Last season Lehigh had defied all expectations and improved from their 2–9 record in 2023 to finish 9–4 and winning the Patriot League title as well as an FCS playoff birth.[1] Due to this, in the offseason, Lehigh was able to use the transfer portal to sign five new highly ranked student athletes on signing day, joining another six high level recruits recruited earlier.[2] Additionally, senior defensive lineman Matt Spatny was added to the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award, which is awarded to the top defensive player in FCS football, having earned an honorable mention to the first-team all-Patriot league all-American team last season.[3]
(13:33) LEH – Jaden Green 4-yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 12 Plays, 87 yards, 7:04 LEH 21–14)
Statistics
RICH
LEH
First downs
10
21
Total yards
181
298
Rushing yards
68
163
Passing yards
113
135
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
14/20/1
13/24/2
Time of possession
28:25
31:35
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Richmond
Passing
Kyle Wickersham
113 YRD/14 COMP/20 ATP/0 TD/1 INT
Rushing
Aziz Foster-Powell
9 CAR/32 YRD/0 TD
Receiving
Jaiden Fair
4 REC/52 YRD
Lehigh
Passing
Hayden Johnson
125 YRD/13 COMP/24 ATP/2 TD/2 INT
Rushing
Jaden Green
13 CAR/88 YRD/1 TD
Receiving
Geoffrey Jamiel
4 REC/68 YRD/1 TD
Lehigh's season opener was a rematch of the first round of the FCS playoffs against the Richmond Spiders, their first game as a member of the Patriot League.[6] Both Lehigh and Richmond went into the game ranked, at No. 15 and No. 22 respectively with uncharacteristically high turnout for the Lehigh home-game as Lehigh also introduced a ceremonial bell ringing at the start of the game.[7] Lehigh would win the coin toss but defer to the second half, with the Spiders scoring on their first drive with just nine seconds left in the first quarter, a one-yard rush up the middle on the goal-line.[7] With just one minute to go in the second quarter the Mountain Hawks would answer and tie the game with a 13-yard touchdown pass from sophomores Hayden Johnson to Jaden Green.[7] Lehigh would gain the lead with four minutes left in the third quarter with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to senior WR Geoffrey Jamiel.[7] Richmond answered immediately with a 99-yard kick return, tying the game 14–14.[7] Halfway into the fourth quarter Green would score on a four-yard rush, with the Mountain Hawks taking the lead again 21–14.[7] A big three-and-out and interception in the fourth quarter by Lehigh's defense put the game away.[6][7]
Sacred Heart Pioneers (1–0) at No. 11 Lehigh Mountain Hawks (1–0) – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3
4
Total
Pioneers
7
0
3
0
10
No. 11 Mountain Hawks
7
14
0
7
28
at Goodman Stadium • Lower Saucon Township, PA
Date: September 6
Game time: 12:00 PM EDT
Game weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 3,618
Referee: Henry Wimberg
TV announcers(ESPN+): Marco Socci (play-by-play) and Mike Yadush (analyst)
Game information
First Quarter
(14:47) SHU – Dean Hangey 91 yard kickoff return, Matt Kling kick (Drive: 1 play, 91 yards, 0:13; SHU 7–0)
(11:38) LEH – Luke Yoder 28 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:09 TIED 7–7)
Second Quarter
(14:12) LEH – Jaden Green 10 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 3 plays, 43 yards, 1:25; LEH 14–7)
(1:06) LEH – Hayden Johnson 20 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 4 plays, 33 yards, 0:31; LEH 21–7)
Third Quarter
(8:13) SHU – Matt Kling 32 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 5:17; LEH 21–10)
Fourth Quarter
(14:55) LEH – Matt Machalik 2 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:13; LEH 28–10)
Statistics
SHU
LEH
First downs
14
21
Total yards
177
423
Rushing yards
70
286
Passing yards
107
137
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
16/26/0
11/18/1
Time of possession
26:23
33:37
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Sacred Heart
Passing
Jack Snyder
94 YRDS/14 COMP/20 ATP/0 TD/ 0 INT
Rushing
Jack Snyder
9 CAR/ 30 YRD/0 TD
Receiving
Payton Rhoades
4 REC/26 YRD
Lehigh
Passing
Hayden Johnson
129 YRDS/10 COMP/17 ATP/0 TD/1 INT
Rushing
Luke Yoder
12 CAR/127 YRD/1 TD
Receiving
Goeffrey Jamiel
5 REC/60 YRD
