Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Cahill Named Coach of the Year; 10 Mountain Hawks Named To All-League Teams
11/26/2024 1:02:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Patriot League champion Lehigh football program was well represented Tuesday as the Patriot League announced its football major awards and all-league teams. Head coach Kevin Cahill was named the Dick Biddle Coach of the Year, while 10 student-athletes were named to the All-Patriot League teams.
Â
Six Mountain Hawks garnered first-team recognition, while five earned spots on the second team. The major awards and all-league teams are voted on by the league's head coaches. The 10 all-league honorees are the most since Lehigh had 13 players recognized in 2016.
Â
Cahill's coach of the year award comes a day after he was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top head coach in the FCS. He guided Lehigh to its 13th Patriot League title and its first since 2017 as the Mountain Hawks return to the postseason after a seven-year absence. Lehigh's six-win improvement over its 2023 record is tied for the second largest turnaround in FCS football.
Â
With a roster consisting of 62 first or second-year players, Cahill's Mountain Hawks rank in the top 10 in the FCS in rushing offense, pass defense and total defense. Cahill is Lehigh's first Patriot League Coach of the Year in football since the late Andy Coen won his second award in 2016.
Â
Lehigh's first team All-Patriot League honorees include fifth-year offensive lineman George Padezanin, junior offensive lineman Langston Jones, junior defensive linemen TJ Burke and Matt Spatny, graduate student linebacker Mike DeNucci, and junior safety Nick Peltekian.
Â
DeNucci and Peltekian earned all-league laurels for the second straight year, with DeNucci earning first team honors for the first time after landing on the second team in 2022 and 2023. Peltekian was a second team honoree last season and also made the second team this year as a return specialist.
Â
Lehigh's four other second team honorees were sophomore running back Luke Yoder, first-year running back Jaden Green, junior wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel and junior offensive lineman Aidan Palmer.
Â
Padezanin, Jones and Palmer were all mainstays on a Lehigh offensive line that paved the way for a rushing attack that leads the Patriot League and ranks ninth nationally, averaging 211.5 yards per game. Lehigh allowed just 12 sacks in 11 games, the fewest in the league. All three of Lehigh's all-league linemen started all 11 games, with Padezanin anchoring the line at center, Jones featuring at right guard and Palmer manning left tackle.
Â
Burke, Spatny, DeNucci and Peltekian were all key cogs of a Lehigh defense that ranks seventh nationally in yards allowed (290.4 ypg.), sixth in passing yards allowed (159.2 ypg.) and sixth in sacks per game (3.0).
Â
DeNucci is Lehigh's top tackler with 80 stops and has added 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. The league's Defensive Player of the Week following an 11-tackle, three-sack performance against Fordham, DeNucci recently became the fifth Lehigh player to register 300 career tackles.
Â
Spatny and Burke both have 36 tackles this season, with the duo combining for for 21 tackles for loss and 17.5 of Lehigh's 33 sacks. Spatny owns 11.5 of those sacks and leads the nation in sacks per game (1.05) while tying for second in overall sacks. He is half a sack shy of Lehigh's single-season record set by Keith Woetzel in 2019. Burke has added 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks from his nose tackle position. Both Spatny and Burke closed the regular season with 1.5 sacks in the win over Lafayette.
Â
Lehigh's top tackler in 2023, Peltekian ranks third on the Mountain Hawks with 64 tackles and added a team-leading four interceptions in 2024. Peltekian was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week in September after picking off two passes and returning one for a touchdown in a victory over Wagner. He was also recognized as the second team return specialist. As Lehigh's punt returner, Peltekian averaged 5.5 yards on 19 returns and had at least one return of 10 yards or more in each of Lehigh's last six games.
Â
The running back tandem of Yoder and Green has combined for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Yoder leads the way with 888 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Green added 693 yards and nine scores, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Â
Green was named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top first-year player in the FCS, on Monday.
Â
Jamiel, the 2022 Rookie of the Year, received his first all-league accolade as Lehigh's leading receiver with 46 receptions for 564 yards and seven touchdowns. He eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark and scored two touchdowns in Patriot League action against both Bucknell and Colgate.
Â
The Mountain Hawks (8-3, 5-1 Patriot League) enter the postseason on a five-game winning streak. Lehigh will play at No. 9 seed Richmond in the first round of the playoffs, Saturday at 2 p.m. at Robins Stadium in Virginia. Tickets to the contest will go on sale through Richmond at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning at this link:Â https://richmondspiders.evenue.net/events/FCS .
