Saturday, September 18
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
0-3
0
vs
32
Princeton
1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Princeton
13
3
16
0
32
Lehigh
0
0
0
0
0
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks Drop Family Weekend Tilt To Visiting Princeton
9/18/2021 4:53:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh defense stiffened after giving up two early scores but the offense struggled to get going as the Mountain Hawks fell 32-0 to Princeton Saturday in front of 7,050 on a warm, humid afternoon at Goodman Stadium. The Lehigh-Princeton game was part of Family Weekend, presented by PSECU.
Princeton, playing in its first game since November 2019, gained 516 yards of offense, including 412 through the air, while the Tigers limited Lehigh to just 92 yards on the day.
Cole Smith completed 30-of-41 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns. Jacob Birmelin and Andrei Iosivas combined to catch 12 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers.
One week after rushing for 158 yards at Richmond, Lehigh was held to -25 yards on the ground, largely in part to three Tiger sacks.
The Mountain Hawks (0-3) passed for 117 yards with sophomore Dante Perri coming on in the second half and completing 12-of-17 for 62 yards. Junior Cross Wilkinson went 8-of-14 for 55 yards. Eleven different receivers caught passes for the Mountain Hawks, led by sophomore Eric Johnson, who hauled in four for 33 yards.
Defensively, linebackers Liam McIntyre and Nate Norris each had eight tackles, while junior safety TyGee Leach added seven. The Mountain Hawks recorded three sacks, with juniors Mikhari Sibblis and Stephon Bland and sophomore Trevor Harris all contributing one.
Princeton had a 26-7 edge in first downs and held a 35:05-24:55 edge in time of possession.
"I'm not feeling too good about what happened today, but as competitors, we need to do a lot of things better," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "From a coaching and a playing standpoint. We need to find ways to move the ball on offense. Disappointingly, we gave up some big plays on defense today that's a little out of character for us. There were a lot of things exposed today. We just need to find ways to get better. I thought we got better game one to game two. Obviously, each opponent is different, but we really struggled to move the ball today. That was the obvious thing. Even though we saw some good things at times, we couldn't string anything together."
The Tigers scored on their first two drives to take a 13-0 lead with 6:38 left in the first quarter. Collin Eaddy opened the scoring with a 13 yard run and then Smith hit Iosivas for a 34 yard touchdown.
Lehigh's second drive of the game had early promise as the Mountain Hawks moved to the Princeton 35, but two penalties and a sack thwarted the scoring opportunity.
The Mountain Hawks' defense stiffened in the second quarter, stopping Princeton on downs at the 20 yard line, then forcing a 3-and-out. On Princeton's third drive of the quarter, the Lehigh defense came up with another 3-and-out and sophomore Devari Robinson came through to block a Will Powers punt and Lehigh took over in Tiger territory but was unable to capitalize.
"I really liked a lot of things we did defensively," Gilmore said. "We had some injuries last week and with the depth that we had at the time with those injuries, it forced us to use a brand new scheme on defense. So there was some major adjustments we made this week. And I thought by in large, we did a good job with the new scheme. The issue was there were some things on the perimeter especially in the first half where we were a little out of alignment."
Princeton closed the half with 12-play, 61-yard drive, but Lehigh stiffened in the red zone and forced a Jeffrey Sexton field goal, which gave the Tigers a 16-0 lead at halftime.
"In the red zone, I thought we did a much better job," Gilmore said. "There were two drives where we stopped Princeton without giving up any points and there were two we forced them into field goals in the red zone. I thought that was a really good job and made a couple excellent plays in those situations. Red zone defense was definitely a bright spot."
Gallery: (9-18-2021) Football vs. Princeton, 9/18/21
Smith hit Birmelin on a 42 yard scoring pass in the third quarter and then hit Iosivas for 52 to extend the Tiger lead to 29-0 in the third quarter. Sexton capped the scoring with a 20 yard field goal late in the period.
The Mountain Hawks open Patriot League play next Saturday when they visit Colgate. Game time is set for 1 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 and 1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown and LVFoxSports.com.
EXTRA POINTS…The win for Princeton was its first at Goodman Stadium since 2009… Lehigh had won the last three meetings in Bethlehem and has now won five of the last eight in the series… The Mountain Hawks are now 56-30-1 against Ivy League schools since the formation of the Patriot League in 1986… sophomore Daniel Simpson averaged 40.9 yards on eight punts… Bland and Harris both made their first career starts on the defensive line… Lehigh's 10-game losing streak is its longest since the Brown and White lost 11 straight in 1943-44.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Princeton, playing in its first game since November 2019, gained 516 yards of offense, including 412 through the air, while the Tigers limited Lehigh to just 92 yards on the day.
Cole Smith completed 30-of-41 passes for 412 yards and three touchdowns. Jacob Birmelin and Andrei Iosivas combined to catch 12 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns for the Tigers.
One week after rushing for 158 yards at Richmond, Lehigh was held to -25 yards on the ground, largely in part to three Tiger sacks.
