Saturday, September 28
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
3-2 , 0-1
35
vs
38
Bucknell
3-2 , 1-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
OT
OT
F
Bucknell
0
14
7
7
7
3
38
Lehigh
7
7
7
7
7
0
35
Photo by: Hannahally Photography
Mountain Hawks Drop 38-35, Double-Overtime Heartbreaker To Bucknell
9/28/2024 4:43:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh and Bucknell traded blows in the Patriot League opener for both teams Saturday at Goodman Stadium, with the visiting Bison claiming a 38-35, double overtime victory on Tackle Cancer Day presented by Red Robin in partnership with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
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The Mountain Hawks held leads of 14-0 and 21-14 in regulation then rallied to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Lehigh out-gained Bucknell by a 500-270 and had nearly 37 minutes of possession, but two Mountain Hawk turnovers led to 14 Bucknell points and a third turnover in the second overtime period gave the Bison the win
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Bucknell's Matt Schearer gave the Bison a 38-35 lead with a 42-yard field goal in the second overtime and the Bison then recovered a fumble on Lehigh's first play of its possession in the second overtime.
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The loss snaps Lehigh's three game winning streak. Both teams are now 3-2 overall.
Junior Geoffrey Jamiel had a career day with nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Mason Humphrey also eclipsed the 100-yard mark with 109 on nine grabs.
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Jamiel helped stake the Mountain Hawks to a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter after catching a 23-yard touchdown from graduate student Dante Perri on 4th-and-9 and a 34-yarder from first-year Hayden Johnson.
After Jamiel's second touchdown Bucknell's TJ Cadden returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to get the Bison on the board. Following a Lehigh fumble on its next possession, Bucknell quarterback Ralph Rucker IV hit Eric Weatherly for a 31-yard touchdown as the teams went into halftime tied 14-14.
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Lehigh rushed for 202 yards on 44 carries, led by sophomore Luke Yoder, who carried 22 times for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Yoder put Lehigh back in front with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter on a 19-yard rush but Bucknell answered late in the period on a seven-yard run by Rucker.
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Bucknell took its first lead on Aaron Davis' 79-yard interception return touchdown with 6:13 to play.
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Johnson then drove Lehigh 70 yards in 11 plays with Yoder scoring on a one-yard rush with just 1:33 remaining.
Lehigh had the first possession in overtime and the Mountain Hawks needed just two plays to go back in front. Yoder rushed for 14 yards and then an 11-yard touchdown to put Lehigh up 35-28. A roughing the passer penalty on third and long moved Bucknell to the Lehigh 12 yard line, where Rucker hit Weatherly for his second touchdown of the day with Schearer's extra point tying the game. Â
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The Mountain Hawks held the Bison to a 42-yard Schearer field goal to start the second overtime. On Lehigh's first drive of the second OT, Bucknell's Brad Jamison stripped Yoder with Gavin Willis recovering to seal the win for the Bison.
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Johnson was 17-of-23 passing for Lehigh, for 200 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Perri completed 4-of-10 for 98 yards.
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Rucker completed 15-of-22 for 150 yards and two touchdowns for Bucknell, with five going to Weatherly for 55 yards.
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Defensively, graduate student Mike DeNucci led Lehigh with 12 tackles, while junior Matt Spatny recorded two of the Mountain Hawks' five sacks.
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The Mountain Hawks will be off the next two weekends and will return to action on Saturday Oct. 19 when they travel to Yale. Game time is set for 12 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+ and Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com.
ÂGallery: (9-28-2024) Lehigh vs. Bucknell
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh welcomed back members of its 1999 and 2004 Patriot League championship teams, which were honored during the first half... Lehigh's lone takeaway was a forced fumble and subsequent recovery by junior Nick Peltekian at the Lehigh 3-yard line in the second quarter… Lehigh now leads the all-time series 50-35-3 with the Bison winning the last three games played at Goodman Stadium… Cadden's kickoff return touchdown was the longest in Goodman Stadium history… Peltekian registered nine tackles for Lehigh… juniors Tyler Ochojski and TJ Burke and sophomore William Parton all contributed sacks… Jamiel and Humphrey were the first Lehigh duo to record 100 receiving yards in the same game since Eric Johnson (194) and Jalen Burbage (107) did so against Colgate in 2022… the overtime game was Lehigh's first since a 30-27 win at Fordham in 2019 and the first at Goodman Stadium since a 51-44, double-overtime win over CCSU in the 2013 season opener… the Mountain Hawks are now 8-6 all-time in overtime games…  Lehigh paired its brown home jerseys with brown pants for the first time this season… Saturday's attendance was 4,003.
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Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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The Mountain Hawks held leads of 14-0 and 21-14 in regulation then rallied to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Lehigh out-gained Bucknell by a 500-270 and had nearly 37 minutes of possession, but two Mountain Hawk turnovers led to 14 Bucknell points and a third turnover in the second overtime period gave the Bison the win
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Bucknell's Matt Schearer gave the Bison a 38-35 lead with a 42-yard field goal in the second overtime and the Bison then recovered a fumble on Lehigh's first play of its possession in the second overtime.
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The loss snaps Lehigh's three game winning streak. Both teams are now 3-2 overall.
ÂBucknell postgame reaction from Coach Cahill 👇 pic.twitter.com/XEDU6rakVJ
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) September 28, 2024
Junior Geoffrey Jamiel had a career day with nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore Mason Humphrey also eclipsed the 100-yard mark with 109 on nine grabs.