Â
2024 Patriot League Football Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Ralph Rucker IV, Bucknell, Sr.
Defensive Player of the Year – Matt Jaworski, Fordham, Sr.
Rookie of the Year – Tariq Thomas, Bucknell, Fr., RB
Dick Biddle Coach of the Year – Kevin Cahill, Lehigh
Â
2024 All-Patriot League Football First Team
First-Team Offense (13)
QB: Ralph Rucker, Bucknell, Sr.
RB: Julius Loughridge, Fordham, Sr.
RB: Jayden Clerveaux, Holy Cross, So.
RB: Jamar Curtis, Lafayette, Jr.
WR: Eric Weatherly, Bucknell, Jr.
WR: Treyvhon Saunders, Colgate, Jr.
WR: Max Mosey, Holy Cross, Jr.
TE: Jacob Petersen, Holy Cross, Sr.
OL: Bardhyl Gashi, Colgate, 5th
OL: Christo Kelly, Holy Cross, 5th
OL: Cam McNair, Holy Cross, Sr.
OL: George Padezanin, Lehigh, Gr.
OL: Langston Jones, Lehigh, Jr.
Â
First-Team Defense (12)
DL: Andrew Taddeo, Colgate, Sr.
DL: Matt Jaworski, Fordham, Sr.
DL: Matt Spatny, Lehigh, Jr.
DL: TJ Burke, Lehigh, Jr.
LB: Cole Kozlowski, Colgate, Jr.
LB: James Conway, Fordham, Sr.
LB: Frankie Monte, Holy Cross, Sr.
LB: Mike DeNucci, Lehigh, Gr.
DB: Nahil Perkins, Fordham, Gr.
DB: Saiku White, Lafayette, Sr.
DB: Gabe DuBois, Lafayette, Sr.
DB: Nick Peltekian, Lehigh, Jr.
Â
First-Team Special Teams (6)*
PK: Luke Vogeler, Colgate, So.
P: Shelby Pruett, Colgate, Sr.
P: Will Haslett, Fordham, Jr.
Return Specialist (RS): TJ Cadden, Bucknell, So.
Special Teams Non-Specialist (STNS): Sam Milligan, Bucknell, So.
Long Snapper (LS): Sebastian Alonso, Georgetown, Sr.
Â
2024 All-Patriot League Football Second Team
Second-Team Offense (14)*
QB: Joe Pesansky, Holy Cross, Sr.
RB: Jaden Green, Lehigh, Fy.
RB: Luke Yoder, Lehigh, So.
RB: Tariq Thomas, Bucknell, Fr.
WR: Jimmy Kibble, Georgetown, Jr.
WR: Justin Shorter, Holy Cross, Sr.
WR: Elijah Steward, Lafayette, Jr.
WR: Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh, Jr.
TE: Dallas Holmes, Lafayette, Sr.
OL: John Ohnegian, Bucknell, Jr.
OL: Cody Johnson, Fordham, Gr.
OL: Cam Nolan, Holy Cross, Jr.
OL: Ryder Langsdale, Lafayette, Sr.
OL: Aidan Palmer, Lehigh, Jr.
Â
Second-Team Defense (14)*
DL: Aneesh Vyas, Bucknell, Sr.
DL: Claudy Robinson, Fordham, Jr.
DL: Cooper Blomstrom, Georgetown, So.
DL: Tyree Morris, Lafayette, Jr.
LB: Brad Jamison, Bucknell, Sr.
LB: Gavin Willis, Bucknell, So.
LB: GianCarlo Rufo, Georgetown, So.
LB: David Ealey III, Georgetown, Gr.
LB: Mike Courtney, Fordham, Gr.
DB: Zeraun Daniel, Georgetown, So.
DB: Preston Murray, Georgetown, Gr.
DB: Curtis Harris-Lopez, Holy Cross, Sr.
DB: Jake Jarmolowich, Holy Cross, Sr.
DB: Cam Jones, Holy Cross, So.
Â
Second-Team Special Teams (6)*
PK: Patrick Ryan, Georgetown, Sr.
P: Matt Schearer, Bucknell, Jr.
RS: Nick Peltekian, Lehigh, Jr.
STNS: Kenneth Borders, Georgetown, Sr.
LS: Walker Adkinson, Fordham, Jr.
LS: Dylan Aguilera, Lafayette, Jr.
