Saturday, November 4
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
2-7 , 1-3
24
vs
28
Holy Cross
6-3 , 4-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Holy Cross
0
21
7
0
28
Lehigh
14
7
3
0
24
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Lehigh Comes Up Short, 28-24, After Fast Start Against No. 21/RV Holy Cross
11/4/2023 4:38:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh raced out to a 14-0 lead on No. 21/RV Holy Cross less than five minutes into the game, but the Crusaders ultimately battled back to edge the Mountain Hawks 28-24 Saturday on Salute to Service at Goodman Stadium, presented by Weis Markets. Holy Cross' Jordan Fuller scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 3:56 left in the third quarter and the Crusaders held on from there, keeping Lehigh off the board in the game's final 23 minutes.
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The teams were even 21-21 at halftime with Lehigh enjoying a slight statistical edge, but the Crusaders out-gained the Mountain Hawks by a large margin after halftime to escape with the victory. Lehigh falls to 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the Patriot League, while Holy Cross improves to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in league play.
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"I'm proud of our effort," Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill said. "The kids played really hard today. We didn't get the outcome we wanted, but we played really hard and gave them everything we could. We didn't capitalize on a couple situations and made some errors that when you play a team like that, you can't have those mistakes. When it comes down to it, we played hard, we just didn't finish."
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Lehigh received the opening kickoff and immediately marched 68 yards in seven plays. Sophomore quarterback Brayten Silbor hit senior Eric Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give Lehigh a 7-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks got the ball back three plays later as senior Mike DeNucci fell on a fumbled snap to give Lehigh the ball at the Holy Cross 29. Two plays later Silbor and Johnson connected again, with Johnson making a juggling catch off a deflection for a 22-yard touchdown as Lehigh led 14-0 with 10:14 to play in the opening quarter.
Holy Cross got on the board on a 53-yard rush by Jordan Fuller on the opening play of the second quarter, which kicked off a 21-point second quarter for the visitors. Starting at quarterback for the second consecutive week, Joe Pesansky then hit Jalen Coker for a 34-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:34 to in the half.
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A 15-yard punt return by sophomore Nick Peltekian and a personal foul penalty against Holy Cross allowed Lehigh to regain the lead late in the half. First-year running back Luke Yoder scored from a yard out to cap a 45-yard drive as Lehigh went back in front 21-14. Pesansky and Coker connected on a 49-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left in the second quarter to tie the game at 21-21 at halftime.
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Holy Cross started the third quarter with the ball, but the Mountain Hawks stopped the drive with their third takeaway of the day. First-year Davis Rice recorded a sack and forced fumble by Pesansky and sophomore Matt Spatny recovered at the Lehigh 44. The Mountain Hawks milked more than five minutes off the clock but had to settle for a Nick Garrido 41-yard field goal to take a 24-21 lead.
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The Mountain Hawks attempted a surprise onside kick but Holy Cross recovered at its own 48. Fuller capped a 10-play, 52-yard drive with the go-ahead one-yard touchdown rush to give Holy Cross its first lead.
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Lehigh's defense and special teams came up with several big plays in the fourth quarter, but the Mountain Hawks' offense was unable to capitalize. Peltekian had a 41-yard punt return early in the final period but Lehigh was unable to score after starting from the Holy Cross 21. Later, sophomore Tyler Ochojski and senior Drew DeMorat stuffed Fuller on 4th-and-1 deep in Lehigh territory, but the Mountain Hawk drive ended in a punt. Lehigh never saw the ball again as Holy Cross successfully killed the final 6:50.
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Total yards finished 425-294 in favor of Holy Cross, while Lehigh had a slight 30:33-29:27 edge in time of possession.
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Lehigh ran for 177, the Mountain Hawks' fifth consecutive game over 100 yards. Yoder enjoyed his third 100-yard game of the season, rushing 23 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. He also had three catches for 27 yards.
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Silbor finished 13-of-28 for 117 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Senior Connor Kennedy had three catches for 14 yards, while Johnson led Lehigh with 43 yards on his two catches.
ÂGallery: (11-4-2023) Lehigh vs. Holy Cross
"Our kids are gaining experience with each snap," Cahill said. "From the Villanova game to now, I'm really proud of the growth our team has made. Nobody thought we had a chance in this game except for our staff, our coaches and our players.
