Bucknell game gives Lehigh football chance to turn year around

The Lehigh football team is looking forward to this weekend for reasons other than Pacing Break. The team begins its Patriot league season as the Mountain Hawks look for redemption against Bucknell University, who handed Lehigh a 45-24 loss.

“We are definitely excited to start league play,” senior defensive lineman Greg Palma said.

Last week Lehigh (2-3) suffered a homecoming loss to Ivy league opponent Yale University, but will make some changes both offensively and defensively to be ready for the Bison.

“After last week our goals are to reduce penalties and turnovers on offense,” senior offensive lineman Matt Ford said. “That’s always the goal, as those things have hurt us in previous weeks. Those things both have to do with focus, which is something we continue to work on from week to week.”

Against Yale, Lehigh struggled rushing the ball, as it only managed to total 87 yards on 31 attempts. This was the second lowest team rushing total of the year, its worst being 70 yards against James Madison University.

“We have to be a more consistent offensively,” junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky said. “Our lack of focus has led to penalties that have killed us this year and have especially hurt us in the last two games.”

After averaging just under four penalties per game in the first three games, Lehigh was penalized 10 times against Princeton University and seven times against Yale, both of which were losses.

Bucknell (3-1) is also beginning its Patriot League play, notching previous wins over Marist College, Cornell University and an overtime victory at Virginia Military Institute last week. The Bison’s only loss came against Duquesne University, 26-7.

The Bison are led by junior quarterback R.J. Nitti who has started their first four games throwing for 740 yards, three touchdowns and completing 51.5 percent of his passes. Bucknell’s running game is sparked by C.J. Williams and Matt Delmauro who have combined for 500 total yards this year.

Last year’s game against Bucknell consisted of the Bison coming out firing as they took a 31-7 lead early in the second half and then held off Lehigh’s 17-point run. Bucknell’s victory came without the help of Nitti or Williams, who were both sidelined with injuries.

Last year, Bucknell dominated the passing game with 313 yards and four touchdowns compared to Lehigh’s 193 yards. Lehigh also struggled with possessing the football as they turned the ball over four times due to interceptions.

This season Lehigh’s defense has given up an average of 33.8 points per game and 5.4 yards per rush. Saturday’s game will be a major test for Lehigh’s defense as they will be heavily counted on to shut down Bucknell’s offense.

Junior linebacker Colton Caslow said he is up for the challenge

“Our most important defensive goal this week is to shut down the run game, Bucknell is very run oriented and if we can stop the run we can control the game,” he said. “We also need to continue to win the turnover battle.”

Caslow will be a big factor in Saturday’s game as he currently leads the team in tackles (58) as well as one sack. Junior Brian Githens has continuously been a force on defense as well, second on the team in tackles with 39. He also has two out of the team’s three interceptions.

Although Lehigh has an overall losing record, the Hawks are just beginning their Patriot League play, and the team always looks at league play as being a second season.

“We’re going to continue to work knowing that all of our goals are still in tact,” Ford said. “And the energy should amplify knowing we start league play Saturday.”

The Mountain Hawks’ offense comes into Saturday’s game averaging 23.4 points per game and 439.4 yards per game. The Hawks have been a pretty balanced offense, passing and running the ball about equally. Lehigh will heavily rely on their upperclassmen for big plays as well as leadership throughout the game.

This season, Shafnisky has thrown for 1,335 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s also proved his role as a dual threat, leading the team in rushing with 359 yards and four touchdowns.

On the ground, the Hawks will still be without freshman running back Micco Brisker, but will have fellow freshman running back Dominick Bragalone. In the air, sophomore wide receiver Troy Pelletier leads the team with 404 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

So far this season Bucknell has a 1-1 record at home while Lehigh is 1-2 on the road. Saturday’s matchup is set for a 1 p.m. start in Lewisburg and can also be listened to on ESPN Radio or watched on the Patriot League Network.