Â
*Additional players added due to ties in voting
Â
Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
Â
Â
Â
Six Mountain Hawks garnered first-team recognition, while five earned spots on the second team. The major awards and all-league teams are voted on by the league's head coaches. The 10 all-league honorees are the most since Lehigh had 13 players recognized in 2016.
Â
Cahill's coach of the year award comes a day after he was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the top head coach in the FCS. He guided Lehigh to its 13th Patriot League title and its first since 2017 as the Mountain Hawks return to the postseason after a seven-year absence. Lehigh's six-win improvement over its 2023 record is tied for the second largest turnaround in FCS football.
Â
With a roster consisting of 62 first or second-year players, Cahill's Mountain Hawks rank in the top 10 in the FCS in rushing offense, pass defense and total defense. Cahill is Lehigh's first Patriot League Coach of the Year in football since the late Andy Coen won his second award in 2016.
Â
Lehigh's first team All-Patriot League honorees include fifth-year offensive lineman George Padezanin, junior offensive lineman Langston Jones, junior defensive linemen TJ Burke and Matt Spatny, graduate student linebacker Mike DeNucci, and junior safety Nick Peltekian.
Â
DeNucci and Peltekian earned all-league laurels for the second straight year, with DeNucci earning first team honors for the first time after landing on the second team in 2022 and 2023. Peltekian was a second team honoree last season and also made the second team this year as a return specialist.
Â
Lehigh's four other second team honorees were sophomore running back Luke Yoder, first-year running back Jaden Green, junior wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel and junior offensive lineman Aidan Palmer.
Â
Padezanin, Jones and Palmer were all mainstays on a Lehigh offensive line that paved the way for a rushing attack that leads the Patriot League and ranks ninth nationally, averaging 211.5 yards per game. Lehigh allowed just 12 sacks in 11 games, the fewest in the league. All three of Lehigh's all-league linemen started all 11 games, with Padezanin anchoring the line at center, Jones featuring at right guard and Palmer manning left tackle.
Â
Burke, Spatny, DeNucci and Peltekian were all key cogs of a Lehigh defense that ranks seventh nationally in yards allowed (290.4 ypg.), sixth in passing yards allowed (159.2 ypg.) and sixth in sacks per game (3.0).
Â
DeNucci is Lehigh's top tackler with 80 stops and has added 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks. The league's Defensive Player of the Week following an 11-tackle, three-sack performance against Fordham, DeNucci recently became the fifth Lehigh player to register 300 career tackles.
Â
Spatny and Burke both have 36 tackles this season, with the duo combining for for 21 tackles for loss and 17.5 of Lehigh's 33 sacks. Spatny owns 11.5 of those sacks and leads the nation in sacks per game (1.05) while tying for second in overall sacks. He is half a sack shy of Lehigh's single-season record set by Keith Woetzel in 2019. Burke has added 9.5 tackles for loss and six sacks from his nose tackle position. Both Spatny and Burke closed the regular season with 1.5 sacks in the win over Lafayette.
Â
Lehigh's top tackler in 2023, Peltekian ranks third on the Mountain Hawks with 64 tackles and added a team-leading four interceptions in 2024. Peltekian was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week in September after picking off two passes and returning one for a touchdown in a victory over Wagner. He was also recognized as the second team return specialist. As Lehigh's punt returner, Peltekian averaged 5.5 yards on 19 returns and had at least one return of 10 yards or more in each of Lehigh's last six games.
Â
The running back tandem of Yoder and Green has combined for 1,581 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Yoder leads the way with 888 yards and 10 touchdowns, while Green added 693 yards and nine scores, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Â
Green was named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top first-year player in the FCS, on Monday.
Â
Jamiel, the 2022 Rookie of the Year, received his first all-league accolade as Lehigh's leading receiver with 46 receptions for 564 yards and seven touchdowns. He eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark and scored two touchdowns in Patriot League action against both Bucknell and Colgate.
Â
The Mountain Hawks (8-3, 5-1 Patriot League) enter the postseason on a five-game winning streak. Lehigh will play at No. 9 seed Richmond in the first round of the playoffs, Saturday at 2 p.m. at Robins Stadium in Virginia. Tickets to the contest will go on sale through Richmond at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning at this link:Â https://richmondspiders.evenue.net/events/FCS .
Â
2024 Patriot League Football Major Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Ralph Rucker IV, Bucknell, Sr.
Defensive Player of the Year – Matt Jaworski, Fordham, Sr.