As part of the University Day celebrations at Lehigh, Softball player Jenny Bender, ‘03, soccer player Andrew Mittendorf, ‘99, and former Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett were honored on the field as the school's newest inductees into their hall of fame during halftime.[8] The Sacred Heart UniversityPioneers started the game by returning the opening kick for a touchdown.[9][8] However, after getting the ball back, Lehigh would answer with a Luke Yoder rushing touchdown of their own.[8][10] Halfway through the first quarter the Mountain Hawk's Hayden Johnson threw an interception to SHU safety Daimon Jacobs, who then fumbled the ball which was recovered by Lehigh lineman Charles Soska, allowing Lehigh's drive to continue.[8][10] The Pioneer's offense would only score a single field goal, while Lehigh put up four rushing touchdowns by four different players for a final score of 28–10.[9][8][10] This would be the first time Lehigh would go 2–0 since 2013.[10] This was just the second time Lehigh and Sacred Heart had played each other, and with the Lehigh win the series record stands at 1–1.[10]
The first ever meeting between the Mountain Hawks and the DuquesneDukes and a back-and-forth affair, the teams traded a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter including a ricocheted pass TD from Johnson intended for Jamiel that was hauled in by Garrett Guess after deflecting off a Duke defender with the Dukes then scoring following a 35-yard pass from Tyler Riddell to Joey Isabella on the next drive.[11][12][13] With just 54 seconds left in the first half Johnson found Jamiel for a 54-yard pass in the end zone to put Lehigh up 14–7.[11][12] After forcing a three-and-out, Lehigh would score on their opening drive of the second half before Riddle found Isabella again, this time for a 66-yard touchdown pass.[11][12] Lehigh answered with a 16-yard TD from Johnson to Mason Humphrey but so would Duquesne with a thirteen play drive capped off by a 1-yard Logan Kushner rushing touchdown.[11][12] After a good kickoff return, Lehigh mounted a 59-yard drive to take the final lead late in the third quarter.[11][12] Duquesne would have a chance to answer, however, a key strip-sack by senior LB Tyler Ochojski ended the game.[11][12] With the win head coach Kevin Cahill moved above .500 on his win percentage at Lehigh for the first time, especially important for the school as their last head coach, Tom Gilmore, went 9–27 during the four years prior to Cahill.[11][12][13]
(BUCK): 12:18 – Nate Anderson 10 Yard pass from Ralph Rucker IV, Matt Schearer kick (Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:48 LEH 38–17)
(BUCK): 6:09 – TJ Cadden 3 Yard pass from Ralph Rucker IV, Matt Schearer kick (Drive: 11 plays, 86 yards, 3:38 LEH 38–24)
(LEH): 1:42 – Nick Garrido 23 Yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 39 yards, 4:19 LEH 41–24)
Statistics
LEH
BUCK
First downs
25
20
Total yards
494
291
Rushing yards
323
80
Passing yards
171
291
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
16/20/0
23/34/1
Time of possession
32:07
27:53
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Lehigh
Passing
Hayden Johnson
171 YRD/16 COMP/20 ATP/2 TD/0 INT
Rushing
Luke Yoder
18 CAR/174 YRD/1 TD
Receiving
Geoffrey Jamiel
8 REC/102 YRD
Bucknell
Passing
Ralph Rucker IV
291 YRD/23 COMP/34 ATP/2 TD/ 1 INT
Rushing
Ralph Rucker IV
13 CAR/35 YRD/ 1 TD
Receiving
Sam Milligan
5 REC/109 YRD
Bucknell's parent weekend game, and a revenge game for Lehigh as Bucknell handed the Mountain Hawks their only conference loss last season.[14][15] On the first play of scrimmage Lehigh's Mekhai Smith intercepted Bucknell's Ralph Rucker IV but only capatalized with a field goal.[14][16][15] Bucknell's second possession was a three-and-out, while Lehigh went 55 yards to score taking a 10–0 lead.[14][16] Bucknell responded with a field goal of their own, while Lehigh put together a 98 yard drive scoring on a one-yard run.[14][16][15] Bucknell would finally score to close out the half, making it 24–10 in Lehigh's favor.[14] Lehigh would then score twice, to extend the lead 38–10 before Bucknell mounted a comeback attempt, with Rucker throwing a pair of touchdown passes to cut the lead to 38–24.[14][16][15] The Bison attempted an onside kick to set up a potential game-tying drive, however, Lehigh recovered the kick and scored a final field goal to make it 41–24.[14][16][15] This was the first time Lehigh has gone 4–0 to start a season since 2013.[14] Lehigh has won 22 of the last 28 games against Bucknell.[16][15] In this game Lehigh also experimented with a new uniform combination, white jerseys and pants with gold helmets.[16]
(LEH): 0:58 – Luke Yoder 2 Yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:52 LEH 44–30)
Statistics
PENN
LEH
First downs
19
27
Total yards
345
539
Rushing yards
29
299
Passing yards
316
240
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
28/38/1
15/31/0
Time of possession
23:53
36:07
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Penn
Passing
Liam O'Brien