The Mountain Hawks (0-3) passed for 117 yards with sophomore Dante Perri coming on in the second half and completing 12-of-17 for 62 yards. Junior Cross Wilkinson went 8-of-14 for 55 yards. Eleven different receivers caught passes for the Mountain Hawks, led by sophomore Eric Johnson, who hauled in four for 33 yards.
Defensively, linebackers Liam McIntyre and Nate Norris each had eight tackles, while junior safety TyGee Leach added seven. The Mountain Hawks recorded three sacks, with juniors Mikhari Sibblis and Stephon Bland and sophomore Trevor Harris all contributing one.
Princeton had a 26-7 edge in first downs and held a 35:05-24:55 edge in time of possession.
"I'm not feeling too good about what happened today, but as competitors, we need to do a lot of things better," Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. "From a coaching and a playing standpoint. We need to find ways to move the ball on offense. Disappointingly, we gave up some big plays on defense today that's a little out of character for us. There were a lot of things exposed today. We just need to find ways to get better. I thought we got better game one to game two. Obviously, each opponent is different, but we really struggled to move the ball today. That was the obvious thing. Even though we saw some good things at times, we couldn't string anything together."
The Tigers scored on their first two drives to take a 13-0 lead with 6:38 left in the first quarter. Collin Eaddy opened the scoring with a 13 yard run and then Smith hit Iosivas for a 34 yard touchdown.
Lehigh's second drive of the game had early promise as the Mountain Hawks moved to the Princeton 35, but two penalties and a sack thwarted the scoring opportunity.
The Mountain Hawks' defense stiffened in the second quarter, stopping Princeton on downs at the 20 yard line, then forcing a 3-and-out. On Princeton's third drive of the quarter, the Lehigh defense came up with another 3-and-out and sophomore Devari Robinson came through to block a Will Powers punt and Lehigh took over in Tiger territory but was unable to capitalize.
"I really liked a lot of things we did defensively," Gilmore said. "We had some injuries last week and with the depth that we had at the time with those injuries, it forced us to use a brand new scheme on defense. So there was some major adjustments we made this week. And I thought by in large, we did a good job with the new scheme. The issue was there were some things on the perimeter especially in the first half where we were a little out of alignment."
Princeton closed the half with 12-play, 61-yard drive, but Lehigh stiffened in the red zone and forced a Jeffrey Sexton field goal, which gave the Tigers a 16-0 lead at halftime.
"In the red zone, I thought we did a much better job," Gilmore said. "There were two drives where we stopped Princeton without giving up any points and there were two we forced them into field goals in the red zone. I thought that was a really good job and made a couple excellent plays in those situations. Red zone defense was definitely a bright spot."
Smith hit Birmelin on a 42 yard scoring pass in the third quarter and then hit Iosivas for 52 to extend the Tiger lead to 29-0 in the third quarter. Sexton capped the scoring with a 20 yard field goal late in the period.
The Mountain Hawks open Patriot League play next Saturday when they visit Colgate. Game time is set for 1 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 and 1320 AM and 94.7 FM Allentown and LVFoxSports.com.
EXTRA POINTS…The win for Princeton was its first at Goodman Stadium since 2009… Lehigh had won the last three meetings in Bethlehem and has now won five of the last eight in the series… The Mountain Hawks are now 56-30-1 against Ivy League schools since the formation of the Patriot League in 1986… sophomore Daniel Simpson averaged 40.9 yards on eight punts… Bland and Harris both made their first career starts on the defensive line… Lehigh's 10-game losing streak is its longest since the Brown and White lost 11 straight in 1943-44.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
PRIN
LEHIGH
Total Yards
516
92
Pass Yards
412
117
Rushing Yards
104
-25
Penalty Yards
57
60
1st Downs
26
7
3rd Downs
8
1
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
35:05
24:55
1st Quarter
PRIN 6, LEHIGH 0
PRIN - Eaddy, C. 13 yd run (Sexton, J. kickfailed), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 4:08
PRIN 13, LEHIGH 0
PRIN - Iosivas, A. 34 yd pass from Smith, C. (Sexton, J. kick) 8 plays, 63 yards, TOP 3:19
2nd Quarter
PRIN 16, LEHIGH 0
PRIN - Sexton, J. 20 yd field goal 12 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:51
3rd Quarter
PRIN 22, LEHIGH 0
PRIN - Birmelin, J. 42 yd pass from Smith, C. (Smith, C. passfailed) 1 plays, 42 yards, TOP 0:10
PRIN 29, LEHIGH 0
PRIN - Iosivas, A. 52 yd pass from Smith, C. (Sexton, J. kick) 3 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:05
PRIN 32, LEHIGH 0
PRIN - Sexton, J. 20 yd field goal 12 plays, 77 yards, TOP 5:29
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
12
TD
0
YDS
62
INT
0
CMP
8
TD
0
YDS
55
INT
0
Players Mentioned
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QB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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