Lehigh University
12-0 , 7-0
Lafayette
8-4 , 6-1
Lehigh Runs Past Lafayette 42-32 in Rivalry 161 to Win 14th League Title
11/22/2025 5:13:00 PM | Football
Lehigh rushed for 320 yards as a team with the Mountain Hawks outscoring the Leopards 28-15 in the second half.
Yoder gained a career-high 234 yards on 19 carries and scored four touchdowns to earn game MVP honors.
Postgame with @coach_cahill and Rivalry 161 MVP Luke Yoder! 👇 pic.twitter.com/GsUIzcWULK
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) November 22, 2025
The victory was Lehigh's school record-tying 12th of the season. At 12-0 the Mountain Hawks clinched their sixth undefeated regular season and their first since 2001. The Mountain Hawks secured their league-leading 14th Patriot League championship and will head to the FCS playoffs for the second straight year.
Lafayette started fast, marching 75 yards on the game's opening possession and taking an early 7-0 lead on Kente Edwards' one-yard run. Edwards, who gained more than 200 rushing yards the last two weeks, finished with 157 and scored three touchdowns for the Leopards, who finish at 8-4 overall and 6-1 in Patriot League play.
Lehigh answered the Lafayette touchdown with a 65-yard drive. Yoder broke off a 29-yard rush that tied the game at 7-7 with 4:46 left in the first quarter.
A two-yard rush by Lafayette quarterback Dean DeNobile put the Leopards ahead 14-7 early in the second quarter, but Lehigh answered midway through the period on a 77-yard bomb from sophomore Hayden Johnson to junior Mason Humphrey, evening the score at 14-14.
7️⃣7️⃣ yards to the house! 🏠 @saucyyy_mason
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) November 22, 2025
📺 - https://t.co/q9A2iLZYCP@PatriotLeague @espn pic.twitter.com/dkAEK2VQc8
Late in the half, Lafayette drove deep into Lehigh territory, but the Mountain Hawks held the Leopards to a 21-yard Jack Simonetta field goal, making the score 17-14 Leopards at the break.
GOODBYE. 👋 @LukeYoder2023
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) November 22, 2025
📺 - https://t.co/q9A2iM0wsn@PatriotLeague @espn pic.twitter.com/HHzUOK5zA1
After Yoder's 80-yard jaunt put Lehigh ahead, the Mountain Hawks were unable to add to their lead. Edwards put Lafayette back in front with a one-yard run with 2:46 left in the third.
On Lehigh's next possession, a 33-yard Yoder run and a 37-yard scramble by Johnson set up Yoder's third touchdown of the game, which gave the Mountain Hawks the lead for good.
A six-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter put Lehigh up 35-24 with 10:20 to play. Edwards' third touchdown of the game and a successful two-point conversion brought Lafayette within 35-32 with 7:14 remaining.
Not one... not two... not three... FOUR touchdowns for @LukeYoder2023 ‼️
— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) November 22, 2025
📺 - https://t.co/q9A2iM0wsn@PatriotLeague @espn pic.twitter.com/jviPlBZNRj
Lehigh answered with a clock-milking 10-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a one-yard Johnson touchdown run with 1:53 to play.
Johnson finished 11-of-16 passing for 159 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed seven times for 64 yards and a score. Sophomore Jaden Green added 49 yards on five carries.
Humphrey led the receivers with 83 yards on two catches, while senior Geoffrey Jamiel caught five for 26 yards.
DeNobile was 26-of-37 for 275 yards and an interception for Lafayette.
Junior William Parton led the Lehigh defense with 11 tackles and a tackle for loss. Senior TJ Burke had Lehigh's lone sack and senior Nick Peltekian had an interception in the second quarter for Lehigh's lone takeaway.
The Mountain Hawks will learn their FCS playoffs fate when the bracket is unveiled Sunday at noon on ESPNU.
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh's 12 wins match the 1977, 1998 and 2000 squads for the school record… the Mountain Hawks matched the 1998 and 2000 squads with 12 consecutive regular season wins… Lehigh went undefeated in Patriot League play for the first time since 2016 and the eighth time… the Mountain Hawks hit the 300-yard rushing mark for the fourth time this season… Lehigh out-gained Lafayette 479-424… the Mountain Hawks won their fourth consecutive win-and-in game in terms of the Patriot League championship and NCAA playoff berth… Lafayette now leads the all-time series 82-74-5, but Lehigh has won 38 of the last 61 games… Yoder's 234 rushing yards were the fourth-highest single-game total in program history and the second-most by a Lehigh back in a Rivalry game… he is the first Mountain Hawk to rush for four touchdowns in a game since Dom Bragalone scored four against Holy Cross on Nov. 11, 2017… he is the first Lehigh rusher with four touchdowns in a Rivalry game since Jack Rizzo in 1971.
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Team Stats
LEH 0, LAF 7
LAF - Edwards,Kente 1 yd run (Simonetta,Jack kick), 14 plays, 75 yards, TOP 07:00
LEH 7, LAF 7
LEH - Yoder,Luke 29 yd run (Poole,Connor kick), 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 03:14
LEH 7, LAF 14
LAF - DeNobile,Dean 2 yd run (Simonetta,Jack kick), 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 05:25
LEH 14, LAF 14
LEH - Humphrey,Mason 77 yd pass from Johnson,Hayden (Poole,Connor kick) 2 plays, 89 yards, TOP 00:44
LEH 14, LAF 17
LAF - Simonetta,Jack 21 yd field goal 14 plays, 52 yards, TOP 06:29
LEH 21, LAF 17
LEH - Yoder,Luke 80 yd run (Poole,Connor kick), 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:18
LEH 21, LAF 24
LAF - Edwards,Kente 1 yd run (Simonetta,Jack kick), 13 plays, 97 yards, TOP 05:59
LEH 28, LAF 24
LEH - Yoder,Luke 3 yd run (Poole,Connor kick), 4 plays, 73 yards, TOP 01:58
LEH 35, LAF 24
LEH - Yoder,Luke 6 yd run (Poole,Connor kick), 7 plays, 47 yards, TOP 03:24
LEH 35, LAF 32
LAF - Edwards,Kente 4 yd run (Kuehner,Mason pass), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:06
LEH 42, LAF 32
LEH - Johnson,Hayden 1 yd run (Poole,Connor kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:21
