When junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky went down in Lehigh football’s loss to Fordham University two weeks ago, the offense wasn’t quite the same. However, since then things have changed.
Freshman Brad Mayes has put together back-to-back efficient starts at quarterback and has left the field with wins on each occasion, this time leading Lehigh to a 51-38 victory over College of the Holy Cross on Saturday at Goodman Stadium.
Mayes was throwing darts right from the beginning, firing a long ball to senior wide receiver Derek Knott down the left side of the field on the first play of the game for a 61-yard touchdown. Mayes finished the game 17-for-21 with 239 passing yards, three touchdowns, and once again, no interceptions.
“Brad played again very, very well,” coach Andy Coen said. “I think he actually stepped up his game from what he did last week.”
The ease with which Lehigh (5-4, 3-1 Patriot) scored on its opening drive was apparent throughout the rest of the game. The Mountain Hawks churned up 543 total yards against the Crusaders, 278 of which were on the ground.
Despite not getting the start, though, Shafnisky still played an important role in the victory. He rushed six times for 35 yards and two touchdowns, the last of which was his 10th rushing touchdown of the season. He also showed that his hip pointer injury wasn’t preventing him from passing — he tossed a 44-yard bomb to sophomore wide receiver Gatlin Casey in the second quarter that led to a Lehigh touchdown on the next play.
Coen said that it was great having the combination of quarterbacks out there, who were switching back and forth at times in the middle of drives. He said there’s no quarterback controversy over who the future starter is, but would not reveal yet who the starter next week would be.
The effectiveness of the run game was once again a key part of the Hawks’ offensive attack. Freshman running back Dom Bragalone rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, his fourth straight game with over 100 rushing yards. The team finished with 60 total rushes, a single-game high for the season.
“With the rushing game, it just makes my job 10 times easier,” Mayes said. “It just opens up my ability to spread it down the field and throw the ball.”
The defense stopped Holy Cross to just 10 points in the first half, and after that it was mostly just making sure Lehigh’s cushion on the scoreboard didn’t deplete too much. Coen acknowledged that even though the defense gave up 31 points, it’s partly what he expected in a game like this.
“Holy Cross is going to score points, they’ve done it against most of the teams they’ve played,” Coen said. “They have a lot of talented guys and a talented quarterback.”
The defense was missing its pair of junior linebackers in Colton Caslow and Pierce Ripanti. Caslow missed the game due to illness and Ripanti left in the second quarter due to an ankle injury.
However, sophomore defensive back Quentin Jones said everyone else around them stepped up in their absence.
“It was tough not having them, but our team is ‘next man up,’ and they did their jobs,” said Jones, who had a career-high two interceptions in the game.
A shot at a league title and postseason berth will be on the line next week when Lehigh travels to Colgate University on Nov. 14 at 1 p.m.
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