Lehigh secures 28-10 victory over Sacred Heart

Lehigh football secured a 28-10 victory over the Sacred Heart Pioneers today in the second home game of the season, bringing its record to 2-0. 

Softball player Jenny Bender, ‘03, soccer player Andrew Mittendorf, ‘99, and former Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett were honored on the field during the first half of the game as the newest inductees of the Hall of Fame on Friday night. 

A University Day celebration was also held during the game to highlight student organizations. 

With the sound of the cannon signaling the start of the game, the Mountain Hawks won the coin toss and elected to defer possession to the second half. 

On the first play of the game, Sacred Heart’s sophomore wide receiver Dean Hangey had a 91-yard kick return for a touchdown, taking an early 7-0 lead. 

Lehigh answered in their first possession, with junior running back Luke Yoder scoring on a 28-yard rush down the middle to bring the score to 7-7. 

“It was a big turning point in the game,” Yoder said. “We went in down seven nothing, but I think we need to learn to play as if it never happened.” 

Halfway through the first quarter, the Mountain Hawks’ sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnson threw an interception that was picked off by Sacred Heart’s junior safety Daimon Jacobs. Jacobs then fumbled the ball, which was recovered by sophomore offensive lineman Charles Soska, allowing Lehigh’s offense to continue its stint. 

After two false start penalties on Lehigh moved them 10 yards back on the field, the Mountain Hawk’s offense had a turnover on downs. 

At the end of the first quarter, sophomore running back Jaden Green had a 41-yard punt return, allowing Lehigh to start their drive at the Sacred Heart 43-yard line. 

Johnson then ran 12 yards down the right side to close out the first quarter. 

The Mountain Hawks carried this energy into the second quarter, where Green had a 16-yard rush through the middle and a 10-yard sprint down the right to score their second touchdown and take the lead 14-7. 

After a bad snap got away from Sacred Heart’s sophomore quarterback Jack Snyder, the Pioneers recovered the ball, but were unable to convert a first down. 

The Mountain Hawks’ offense took the field once more, starting at the Lehigh 7-yard line. 

Johnson completed a 28-yard pass to senior wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel on the left side, but two back-to-back penalties halted Lehigh’s forward momentum. They punted it away with two and a half minutes left in the second quarter. 

Coach Kevin Cahill said the Mountain Hawks’ procedural penalties were from a lack of attention to detail. 

“We’re not doing the little things right,” Cahill said.  

Yoder said he tried to flush the procedural penalties out of his head and move on to the next play, focusing on getting gritty, physical runs regardless of the circumstances. 

With one minute left in the second quarter, Johnson completed a 13-yard pass to junior wide receiver Mason Humphrey, securing a first down and placing Lehigh on Sacred Heart’s 33-yard line. 

Johnson then had a 20-yard rush down the middle for a touchdown, bringing the score to 21-7. 

Closing out the first half, senior linebacker Brycen Edwards led the defense with seven tackles. Lehigh had 145 rushing yards and 131 receiving yards, while Sacred Heart trailed with 40 rushing yards and 42 passing yards. 

Sacred Heart was the first to put points on the board in the second half after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Lehigh gave the Pioneers 15 yards. A field goal made by Sacred Heart graduate student kicker Matt Kling brought the score to 21-10. 

Yoder had a rush down the right for 25 yards. A 12-yard run through the middle by sophomore running back Aaron Crossley put Lehigh in the red zone to close out the third quarter. 

On the first play of the fourth quarter, sophomore quarterback Matt Machalik rushed left for two yards into the endzone, scoring Lehigh’s fourth touchdown and extending their lead to 28-10. 

Senior defensive lineman TJ Burke sacked Sacred Heart’s sophomore quarterback Jack Snyder, causing a loss of three yards for the Pioneers. 

With just under five minutes left in the game, Snyder was sacked again, this time by sophomore linebacker Cole Hughes, resulting in a loss of five yards. 

Senior linebacker Tyler Ochojski, who had seven tackles on the day, said the defense’s success comes from their close-knit brotherhood. 

“We play a lot of football together, so knowing you’re not playing for yourself but the guy next to you is the one you’re playing for,” Ochojski said. “We’ve developed ourselves as a physical, fast defense that’s going to play sound.” 

The game ended with a final score of 28-10, but Cahill said he is not satisfied with the way the team played. 

“I don’t think we had the best week of practice,” Cahill said. “We’re dealing with a different animal right now, with continuing to show up every single day and focusing on ourselves.”

Lehigh finished with nine penalties that resulted in a total loss of 75 yards.

To avoid these penalties, Yoder said the team needs to attack every week with the same mindset, no matter the opponent, and not get complacent on the highs. 

The Mountain Hawks will challenge the Duquesne University Dukes on the road in Pittsburgh on Sept. 13.