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"I told our team I thought we were the better team, we just didn't execute in a couple of situations."
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Fuller rushed for 228 yards to lead Holy Cross, with the Crusaders finishing with 267 on the ground. Pesansky was 11-of-19 for 158 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Coker caught four passes for 98 yards to lead the Crusaders.
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Defensively for Lehigh, Peltekian had a game-high 10 tackles, while Ochojski added nine.
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"We hit them early and got up 14-0," Cahill said. "Our kids dealt with success okay. We don't deal with success a lot. We have to learn how to do that. We're constantly learning how to become a winning football team and with each situation we get into, there's a lesson to take out of it. Today, we played really hard. I'm really proud of them. We have to finish a lot of different things."
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The Mountain Hawks will play their final road game of the regular season next Saturday when they travel to 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 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com beginning at noon.
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EXTRA POINTS… On Salute to Service day, Lehigh running backs coach Chavarr Warren led the Mountain Hawks onto the field with the American flag… in addition to coaching Lehigh's running backs, Warren is an active military officer in the Pennsylvania National Guard… Holy Cross has now won six straight in the series to even the all-time series at 19-19-1… Lehigh had two sacks, with senior Ben Murphy recording his first of the season… the Mountain Hawks gave up their first sack since the Dartmouth game, but that was the only one of the last five weeks… In addition to his strip-sack, Rice recorded an interception in the first quarter of Saturday's game… Lehigh has now won the turnover battle in three of its last five games.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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The teams were even 21-21 at halftime with Lehigh enjoying a slight statistical edge, but the Crusaders out-gained the Mountain Hawks by a large margin after halftime to escape with the victory. Lehigh falls to 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the Patriot League, while Holy Cross improves to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in league play.
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"I'm proud of our effort," Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill said. "The kids played really hard today. We didn't get the outcome we wanted, but we played really hard and gave them everything we could. We didn't capitalize on a couple situations and made some errors that when you play a team like that, you can't have those mistakes. When it comes down to it, we played hard, we just didn't finish."
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Lehigh received the opening kickoff and immediately marched 68 yards in seven plays. Sophomore quarterback Brayten Silbor hit senior Eric Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give Lehigh a 7-0 lead. The Mountain Hawks got the ball back three plays later as senior Mike DeNucci fell on a fumbled snap to give Lehigh the ball at the Holy Cross 29. Two plays later Silbor and Johnson connected again, with Johnson making a juggling catch off a deflection for a 22-yard touchdown as Lehigh led 14-0 with 10:14 to play in the opening quarter.
ÂQ1 10:14 | LEHIGH 14 | HC 0
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) November 4, 2023
WHAT A CATCH by Johnson, his second TD in under five minutes! 😱@ESPN @PatriotLeagueTV#GoLehigh #TheNest pic.twitter.com/oCBFx8UwBr
Holy Cross got on the board on a 53-yard rush by Jordan Fuller on the opening play of the second quarter, which kicked off a 21-point second quarter for the visitors. Starting at quarterback for the second consecutive week, Joe Pesansky then hit Jalen Coker for a 34-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-14 with 12:34 to in the half.
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A 15-yard punt return by sophomore Nick Peltekian and a personal foul penalty against Holy Cross allowed Lehigh to regain the lead late in the half. First-year running back Luke Yoder scored from a yard out to cap a 45-yard drive as Lehigh went back in front 21-14. Pesansky and Coker connected on a 49-yard touchdown with 19 seconds left in the second quarter to tie the game at 21-21 at halftime.
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Holy Cross started the third quarter with the ball, but the Mountain Hawks stopped the drive with their third takeaway of the day. First-year Davis Rice recorded a sack and forced fumble by Pesansky and sophomore Matt Spatny recovered at the Lehigh 44. The Mountain Hawks milked more than five minutes off the clock but had to settle for a Nick Garrido 41-yard field goal to take a 24-21 lead.
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The Mountain Hawks attempted a surprise onside kick but Holy Cross recovered at its own 48. Fuller capped a 10-play, 52-yard drive with the go-ahead one-yard touchdown rush to give Holy Cross its first lead.
