Lehigh blasts Yale 37-7 to end non-conference play;

Drwal catches three TDs; Lum tosses for 378 yards

Bethlehem, PA -  Lehigh (4-1) started slowly against the visiting Yale Bulldogs (2-1)  holding a 16-7 lead at halftime before three second half TDs put Yale away as the Mountain Hawk defense dominated, 37-7. In a game between two offenses relying on their passing attacks, Lehigh completely outgunned Yale in that department as Chris Lum connected with eleven different receivers for 378 yards including three TD passes to WR Jake Drwal.  The Lehigh defense held Yale's Patrick Witt to 12 completions on 31 passes for 120 yards sacking him four times, intercepting him twice, and recovering three of six fumbles.  On a overcast day, CFF brought 31 tailgaters to celebrate the game with the family and friends of MLB Mike Groome who satisfied the revelers with a great defensive effort including a interception in the third period.  He also made two tackles on the kickoff team. A great time was had by all!

     CB Gabe Johnson picked off a Witt pass on Yale's first possession of the game, but he fumbled it away to re-start the Yale drive.  Two plays later, Billy Dokouslis recovered a Yale fumble on a trick play to put Lehigh in business at their 46. The turnover resulted in a 26-yard FG by Tim Divers, Patriot League Special Team Player of the Week from last Saturday's 27-24 win over Liberty, to put Lehigh up 3-0 in front of 6,072 predominantly Mountain Hawk fans. Lehigh forced Yale to punt after a three and out, but a fumbled punt by Sergio Fernandez-Soto gave the Bulldogs possession at the LU 16. Once again, Lehigh's defense rose to the occasion when DL Sajjad Chagani sacked Witt and recovered his fumble to give the Hawks the ball on their own 34. A roughing the punter call on a fourth at the 49 gave Lehigh another first down.  They took advantage with second team QB Michael Colvin running it into the end zone for a three-yard score and a 10-0 lead. Lehigh squib-kicked again to avoid a return by Yale's Deon Randall, the Bulldog's scoring threat. Starting from the 34, Randall got the Bulldogs on the board with an 8-yard scoring reception from Witt to close the gap with Philippe Panico's conversion, 10-7. An unsportsmanlike against LU on the PAT set up the ensuing Yale kickoff from the 45.  It gave Lehigh the ball starting from its 13. On at least six pass attempts during this game, Lum's passes were batted into the air by Yale's defensive line.  On this drive, one of those batted passes ended up in the hands of LB Will McHale to give Yale a great field position to possibly turn things around.  A 46-yard FG went wide left and the former Engineers took over from their 28.  Lum connected with WR Ryan Spadola (11 catches for 148 yards) for 46 yards to get to the Yale 22.  The drive ended with a 9-yard TD pass over the middle to Jake Drwal ( ten catches for 112 yards and 3 TDs). The PAT was blocked and Lehigh held a 16-7 lead.  In the remaining 4:47 of the half, Yale fumbled the ball away, Yale's Kurt Stottlemeyer picked off a Lum pass, and Mike Groome thwarted the Yale drive with a pick to give LU possession from their 45.  Drwal made a great one-handed reception on the drive, but Diver's FG went wide left from 40 yards away as time expired.

     The Marching 97 (100+) performed and Lehigh's women's softball team accepted their Patriot League championship awards from last season. Most looked pretty tall.  I thought they were the basketball team.  Before leaving the pregame tailgate, when a Lehigh player's mother introduced herself to several of us, she asked what player we we affiliated with.  Kristen Bonnefond exclaimed that we were all friends of Mike Groome.  The woman was confused thinking Kristen said we were friends of "the groom".  Looking at the folding table with several empty bottles on it, she said that she didn't know that there was a wedding going on!  We all had a good laugh!  During the game, most of us sat together in general admission in a section next to WF where many Lehigh parents and season ticket holders sit.  One die-hard alum/parent loves to come down the steps and lead a "L-E-H-I-G-H -Lehigh!" cheer.  He appreciated our group, especially the kids, cheering along.  Rain held off in the Lehigh Valley. We were glad to be there as it rained most of the day back home in Byram Twp., NJ.

     More than half-way through the third period, Lehigh started a drive from the 43.  A 38-yard pass to Spadola got the Hawks to the Yale 6.  From the five, Lum connected with Drwal for a scoring pass and extended the lead, 23-7.  Before the period ended, Lehigh's next possession began from the 32.  Lum completed passes to Drwal, RB Zach Barket, and Gordon De'Vaughn before drilling a pass over the  middle to Drwal for a 12-yard TD pass.  Lehigh led going into the fourth leading, 30-7.  LU Head Coach Andy Coen started working his second and third-teamers into the game. 

    A Yale punt after their next possession put Lehigh on the Yale 39 following an illegal block in the back by the Bulldogs. A four-yard TD run by Keith Sherman gave the home team a 37-7 lead and the final score.  The Patriot League favorites dominated one of the Ivy League's best.  Like the 1961 Lehigh Lambert Cup Trophy winners introduced at the half, wins over some of the best this year from the Northeast Conference, the Big South, the Ivy League, and a 48-41 OT loss to New Hampshire of the tough Colonial Athletic Association indicate that this year's Lehigh unit, ranked 13th in the FCS, have a shot at possibly being the best among this year's Eastern teams.

    Next week, the Mountain Hawks travel to Bucknell for their first of three games on the road against Patriot League foes. We will return to Bethlehem when they do on November 5 to see them in a key Patriot League game against Holy Cross.  Yale goes home to host Ivy foe Dartmouth before visiting Lafayette in the Lehigh Valley prior to taking on the rest of the Ivy League.  Collegefootballfan.com travels to its first Penn State game of the season when the Lions host the Iowa Hawkeyes.  It will be the first of four consecutive FBS games (State College, New Brunswick, Annapolis, State College) before heading back to LU.

Extra points: Patrick Witt, Yale's QB with over 4,000 career passing yards at Yale after transferring from Nebraska, was unimpressive.  His passes had no spiral and a lot of his throws hung up in the air.

With the win, Lehigh is 13-6 in the annals of our history. They now have he second best winning percentage among non-FBS teams surpassing 10-5 Delaware.  It will be tough to catch up with 12-0-1 Montclair State (D-3).

This was Chris Lum's sixth consecutive passing game with 300+ yards in a game.  His average of 370.5 ypg in total offense leads the FCS.

Spadola, a junior, came into the game ranked third nationally in the FCS averaging 138.25 ypg.  He improved his average with 146 yards, but it was the first game this season that he did not catch a TD pass this season.

I stopped by the local radio booth of the Lehigh Valley's 1320 ESPN Radio on the way into Goodman Stadium and left them a copy of Tales from the Tailgate: From the Fan who's seen 'em all!   They seemed very interested to plan an upcoming interview.  Watch for this and other possible upcoming media interviews! I had great interviews last week with WUCZ in Carthage, Tennessee, KYQX in Weathersford, TX, and KFIR AM 720 in Sweet Home, Oregon.  I look forward to some others.