Lehigh football team crushed by UNH in first round FCS playoff contest

The Lehigh football team grew accustomed to dominating its opponent after nine straight wins, a Patriot League title and 13 all-league selections.

But nothing went right for the Mountain Hawks in their first FCS playoff game since 2011, a 64-21 loss to University of New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon.

With senior quarterback Nick Shafnisky, who was recently named as the Patriot League’s Offensive Player of the Year, suffering from flu-like symptoms, backup Brad Mayes got the start and immediately threw an interception on the first Lehigh drive. From there, the Wildcats piled up 22 unanswered points.

Though the scoreboard was one-sided, the game stats did not reflect the gigantic discrepancy in the categories of possession, turnovers or first downs. The UNH advantage that did jump off the page, however, was in the ground battle.

The Wildcats rushed for 364 yards in the game, including six touchdowns from four different players. UNH running back Dalton Crossan ran through attempted Lehigh tackles all game long, averaging 7.7 yards per carry and scoring three total touchdowns.

On the flip side, sophomore Dom Bragalone’s 13 rushes for 65 yards and a touchdown was virtually all the Mountain Hawks could accomplish on the ground against a formidable UNH defense.

Both teams ended up starting their backup quarterbacks due to health situations. For Lehigh, Mayes finished 24 of 43 for 273 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Wildcat senior backup, Adam Riese, completed 18 of 30 attempts for 273 yards, adding three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Though Shafnisky did not get the start, he dressed as the backup and made several appearances throughout the game. However, he was picked off twice and fumbled once.

For Shafnisky and Lehigh’s other senior players, along with fifth-years LaQuan Lambert and Derek Knott, the game was the last of their careers.

Despite rattling off nine straight wins to enter the playoffs with such momentum, especially on defense, the team suffered its worst loss of the year by giving up season highs in rushing yards, total yards and points against. On offense, the Mountain Hawks were one away from their season low in points.

The team will lose many starters heading into next season, notably Shafnisky, Knott, Lambert and linebacker Colton Caslow, who did not appear in the game because of an injury. However, offensively the team will return the Patriot League’s top receiving core in Troy Pelletier and Gatlin Casey. Mayes is expected to return as the team’s starting quarterback.