The Lehigh football team defeated Lafayette 38-14 in the 160th meeting of The Rivalry at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem.
The victory gave the Mountain Hawks a share of the Patriot League title and a bid in the upcoming FCS playoffs, holding the tiebreaker over Holy Cross.
Lehigh rode their offensive explosion from their 45-17 thrashing of Colgate the week prior. Before the sell-out crowd at Goodman Stadium shuffled into their seats, the Mountain Hawks offense methodically drove down the field in nine plays on their opening drive.
On the ninth play, running back Jaden Green took the handoff from quarterback Hayden Johnson, bounced out right and scampered to the corner of the end zone from 19 yards out to give the Mountain Hawks the lead.
The lead did not last, with the Leopards responding quickly. Quarterback Dean DeNobile completed back-to-back play-action passes for chunk yardage to set up Lafayette in the red zone. With the good field position, running back Jamar Curtis punched it into the end zone from nine yards out to knot the game at seven.
Despite the hot start, Lehigh’s offense cooled on the second drive. On the first play, Johnson rolled out to his left and fired a pass into traffic. Leopards defensive back Gabe DuBois made a leaping interception, securing the catch after getting his legs cut out from under him.
DuBois’s interception set the Leopards up at the brink of Lehigh territory.
However, Lehigh’s defense, a year removed from giving up 49 points in last year’s Rivalry game, bent but did not break. The Leopards pushed the ball to the Lehigh 24-yard line, but a false start and sack by defensive lineman T.J. Burke forced a punt, mitigating any scoring danger.
On the second drive, Lehigh reverted to their offensive identity of the ground game. The trio of Green, Luke Yoder and quarterback Matt Machalik combined for 58 yards on the ground, culminating with Machalik plunging forward for a one-yard touchdown, giving Lehigh a 14-7 lead.
After a Lafayette three-and-out, the Mountain Hawks continued to roll. Set up at the 23, Johnson fired a ball up the seam to wide receiver Mason Humphrey, who high-pointed the ball and secured the catch for a 23-yard score.
Lafayette threatened on their ensuing drive, reaching the Lehigh 27-yard line. DeNobile fired a pass into the endzone, but defensive back Aidan Singleton deflected it into the hands of defensive back Nick Peltekian, spoiling another Leopards scoring threat.
In a two-minute drill, Lehigh drove the ball into the red zone and was able to capitalize.
With 10 seconds on the clock, Johnson took the snap, scanned the field and took off. With his receivers covered, Johnson scrambled right, absorbed a hit and dove for the end zone. His effort barely broke the plane with one second to go in the half to cap off another scoring drive.
After scoring 21 unanswered points in the second quarter, Lehigh held a 28-7 lead at halftime.
On the opening drive of the second half, Lafayette’s offense came out hot. The Leopards went 76 yards in 10 plays before Curtis ran it in from two yards out, cutting the lead to 14.
The score gave Curtis 100 rushing yards on the day, the most from any player in the game.
Lehigh responded, driving down the field and kicking a 31-yard field goal to give the Mountain Hawks a 31-14 lead.
Both teams traded punts and timely stops, creating a low-scoring second half, until the fourth quarter.
The Leopards gained over 300 yards on the day but failed to capitalize on scoring drives due to timely turnovers and stops.
Instead of stopping scoring drives, the defense created one of their own.
DeNobile fired a pass over the middle of the field that defensive back Mason Moore undercut, intercepting the pass and returning it for a pick-six touchdown, icing the game with a Lehigh 38-14 lead.
The players ran to the stands, celebrating with the crowd in the first row, and the sight of a victory became clear in the stadium.
With the final whistle, the Lehigh faithful stormed the field, culminating a season with a share of the Patriot League title and a successful season turnaround from the team’s 2-9 record last season.
The game marks Lehigh’s first victory against Lafayette since the 2021 season, and their first berth into the FCS playoffs since 2017.
The Mountain Hawks now await the end of further contests to see their next opponent in the postseason.
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