Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, October 3
Bethlehem, Pa.
12:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Fordham
Photo by: Hannah Ally
Sixth-ranked Mountain Hawks to Host Fordham on Tackle Cancer at Goodman Stadium
9/29/2026 3:00:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following two straight wins over Ivy League teams, No. 6 Lehigh returns to Patriot League play as the Mountain Hawks host Fordham Saturday at Goodman Stadium on Tackle Cancer, presented by Red Robin representing Blood Cancer United. Game time is set for noon.
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Lehigh moved to 5-0 with a 20-7 win at Penn. The Mountain Hawks got a superb defensive effort that yielded just 174 yards and a late touchdown, while recording four sacks and two interceptions. Offensively, quarterback Derek Morgan rushed for an 11-yard touchdown and threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Jamaire Harden as part of a 14-point third quarter. Fordham is 1-4 on the season and 1-1 in Patriot League play. After a dominant 52-27 win at William & Mary on Sep. 19, the Rams fell 31-16 at home to Stony Brook last time out.
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Lehigh's defense set the tone in the Mountain Hawks' 20-7 victory at Penn. The Mountain Hawks allowed just 174 yards to the Quakers, including just 41 on the ground, picked off two passes, and registered a season-high four sacks. Lehigh held Penn to just 87 yards of offense through the game's first 55 minutes before the Quakers scored a late touchdown. Senior William Parton led the charge with eight tackles, while first-year Josh Lenart had seven tackles and a sack. Sophomore Lucas Manderbach added two sacks for the Brown and White.
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Connor Poole was selected as the first team All-Patriot League punter last season after averaging 42.1 yards per punt and placing 17 of his 46 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Poole has been Lehigh's punter for each of the last two seasons and took over Lehigh's placekicking duties last November. He went 3-for-4 on field goals and 17-for-17 on extra points for the Mountain Hawks. Poole is 22-for-22 on extra points so far this season and has kicked four field goals, highlighted by a 48-yarder at Penn, the third-longest in program history and the longest by a Lehigh kicker in 23 years. Poole is averaging 45.5 yards on 15 punts this year. He had a season-long 56-yard punt against Dartmouth, pinning the Big Green deep late. On Monday, Poole was recognized as Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
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One of Lehigh's defensive strengths in recent years has been its ability to get to opposing quarterbacks. Lehigh has led the Patriot League in sacks in each of the last two seasons. The Mountain Hawks had 43 sacks last season and ranked fourth in the country averaging 3.33 sacks per game. Lehigh had seven sacks in its win over Georgetown and registered six in road wins at Bucknell and Columbia. Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Tyler Ochojski led the way with 11. Lehigh lost its top five sack men from a season ago to graduation. Senior Jadin Nelson and fifth-year Nick Peltekian both recorded 1.5 last year to lead all returners. Lehigh returns just 7.5 of its 43 sacks from 2025 with those sacks coming from seven players. Lehigh recorded three sacks in its victory at Georgetown and recorded four in the win at Penn. Sophomore Lucas Manderbach leads the Mountain Hawks with 3.5 this season.
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Lehigh did well to control the ground game on both sides of the ball in its 12-1 campaign last year. The Mountain Hawks led the Patriot League in both rushing offense (230.9 ypg.) and rushing defense (70.1 ypg.). Lehigh led the FCS in rushing defense and ranked fourth nationally in rushing offense. The Mountain Hawks had four 300-yard rushing games as a team, with a season-high 343 in the win over Holy Cross. Defensively, Lehigh held seven of its last nine opponents and 10 of 13 overall under 100 rushing yards. The trend has continued through five games, with Lehigh averaging 267 rushing yards per game while limiting opponents to 88 rushing yards per contest. Lehigh leads the Patriot League in both rushing offense and rushing defense.
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Fordham comes to Goodman Stadium with a 1-4 overall record and a 1-1 league mark. The Rams' lone win came at William & Mary on Sep. 19 where Fordham rushed for 428 yards in a 52-27 triumph. Fordham lost 31-16 at home to Stony Brook last weekend and has also played a pair of FBS opponents in North Dakota State and Coastal Carolina. Jamell James and Yohan-Li Louis are both over 300 yards rushing on the season. Gunnar Smith returns as the starter at quarterback with five touchdown passes and six interceptions on the season. Andrew Osmun leads the Ram defense with 49 tackles, three sacks and an interception.
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Lehigh has played Fordham 37 previous times with the Mountain Hawks winning 27 of those meetings. Fordham has won eight of the last 12 meetings after winning just two of the first 25 games in the series, but the Mountain Hawks have won two straight.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after noon from Goodman Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-758-4263 during business hours.
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Lehigh will have its bye next Saturday and will return to action Oct. 17 when the Mountain Hawks visit Cornell in their third and final non-league game of the regular season. Game time is set for 2 p.m. from Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y.
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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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Lehigh moved to 5-0 with a 20-7 win at Penn. The Mountain Hawks got a superb defensive effort that yielded just 174 yards and a late touchdown, while recording four sacks and two interceptions. Offensively, quarterback Derek Morgan rushed for an 11-yard touchdown and threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Jamaire Harden as part of a 14-point third quarter. Fordham is 1-4 on the season and 1-1 in Patriot League play. After a dominant 52-27 win at William & Mary on Sep. 19, the Rams fell 31-16 at home to Stony Brook last time out.
