The Lehigh football team (0-3) will look to post its first victory of the season when it hosts the Monmouth University Hawks at home this Saturday.
The team’s 28-25 defeat of Monmouth last season proved to be one of the most exciting games of 2013 after the Mountain Hawks staged a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback. Down 25-21 late in the game, Lehigh had a punt blocked on its own 14-yard line, only to scoop up the blocked punt and advance it to midfield. Two plays later, Lehigh converted on a 40-yard touchdown pass for the victory.
Lehigh will look to continue its strong and well-balanced offensive play, led by sophomore quarterback Nick Shafnisky, on Saturday. “I bet the Monmouth guys that played last year in the game are definitely remembering it as one that really could’ve gone either way,” Shafnisky said. “The long pass game really helped us in that win last year, and doing some of the same things, along with establishing a solid running game, will help us this week.”
Lehigh’s running game has posed a major threat with a powerful three-headed attack so far. Sophomore running back Brandon Yosha has led the talented group thus far this season with 253 yards and three touchdowns, but he is not expected to suit up after suffering an injury against Yale on Saturday. Luckily, the team can lean on two other running backs who are also playing well. Senior Rich Sodeke has tallied 140 yards and one touchdown, and first-year Chris Leigh has also shown great potential by rushing for 87 yards on 11 attempts for a 7.9 yards-per-carry average in his first action as a Mountain Hawk.
Senior Josh Parris (16 receptions, 153 yards, two TDs) and first-year Troy Pelletier (8 receptions, 143 yards, three TDs) have set the pace for a deep receiving corps that has also featured significant contributions from senior Derek Gaul, junior Stefan Sansone and senior tight end Tyler Coyle.
“We’re going to have to put two halves of football together,” Gaul said of the upcoming weekend’s matchup. “The offense may play great the first half and then slack off in the second half or vice versa. The same goes for the defense. We’re going to have to play great football on both sides of the ball for 60 minutes to get our first win this Saturday.”
Lehigh’s defense has faced some struggles in the opening weeks of the season by allowing over 600 yards in each of the first three games and yielding 130 total points. However, the Hawks’ defense is not without its bright spots. Sophomore linebacker Pierce Ripanti leads the unit with 23 tackles, including a seven-tackle, one-sack performance against Yale. Sophomore defensive back Brandon Leaks, who is tied for the team lead with 16 unassisted tackles, returned an interception for a touchdown against Yale. Leaks’ interception return allowed the Mountain Hawks to open up a 21-0 first-half lead before the Bulldogs mounted a strong second-half comeback. The Achilles’ heel of the defense thus far, particularly in the team’s losses to the University of New Hampshire and Yale, has been its propensity to give up big plays. In fact, the Bulldogs connected on five scoring plays of 20 yards or more this past Saturday.
“From a defensive standpoint, we’re definitely going to work on being more disciplined this week,” Ripanti said. “But this is a winning program, and everyone on the team is ready to bounce back and get our season back on track.”
Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m at Goodman Stadium. Community Day activities will commence at 11:00 a.m. and will include face painting, inflatables and music.
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