Sophomore Liam McIntyre paced the defense with nine tackles and a tackles for loss, while freshman Logan Jones and sophomore LaTreil Wimberly each had eight stops. Senior Nate Norris had six tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to face the Princeton Tigers as part of Family Weekend, presented by PSECU. Game time is set for noon. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
EXTRA POINTS… Richmond's victory evened the all-time series at 1-1… the Spiders rushed for 238 yards and passed for 260… Lehigh quarterbacks connected with eight different receivers… junior Johnny Foley led the way with two catches for 19 yards… junior defensive lineman Dean Colton and freshman defensive backs Logan Jones and DJ Lawrence made their first career starts… Lehigh was -1 in turnover margin… the Mountain Hawks were 3-of-11 on third downs, while Richmond converted 10-of-16… Saturday's attendance in Richmond was 6,003.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
LEHIGH
UR
Total Yards
224
358
Pass Yards
66
152
Rushing Yards
158
206
Penalty Yards
23
35
1st Downs
15
17
3rd Downs
2
10
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
26:47
33:13
1st Quarter
LEHIGH 3, UR 0
LEHIGH - Van Dusen, D. 42 yd field goal 4 plays, 13 yards, TOP 0:51
2nd Quarter
LEHIGH 3, UR 7
UR - Aaron Dykes 7 yd pass from Joe Mancuso (Jake Larson kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:36
LEHIGH 3, UR 14
UR - Savon Smith 2 yd run (Jake Larson kick), 7 plays, 45 yards, TOP 4:02
LEHIGH 3, UR 21
UR - Aaron Dykes 2 yd run (Jake Larson kick), 6 plays, 43 yards, TOP 3:02
LEHIGH 3, UR 28
UR - Leroy Henley 4 yd pass from Joe Mancuso (Jake Larson kick) 4 plays, 19 yards, TOP 2:04
3rd Quarter
LEHIGH 3, UR 31
UR - Jake Larson 35 yd field goal 10 plays, 62 yards, TOP 3:21
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
6
TD
0
YDS
38
INT
1
CMP
4
TD
0
YDS
28
INT
1
Players Mentioned
RB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
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DL
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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