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Lehigh's defense set the tone in the Mountain Hawks' 20-7 victory at Penn. The Mountain Hawks allowed just 174 yards to the Quakers, including just 41 on the ground, picked off two passes, and registered a season-high four sacks. Lehigh held Penn to just 87 yards of offense through the game's first 55 minutes before the Quakers scored a late touchdown. Senior William Parton led the charge with eight tackles, while first-year Josh Lenart had seven tackles and a sack. Sophomore Lucas Manderbach added two sacks for the Brown and White.
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Connor Poole was selected as the first team All-Patriot League punter last season after averaging 42.1 yards per punt and placing 17 of his 46 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Poole has been Lehigh's punter for each of the last two seasons and took over Lehigh's placekicking duties last November. He went 3-for-4 on field goals and 17-for-17 on extra points for the Mountain Hawks. Poole is 22-for-22 on extra points so far this season and has kicked four field goals, highlighted by a 48-yarder at Penn, the third-longest in program history and the longest by a Lehigh kicker in 23 years. Poole is averaging 45.5 yards on 15 punts this year. He had a season-long 56-yard punt against Dartmouth, pinning the Big Green deep late. On Monday, Poole was recognized as Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
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One of Lehigh's defensive strengths in recent years has been its ability to get to opposing quarterbacks. Lehigh has led the Patriot League in sacks in each of the last two seasons. The Mountain Hawks had 43 sacks last season and ranked fourth in the country averaging 3.33 sacks per game. Lehigh had seven sacks in its win over Georgetown and registered six in road wins at Bucknell and Columbia. Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Tyler Ochojski led the way with 11. Lehigh lost its top five sack men from a season ago to graduation. Senior Jadin Nelson and fifth-year Nick Peltekian both recorded 1.5 last year to lead all returners. Lehigh returns just 7.5 of its 43 sacks from 2025 with those sacks coming from seven players. Lehigh recorded three sacks in its victory at Georgetown and recorded four in the win at Penn. Sophomore Lucas Manderbach leads the Mountain Hawks with 3.5 this season.
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Lehigh did well to control the ground game on both sides of the ball in its 12-1 campaign last year. The Mountain Hawks led the Patriot League in both rushing offense (230.9 ypg.) and rushing defense (70.1 ypg.). Lehigh led the FCS in rushing defense and ranked fourth nationally in rushing offense. The Mountain Hawks had four 300-yard rushing games as a team, with a season-high 343 in the win over Holy Cross. Defensively, Lehigh held seven of its last nine opponents and 10 of 13 overall under 100 rushing yards. The trend has continued through five games, with Lehigh averaging 267 rushing yards per game while limiting opponents to 88 rushing yards per contest. Lehigh leads the Patriot League in both rushing offense and rushing defense.
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Fordham comes to Goodman Stadium with a 1-4 overall record and a 1-1 league mark. The Rams' lone win came at William & Mary on Sep. 19 where Fordham rushed for 428 yards in a 52-27 triumph. Fordham lost 31-16 at home to Stony Brook last weekend and has also played a pair of FBS opponents in North Dakota State and Coastal Carolina. Jamell James and Yohan-Li Louis are both over 300 yards rushing on the season. Gunnar Smith returns as the starter at quarterback with five touchdown passes and six interceptions on the season. Andrew Osmun leads the Ram defense with 49 tackles, three sacks and an interception.
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Lehigh has played Fordham 37 previous times with the Mountain Hawks winning 27 of those meetings. Fordham has won eight of the last 12 meetings after winning just two of the first 25 games in the series, but the Mountain Hawks have won two straight.
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Saturday's game kicks off just after noon from Goodman Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-758-4263 during business hours.
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Lehigh will have its bye next Saturday and will return to action Oct. 17 when the Mountain Hawks visit Cornell in their third and final non-league game of the regular season. Game time is set for 2 p.m. from Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y.
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| Date: | October 3, 2026 |
| Opponent: | Fordham Rams |
| Kickoff: | 12:02 p.m. |
| Stadium: | Goodman Stadium/16,000/Natural Grass |
| Location: | Bethlehem, Pa. |
| Lehigh's record: | 5-0 overall, 3-0 Patriot League |
| Fordham's record: | 1-4 overall, 1-1 Patriot League |
| Series: | Lehigh leads 27-10 |
| Video: | ESPN+ with Marco Socci and Lance Haynes '94 |
| Radio: | Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM and LVFoxSports.com with Matt Kerr, Mike Yadush '93 and Connor Brown beginning at 11 a.m. |
| Key Stats: | •Lehigh ranks in the top 10 in the FCS in both rushing offense (3rd, 267 ypg) and rushing defense (6th, 88 ypg). •The Mountain Hawks had four sacks at Penn after totaling four in their previous four games. •Junior Connor Poole's 48-yard field goal at Penn matched the third-longest in school history and was the longest for Lehigh since Matt Douglas' school-record 51-yarder in 2003. |
Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter and Instagram and like on Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.Â
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