316 YRD/28 COMP/37 ATP/3 TD/1 INT
Rushing
Julien Stokes
5 CAR/37 YRD
Receiving
Jared Richardson
12 REC/141 YRD/2 TD
Lehigh
Passing
Hayden Johnson
240 YRD/15 COMP/31 ATP/2 TD
Rushing
Luke Yoder
25 CAR/173 YRD/2 TD
Receiving
Geoffrey Jamiel
8 REC/132 YRD/1 TD
Going into the game Penn had not won a match-up against a top 10 ranked team in 72 years while this was also the first time the Mountain Hawks and Quakers would play since 2021 where Penn shut out Lehigh 20–0.[17] Lehigh's opening drive would stall, resulting in a field goal to take an early 3–0 lead.[18][19] After a Penn three-and-out Lehigh would get the ball back to score before Penn would get on the board with a field goal to make it 10–3.[18][17][19] Lehigh's next two drives would both end in field goals, while the Quakers would score on both of theirs, putting them up 20–16, but missing an extra point.[18][17][19] On their next drive the Mountian Hawks executed a fake field goal, with Geoffrey Jamiel taking a direct snap on 4th-and-7 to score.[18][17][19] Lehigh and Penn then exchanged a pair of passing touchdowns before Lehigh's Tyler Ochojski tipped a pass from Penn's Liam O'Brien setting up an interception with Lehigh scoring 5 plays later to make it 37–27.[18][17][19][20] The Quakers responded with a field goal to make it a one score game, but Lehigh responded by scoring another touchdown, putting the game away late in the fourth quarter.[18][17][19][20] Garrido's 13 points and three made field goals were both career highs while the 539 total yards of offensive was the most in a single game in coach Cahill's career.[18][19] Lehigh is now 5–0 for the first time since they went 9–0 in 2012.[18][19]
(LEH): 2:59 – Luke Yoder 24 yard pass from Hayden Johnson, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 11 plays, 90 yards, 6:46 LEH 14–0)
Second Quarter
(YALE): 0:43 – Nico Brown 27 yard pass from Dante Reno, Nick Conforti kick (Drive: 15 plays, 89 yards, 5:32 LEH 14–7)
Third Quarter
(LEH): 9:47 – Luke Yoder 25 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 3 plays, 86 yards, 1:27 LEH 21–7)
(YALE): 6:18 – Nico Brown 44 yard pass from Dante Reno, Nick Conforti missed PAT (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:20 LEH 21–13)
(LEH): 1:50 – Nick Garrido 24 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 4:28 LEH 24–13)
Fourth Quarter
(LEH): 2:07 – Hayden Johnson 9 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 3:59 LEH 31–13)
Statistics
YALE
LEH
First downs
22
22
Total yards
350
399
Rushing yards
103
225
Passing yards
247
174
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
25/38/2
8/15/0
Time of possession
28:38
31:22
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Yale
Passing
Dante Reno
247 YRD/25 COMP/38 ATP/2 TD/2 INT
Rushing
Josh Pitsenberger
18 CAR/63 YRD
Receiving
Nico Brown
7 REC/85 YRD/2 TD
Lehigh
Passing
Hayden Johnson
174 YRD/8 COMP/ 15 ATP/2 TD/0 INT
Rushing
Luke Yoder
17 CAR/ 108 YRD/ 1 TD
Receiving
Mason Humphrey
2 REC/86 YRD/1 TD
Due to their mutual history of being early adopters of football in America, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and Yale Bulldogs maintain a rivalry series with the winner receiving the Yank Townsend Trophy, although this rivalry prior to the game was lop-sided in Yale's favor, going 8–2 in the series.[21] Lehigh's Hayden Johnson would struggle to connect with his receivers in the first half, however, was still able to score off two medium touchdown passes, as Yale would only score with 59 seconds left in the second quarter.[22] In their first drive of the third quarter Lehigh would score in just three plays, driving for 86 yards in 1 minute and 30 seconds.[22] Yale would respond, rushing 75 yards in 8 plays, but would miss the extra-point bringing the score to 21–13 with Lehigh responding in turn with a field goal.[22] Yale would attempt to drive to cut the lead to 24–20, however, Yale's Dante Reno would throw an interception to Lehigh's Aiden Singleton which killed an otherwise promising drive, in their next two drives Yale would punt, and then Reno would fumble the ball which was recovered by Lehigh's Tyler Ochjski setting up short field position for Johnson to score a rushing touchdown of his own.[22][23] This was Lehigh's first win against Yale since 2016, and their first home win against Yale since 2011.[22] After the game Yale's head coach, Tony Reno, praised the Lehigh team, stating: "Credit to a strong Lehigh team. There were opportunities we did not capitalize on and that comes down to discipline and execution."[24] Lehigh's head coach Kevin Cahill worked under Reno as a positional coach from 2012–2018 and as Offensive Coordinator from 2020–2022.