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Lehigh's defense and special teams came up with several big plays in the fourth quarter, but the Mountain Hawks' offense was unable to capitalize. Peltekian had a 41-yard punt return early in the final period but Lehigh was unable to score after starting from the Holy Cross 21. Later, sophomore Tyler Ochojski and senior Drew DeMorat stuffed Fuller on 4th-and-1 deep in Lehigh territory, but the Mountain Hawk drive ended in a punt. Lehigh never saw the ball again as Holy Cross successfully killed the final 6:50.
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Total yards finished 425-294 in favor of Holy Cross, while Lehigh had a slight 30:33-29:27 edge in time of possession.
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Lehigh ran for 177, the Mountain Hawks' fifth consecutive game over 100 yards. Yoder enjoyed his third 100-yard game of the season, rushing 23 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. He also had three catches for 27 yards.
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Silbor finished 13-of-28 for 117 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Senior Connor Kennedy had three catches for 14 yards, while Johnson led Lehigh with 43 yards on his two catches.
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"Our kids are gaining experience with each snap," Cahill said. "From the Villanova game to now, I'm really proud of the growth our team has made. Nobody thought we had a chance in this game except for our staff, our coaches and our players.
Â
"I told our team I thought we were the better team, we just didn't execute in a couple of situations."
Â
Fuller rushed for 228 yards to lead Holy Cross, with the Crusaders finishing with 267 on the ground. Pesansky was 11-of-19 for 158 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Coker caught four passes for 98 yards to lead the Crusaders.
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Defensively for Lehigh, Peltekian had a game-high 10 tackles, while Ochojski added nine.
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"We hit them early and got up 14-0," Cahill said. "Our kids dealt with success okay. We don't deal with success a lot. We have to learn how to do that. We're constantly learning how to become a winning football team and with each situation we get into, there's a lesson to take out of it. Today, we played really hard. I'm really proud of them. We have to finish a lot of different things."
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The Mountain Hawks will play their final road game of the regular season next Saturday when they travel to 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 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com beginning at noon.
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EXTRA POINTS… On Salute to Service day, Lehigh running backs coach Chavarr Warren led the Mountain Hawks onto the field with the American flag… in addition to coaching Lehigh's running backs, Warren is an active military officer in the Pennsylvania National Guard… Holy Cross has now won six straight in the series to even the all-time series at 19-19-1… Lehigh had two sacks, with senior Ben Murphy recording his first of the season… the Mountain Hawks gave up their first sack since the Dartmouth game, but that was the only one of the last five weeks… In addition to his strip-sack, Rice recorded an interception in the first quarter of Saturday's game… Lehigh has now won the turnover battle in three of its last five games.
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Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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Team Stats
HCR
LEH
Total Yards
425
301
Pass Yards
158
129
Rushing Yards
267
172
Penalty Yards
85
15
1st Downs
20
17
3rd Downs
10
4
4th Downs
0
3
TOP
29:27
30:33
1st Quarter
HCR 0, LEH 7
LEH - Johnson,Eric 21 yd pass from Silbor,Brayten (Garrido,Nick kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:19
HCR 0, LEH 14
LEH - Johnson,Eric 22 yd pass from Silbor,Brayten (Garrido,Nick kick) 2 plays, 29 yards, TOP 00:37
2nd Quarter
HCR 7, LEH 14
HCR - Fuller,Jordan 53 yd run (Palenzuela,Luis kick), 5 plays, 76 yards, TOP 01:56
HCR 14, LEH 14
HCR - Coker,Jalen 34 yd pass from Pesansky,Joe (Palenzuela,Luis kick) 2 plays, 37 yards, TOP 01:01
HCR 14, LEH 21
LEH - Yoder,Luke 1 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 9 plays, 45 yards, TOP 04:27
HCR 21, LEH 21
HCR - Coker,Jalen 49 yd pass from Pesansky,Joe (Palenzuela,Luis kick) 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 00:47
3rd Quarter
HCR 21, LEH 24
LEH - Garrido,Nick 41 yd field goal 8 plays, 30 yards, TOP 05:09
HCR 28, LEH 24
HCR - Fuller,Jordan 1 yd run (Palenzuela,Luis kick), 10 plays, 52 yards, TOP 04:35
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
13
TD
2
YDS
129
INT
1
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
RB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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