Lehigh football extends undefeated record with a 41-24 win over Bucknell

Lehigh beat Bucknell University in a Patriot League showdown on the road in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, improving their undefeated record to 4-0. 

Last season, the Bison handed the defending Patriot League Champions their only conference loss. 

Looking to avenge this, the Mountain Hawks won the coin toss and chose to defer possession to the second half. 

On Bucknell’s first play of the game, fifth-year quarterback Ralph Rucker IV threw a pass down the middle that was intercepted by Lehigh’s sophomore defensive back Mekhai Smith. 

This allowed Lehigh’s offense to start at the Bucknell 35-yard line. 

Sophomore quarterback Hayden Johnson threw a 13-yard pass to senior wide receiver Geoffery Jamiel down the right side for a first down at the Bucknell 22-yard line. 

With the offense unable to score a touchdown, senior kicker Nick Garrido made the field goal attempt from the 24-yard line, giving Lehigh an early 3-0 lead. 

After the Bison had a turnover on downs, Lehigh’s offense took the field once more. 

Junior running back Luke Yoder put the team into early motion with a 17-yard rush down the middle. 

With seven minutes left in the first quarter, sophomore running back Jaden Green ran 12 yards down the right side to score Lehigh’s first touchdown of the game, bringing the score to 10-0. 

The Bison drove for 73 yards, but couldn’t find the endzone. Bucknell’s senior kicker Matt Schearer made a 29-yard field goal, lessening Lehigh’s lead to 10-3. 

After scoreless drives from both teams, Schearer punted the ball 52 yards to the Lehigh 2-yard line, giving the Mountain Hawks a long way to go. 

Yoder had a 33-yard right-side rush, placing Lehigh in better field position to close out the first quarter.

Despite two back-to-back penalties slowing their forward momentum at the start of the second quarter, Lehigh was able to make it from the 2-yard line all the way to the opposite endzone. 

Green had a 14-yard rush down the middle to bring Lehigh to the 1-yard line. Yoder finished the job, rushing down the middle and scoring, extending the lead to 17-3. 

With four and a half minutes left in the second quarter, the Bison found the endzone for the first time, as Rucker rushed five yards to the right, bringing the score to 17-10 and making it a one-touchdown game.  

Lehigh drove 62 yards to answer, but Bucknell’s defense held firm on a fourth-and-one attempt. 

To close out the first half, Rucker rushed 12 yards down the middle, where he was tackled by senior defensive back Mason Moore, resulting in a personal foul on Lehigh, followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Bison. 

Both teams ran into the locker room for halftime with a 10-7 score. 

Lehigh opened up the second half with a touchdown drive, where Green rushed 23 yards to extend the Mountain Hawks’ lead to a more comfortable 23-10. 

Senior defensive lineman Matt Spatny had a sack that resulted in a Bucknell loss of seven yards, forcing the Bison to punt the ball away after only three plays. 

Back on offense, Lehigh drove down the field, and Johnson found Green in the endzone for six yards, marking the first passing touchdown of the game. 

Now down 31-10, Bucknell could not respond. After a sack and a rush, both losing yards, and an incomplete pass, the Bison punted away after only three plays again. 

Lehigh got the ball back and quickly found themselves in the red zone after three consecutive completed passes by Johnson, with one to first-year wide receiver Anthony Feaster for seven yards and two to Jamiel for 16 yards and 13 yards.

Johnson then threw a 17-yard dart down the middle to junior wide receiver Mason Humphrey for a touchdown, securing a long lead of 38-10.  

At the end of the third quarter, Rucker took another sack, this time from senior linebacker Tyler Ochojski for a loss of seven yards. 

With the start of the fourth quarter, Bucknell continued their drive. Rucker completed a 10-yard pass to senior wide receiver Nate Anderson for a touchdown, chipping away at Lehigh’s lead with a new score of 38-17.

After a scoreless drive from Lehigh, the Bison got the ball back on offense and capitalized on the opportunity. Rucker completed another passing touchdown, connecting with junior wide receiver TJ Cadden, and narrowing the score to 38-24. 

Lehigh recovered Bucknell’s onside kick and took their time on offense to run out the clock. 

Garrido made another field goal attempt, giving Lehigh a 41-24 lead late in the 4th quarter. 

Bucknell’s offense was unable to shorten the lead anymore, with two back-to-back sacks causing them to punt it away with 30 seconds left in the game.

Lehigh had five sacks on the day, with fifth-year defensive lineman Dillon Sheehan leading with two. Lehigh’s offense had 323 rushing yards, with Bucknell trailing far behind with 80. 

The Mountain Hawks head back home to Bethlehem next weekend, facing off against the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, Sept. 27, during Family Weekend, at Goodman Stadium.