(LEH): 7:50 – Matt Machalik 2 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 4:17 LEH 31–0)
(COLU): 7:00 – Titus Evans 74 yard pass from Xander Menapace, Hugo Merry kick (Drive: 2 plays, 83 yards, 0:43 LEH 31–7)
Fourth Quarter
No scoring plays
Statistics
LEH
COLU
First downs
18
9
Total yards
437
228
Rushing yards
193
93
Passing yards
244
189
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
18/24/0
12/27/2
Time of possession
37:27
22:33
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Lehigh
Passing
Hayden Johnson
240 YRD/17 COMP/23 ATP/1 TD/0 INT
Rushing
Hayden Johnson
8 CAR/68 YRD
Receiving
Geoffrey Jamiel
9 REC/182 YRD/1 TD
Columbia
Passing
Xander Menapace
178 YRD/11 COMP/21 ATP/1 TD/2 INT
Rushing
Xander Menapace
10 CAR/23 YRD
Receiving
Titus Evans
6 REC/111 YRD/1 TD
Going into the match-up, Lehigh had beaten the ColumbiaLions in their last 11 meetings.[25] On Lehigh's first drive they went 77-yards primarily on the ground, highlighted by a 35 yard rush from Quarterback Hayden Johnson.[26] This would be followed by another Lehigh touchdown and a field goal in the final moments of the second quarter to make it 17–0 at halftime.[26] Lehigh started with the ball in the second half with Geoffrey Jamiel scoring on a 63-yard pass from Johnson, followed by another rushing touchdown on their next drive, extending their lead to 31–0.[26] Columbia would finally answer with a 74-yard touchdown pass from Xander Menapace to Titus Evans which was Menapace's first passing touchdown and Evans' first receiving touchdown to make the final score 31–7.[26] Lehigh would go into their bye week 7–0, their best record since 2012, having beaten three Ivy League opponents in a row.[26] Senior defensive lineman Matt Spatny won Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week after making six tackles, including three for loss and two sacks putting him just 2.5 sacks behind the Lehigh all time record of 24 from Nick Martucci from the class of 1999.[27]
Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 58°F (14°C) • Wind: NW at 4 miles per hour (6.4km/h)
Game attendance: 4,893
Referee: Antonio Marcella
TV announcers(ESPN+): Andrew Bogusch (play-by-play) and Andrew Posadas (analyst)
Game information
First Quarter
(LEH): 10:57 – Nick Garrido 36 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 3:55 LEH 3–0)
Second Quarter
(LEH): 4:21 – Hayden Johnson 1 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 14 plays, 79 yards, 7:36 LEH 10–0)
Third Quarter
(LEH): 8:21 – Luke Yoder 7 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 3:57 LEH 17–0)
(LEH): 4:44 – Jaden Green 1 yard run, Nick Garrido kick (Drive: 6 plays, 45 yards, 2:40 LEH 24–0)
(FOR): 0:15 – Gunnar Smith 1 yard run, Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed (Drive: 12 plays, 26 yards, 4:29 LEH 24–6)
Fourth Quarter
(LEH): 1:50 – Nick Garrido 22 yard field goal (Drive: 13 plays, 93 yards, 7:31 LEH 27–6)
Statistics
LEH
FOR
First downs
22
17
Total yards
429
277
Rushing yards
158
74
Passing yards
271
203
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
18/27/0
17/32/0
Time of possession
35:19
24:41
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Lehigh
Passing
Hayden Johnson
267 YRD/17 COMP/26 ATP/0 TD/0 INT
Rushing
Luke Yoder
16 CAR/79 YRD/1 TD
Receiving
Geoffrey Jamiel
6 REC/85 YRD
Fordham
Passing
Gunnar Smith
203 YRD/17 COMP/32 ATP/0 TD/0 INT
Rushing
Ricky Parks
8 CAR/37 YRD
Receiving
Jack Betten
2 REC/87 YRD