Rookie of the Year – Tariq Thomas, Bucknell, Fr., RB
Dick Biddle Coach of the Year – Kevin Cahill, Lehigh
Â
2024 All-Patriot League Football First Team
First-Team Offense (13)
QB: Ralph Rucker, Bucknell, Sr.
RB: Julius Loughridge, Fordham, Sr.
RB: Jayden Clerveaux, Holy Cross, So.
RB: Jamar Curtis, Lafayette, Jr.
WR: Eric Weatherly, Bucknell, Jr.
WR: Treyvhon Saunders, Colgate, Jr.
WR: Max Mosey, Holy Cross, Jr.
TE: Jacob Petersen, Holy Cross, Sr.
OL: Bardhyl Gashi, Colgate, 5th
OL: Christo Kelly, Holy Cross, 5th
OL: Cam McNair, Holy Cross, Sr.
OL: George Padezanin, Lehigh, Gr.
OL: Langston Jones, Lehigh, Jr.
Â
First-Team Defense (12)
DL: Andrew Taddeo, Colgate, Sr.
DL: Matt Jaworski, Fordham, Sr.
DL: Matt Spatny, Lehigh, Jr.
DL: TJ Burke, Lehigh, Jr.
LB: Cole Kozlowski, Colgate, Jr.
LB: James Conway, Fordham, Sr.
LB: Frankie Monte, Holy Cross, Sr.
LB: Mike DeNucci, Lehigh, Gr.
DB: Nahil Perkins, Fordham, Gr.
DB: Saiku White, Lafayette, Sr.
DB: Gabe DuBois, Lafayette, Sr.
DB: Nick Peltekian, Lehigh, Jr.
Â
First-Team Special Teams (6)*
PK: Luke Vogeler, Colgate, So.
P: Shelby Pruett, Colgate, Sr.
P: Will Haslett, Fordham, Jr.
Return Specialist (RS): TJ Cadden, Bucknell, So.
Special Teams Non-Specialist (STNS): Sam Milligan, Bucknell, So.
Long Snapper (LS): Sebastian Alonso, Georgetown, Sr.
Â
2024 All-Patriot League Football Second Team
Second-Team Offense (14)*
QB: Joe Pesansky, Holy Cross, Sr.
RB: Jaden Green, Lehigh, Fy.
RB: Luke Yoder, Lehigh, So.
RB: Tariq Thomas, Bucknell, Fr.
WR: Jimmy Kibble, Georgetown, Jr.
WR: Justin Shorter, Holy Cross, Sr.
WR: Elijah Steward, Lafayette, Jr.
WR: Geoffrey Jamiel, Lehigh, Jr.
TE: Dallas Holmes, Lafayette, Sr.
OL: John Ohnegian, Bucknell, Jr.
OL: Cody Johnson, Fordham, Gr.
OL: Cam Nolan, Holy Cross, Jr.
OL: Ryder Langsdale, Lafayette, Sr.
OL: Aidan Palmer, Lehigh, Jr.
Â
Second-Team Defense (14)*
DL: Aneesh Vyas, Bucknell, Sr.
DL: Claudy Robinson, Fordham, Jr.
DL: Cooper Blomstrom, Georgetown, So.
DL: Tyree Morris, Lafayette, Jr.
LB: Brad Jamison, Bucknell, Sr.
LB: Gavin Willis, Bucknell, So.
LB: GianCarlo Rufo, Georgetown, So.
LB: David Ealey III, Georgetown, Gr.
LB: Mike Courtney, Fordham, Gr.
DB: Zeraun Daniel, Georgetown, So.
DB: Preston Murray, Georgetown, Gr.
DB: Curtis Harris-Lopez, Holy Cross, Sr.
DB: Jake Jarmolowich, Holy Cross, Sr.
DB: Cam Jones, Holy Cross, So.
Â
Second-Team Special Teams (6)*
PK: Patrick Ryan, Georgetown, Sr.
P: Matt Schearer, Bucknell, Jr.
RS: Nick Peltekian, Lehigh, Jr.
STNS: Kenneth Borders, Georgetown, Sr.
LS: Walker Adkinson, Fordham, Jr.
LS: Dylan Aguilera, Lafayette, Jr.
Â
*Additional players added due to ties in voting
Â
Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
Â
Â
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
RB
/ Football2025 Brown & Flight - Episode 1
Thursday, September 18
Lehigh Sports Central: Football
Wednesday, August 27
2025 Lehigh Football Season Preview: Special Teams
Thursday, August 21
2025 Lehigh Football Season Preview: Defense
Thursday, August 21