Â
Jamiel helped stake the Mountain Hawks to a 14-0 lead late in the second quarter after catching a 23-yard touchdown from graduate student Dante Perri on 4th-and-9 and a 34-yarder from first-year Hayden Johnson.
ÂBucknell postgame reaction from Coach Cahill 👇 pic.twitter.com/XEDU6rakVJ
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) September 28, 2024
After Jamiel's second touchdown Bucknell's TJ Cadden returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to get the Bison on the board. Following a Lehigh fumble on its next possession, Bucknell quarterback Ralph Rucker IV hit Eric Weatherly for a 31-yard touchdown as the teams went into halftime tied 14-14.
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Lehigh rushed for 202 yards on 44 carries, led by sophomore Luke Yoder, who carried 22 times for 137 yards and three touchdowns. Yoder put Lehigh back in front with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter on a 19-yard rush but Bucknell answered late in the period on a seven-yard run by Rucker.
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Bucknell took its first lead on Aaron Davis' 79-yard interception return touchdown with 6:13 to play.
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Johnson then drove Lehigh 70 yards in 11 plays with Yoder scoring on a one-yard rush with just 1:33 remaining.
ÂBucknell postgame reaction from Coach Cahill 👇 pic.twitter.com/XEDU6rakVJ
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) September 28, 2024
Lehigh had the first possession in overtime and the Mountain Hawks needed just two plays to go back in front. Yoder rushed for 14 yards and then an 11-yard touchdown to put Lehigh up 35-28. A roughing the passer penalty on third and long moved Bucknell to the Lehigh 12 yard line, where Rucker hit Weatherly for his second touchdown of the day with Schearer's extra point tying the game. Â
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The Mountain Hawks held the Bison to a 42-yard Schearer field goal to start the second overtime. On Lehigh's first drive of the second OT, Bucknell's Brad Jamison stripped Yoder with Gavin Willis recovering to seal the win for the Bison.
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Johnson was 17-of-23 passing for Lehigh, for 200 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Perri completed 4-of-10 for 98 yards.
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Rucker completed 15-of-22 for 150 yards and two touchdowns for Bucknell, with five going to Weatherly for 55 yards.
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Defensively, graduate student Mike DeNucci led Lehigh with 12 tackles, while junior Matt Spatny recorded two of the Mountain Hawks' five sacks.
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The Mountain Hawks will be off the next two weekends and will return to action on Saturday Oct. 19 when they travel to Yale. Game time is set for 12 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+ and Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com.
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EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh welcomed back members of its 1999 and 2004 Patriot League championship teams, which were honored during the first half... Lehigh's lone takeaway was a forced fumble and subsequent recovery by junior Nick Peltekian at the Lehigh 3-yard line in the second quarter… Lehigh now leads the all-time series 50-35-3 with the Bison winning the last three games played at Goodman Stadium… Cadden's kickoff return touchdown was the longest in Goodman Stadium history… Peltekian registered nine tackles for Lehigh… juniors Tyler Ochojski and TJ Burke and sophomore William Parton all contributed sacks… Jamiel and Humphrey were the first Lehigh duo to record 100 receiving yards in the same game since Eric Johnson (194) and Jalen Burbage (107) did so against Colgate in 2022… the overtime game was Lehigh's first since a 30-27 win at Fordham in 2019 and the first at Goodman Stadium since a 51-44, double-overtime win over CCSU in the 2013 season opener… the Mountain Hawks are now 8-6 all-time in overtime games…  Lehigh paired its brown home jerseys with brown pants for the first time this season… Saturday's attendance was 4,003.
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Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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Team Stats
BUC
LEH
Total Yards
270
500
Pass Yards
150
298
Rushing Yards
120
202
Penalty Yards
54
43
1st Downs
16
26
3rd Downs
5
7
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
23:11
36:49
1st Quarter
BUC 0, LEH 7
LEH - Jamiel,Geoffrey 23 yd pass from Perri,Dante (Garrido,Nick kick) 8 plays, 79 yards, TOP 03:48
2nd Quarter
BUC 0, LEH 14
LEH - Jamiel,Geoffrey 34 yd pass from Johnson,Hayden (Garrido,Nick kick) 9 plays, 97 yards, TOP 04:20
BUC 7, LEH 14
BUC - Cadden,TJ 100 yd kickoff return (Schearer,Matt kick)
BUC 14, LEH 14
BUC - Weatherly,Eric 31 yd pass from Rucker IV,Ralph (Schearer,Matt kick) 1 plays, 31 yards, TOP 00:07
3rd Quarter
BUC 14, LEH 21
LEH - Yoder,Luke 19 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 9 plays, 78 yards, TOP 05:10
BUC 21, LEH 21
BUC - Rucker IV,Ralph 7 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 12 plays, 73 yards, TOP 04:58
4th Quarter
BUC 28, LEH 21
BUC - Davis,Aaron 79 yd interception (Schearer,Matt kick)
BUC 28, LEH 28
LEH - Yoder,Luke 1 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 04:34
OT Quarter
BUC 28, LEH 35
LEH - Yoder,Luke 11 yd run (Garrido,Nick kick), 2 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
BUC 35, LEH 35
BUC - Weatherly,Eric 12 yd pass from Rucker IV,Ralph (Schearer,Matt kick) 3 plays, 25 yards, TOP 00:00
OT Quarter
BUC 38, LEH 35
BUC - Schearer,Matt 42 yd field goal 4 plays, yards, TOP 00:00
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
17
TD
1
YDS
200
INT
1
CMP
4
TD
1
YDS
98
INT
0
Players Mentioned
LB
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WR
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WR
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WR
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LB
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LB
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DB
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DL
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RB
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
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