Coming out of the bye Lehigh would return to New York City to play the FordhamRams.[27] The Mountian Hawk's head coach Kevin Cahill had worked with Fordham's head coach Joe Conlin when the two where positional coaches at Yale from 2013 to 2017.[27] Going into the matchup the Rams had beaten Lehigh in eight of their last eleven games.[27] The game was also Fordham's parent weekend.[28] Lehigh would score first with a field goal, followed by a short stalled Fordham drive, and an 1-yard rushing touchdown for QB Hayden Johnson to make it 10–0 at halftime.[28] Within the first three minutes of the third quarter Lehigh recorded four sacks while also scoring two more times to make it 24–0.[28] With 18 seconds left in the quarter the Rams would finally score, and would fail a two-point conversion as Lehigh would kick another field goal to make the final 27–6.[28] Despite the loss Fordham’s linebacker James Conway recorded his 14th tackle for a loss, making him the record holder for not only the franchise, but also the Patriot League and the FCS.[28] Lehigh would have 429 total yards, and keep Fordham to just 74 yards on the ground.[29]
Lehigh's faced the GeorgetownHoyas for the annual 'Hawk-O-Ween' game where fans where encouraged to dress up in their Halloween costumes to the game.[30][31] Lehigh opened scoring with a 15 yard rush from Jayden Green to take an early lead and never let go, they expanded their lead with a six-yard running touchdown from Luke Yoder.[30][31] After Georgetown's offense failed to score on their next drive Lehigh would return the ensuing punt for 33 yards to score yet again off a one-play 41-yard rushing drive from Yoder to make it 20–0 at halftime after their extra-point was blocked and their kicker, Nich Garrido, was injured.[30][31] Early in the third quarter Lehigh junior defensive-back Aidan Singleton intercepted a pass for a touchdown as a new kicker was brought in, Connor Poole, to make the extra point.[30][31][32] Georgetown almost scored off a 24-yard pass lay, however, as Georgetown's Hassan Mahasin was about to cross the end zone the ball was punched out of his hands and out of the end zone, resulting in a touch-back.[30][31] Lehigh would score one more time with first-year Quarterback Derek Morgan rushing for a nine-yard score.[30][31] This was the first time that Lehigh had shut out an opponent since October 10, 2009, when they also beat the Hoyas 27–0.[33][32][30] Lehigh is now 22–2 against Georgetown, and since the Hoyas joined the Patriot League in 2001 Lehigh has recorded four shutouts against them in 2002, 2007, 2009 and now 2025. [31] The 41–0 final score was also the largest Lehigh margin of victory since their 2007 45–0 game against the Hoyas.[31] At halftime Lehigh honored four members of their women's wrestling team who competed at the U20 World Wrestling Championships winning two silver medals.[31]
At the start of the season the Lehigh-Holy Cross match-up was billed as a marquee event, as the Mountain Hawks where favorites to repeat their Patriot League championship, while the Crusaders, who'd won six in a row, where picked to finish third after the two where crowned co-champions in 2024.[34][35] On Lehigh's opening drive Hayden Johnson went 63-yard to score, topped off by a 29 yard receiving touchdown by Mason Humphrey.[34] On their second drive the Mountain Hawks would throw an interception, which Holy Cross used to kick a field goal to cut the lead 7–3.[34][35] This was his first interception in four weeks.[35] Lehigh went three-and-out on their next three drives before Luke Yoder broke through the secondary to rush for a 42-yard score.[34] After forcing a three-and-out on the Crusaders the Mountain Hawks orchestrated a two-minute drill getting into the redzone however, Johnson would throw a second interception.[34] Lehigh opened both their drives of the second half off scores, kicking a field foal and a 45-yard receiving touchdown from Geoffrey Jamiel.[34] Holy Cross would be held to just 46 yards of total offense in the second half, as Lehigh scored again early in the fourth quarter for a final score of 38–3.[34] This was the first time Lehigh has gone on a 10-game winning streak since 2011.[34] Lehigh players began to attribute their winning streak to their 'victory dogs' post-game celebrations, where the team are served hot-dogs by Lehigh alumni, averaging around 200 hotdogs per-game.[36]
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