Lehigh University
1-0
Central Connecticut State
0-2
Lehigh pulls off 20-point comeback to beat CCSU in 2OT, 51-44
9/7/2013 5:07:00 PM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh football team trailed by 20 points in the fourth quarter, but stormed back to tie the score before defeating Central Connecticut State in overtime, 51-44 in the Mountain Hawks' season opener. The 95 combined points marked the highest single-game total in Goodman Stadium history. Senior quarterback Brandon Bialkowski finished 18-of-29 for 366 yards and four touchdowns in his first-career start, 222 of them going to senior Lee Kurfis who also found the end zone twice.
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CCSU got off to a quick start, but Lehigh continued to battle back. Trailing 37-17, the Mountain Hawks scored 20 unanswered points before winning in overtime.
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"The number one most important thing is how these kids hung in there together," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen. "They never quit for one minute. We were down 20 then the offense makes a big play and the defense makes stops, on and on down the line. I'm incredibly proud of our guys for hanging in there. They never quit."
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Kurfis' career-high 222 yards came on seven catches while both his touchdowns came in crunch time (fourth quarter and overtime). Junior Josh Parris added three receptions for 72 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown. Senior Keith Sherman led the ground game with 73 yards and a score while senior Sean Farrell had 32 rush yards and a pair of touchdowns, the tying score and eventual game-winner in the second overtime period.
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"Obviously there were a lot of things that weren't so good that we need to improve," said Coen. "We had some new faces out there and a lot of inexperienced guys. To go through a game like this and come away with a victory is incredibly important. These kids should have a lot of faith in themselves and their teammates and feel good about the direction we started today, but we have a lot of work to do."
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Senior Tyler Ward led the defense with 12 tackles while sophomore Noah Robb had 10 tackles and an interception. Senior Nigel Muhammad finished with nine tackles.
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CCSU drove 73 yards on its first drive of the game capped off by a one-yard run from Rob Hollomon to make it 7-0 with 10:45 remaining in the first quarter. Two plays prior, Holloman made a big catch and scampered 44 yards catch down to the Lehigh three-yard line.
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Lehigh got on the board on its first drive of the season, covering 75 yards on 17 plays. Freshman Ryan Pandy knocked through a 20-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with 3:54 left in the opening quarter. Sherman paced the ground game with 28 yards rushing while Brandon Bialkowski was 5-of-6 through the air.
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The defense caused a turnover on its ensuing drive as junior Tim Newton made a tip and Robb made the interception to give the offense the ball right back.
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After a Lehigh punt, the Blue Devils took advantage, marching 83 yards capped off by a 49-yard flea flicker from quarterback Nick SanGiacomo to Scott Benzing to make it 14-3 with 14:20 remaining in the second quarter.
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The offense responded by going 69 yards on 13 plays capped off by a one-yard touchdown run from Sherman to pull within 14-10 with 9:57 left in the second quarter. A Bialkowski sideline pass to senior Sergio Fernandez-Soto got Lehigh to the CCSU 19 while two plays later, Bialkowski found junior Tyler Coyle who barreled down to the one, leading into Sherman's score.
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On the following drive, Robb came up with a big third-down tackle to end a CCSU drive and force a punt.
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Central Connecticut State tacked on a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half to take a 21-10 lead at the break. Denzell Jones finished off a two-yard touchdown catch with 12 seconds on the clock for the 11-point margin.
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Sherman paced the ground attack with 51 first-half yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. Bialkowski finished 10-of-14 for 82 yards over the first 30 minutes. Fernandez-Soto had 27 yards on two catches while Kurfis made three receptions for 17 yards. Muhammad led Lehigh with five first-half tackles.
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It didn't take long for Lehigh to pull closer in the third quarter as the offense went 64 yards on three plays capped off by a 57-yard touchdown catch from Parris. It marked the first-career touchdown catch by Parris and pass by Bialkowski.
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The Blue Devils turned an interception into a touchdown as Holloman rushed 17 yards on the right side to make it 28-17 with 8:34 left in the third. Just over a minute later, CCSU turned another interception into seven more as Hollomon went 13 yards after some trickery. The extra point was blocked, but the Blue Devils still led 34-17 with 7:06 on the clock.
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CCSU took almost 10 minutes off the clock in a 17-play, 83-yard drive, but the Lehigh defense made a big third-down stop on the three-yard line to force a field goal. The 20-yard field goal was good to keep the Mountain Hawks within three possessions (37-17) with 10:46 left in the fourth.
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Lehigh responded in just 46 seconds. After a 38-yard kickoff return to the 50-yard line by freshman Brandon Leaks, Bialkowski found Kurfis for 41 yards then Sherman wide open in the right corner of the endzone to make it 37-24 with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the fourth.
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The defense forced a three-and-out, and the offense scored its second touchdown in less than two minutes to pull right back within six (37-31) with 8:12 to go. After an incompletion, Bialkowski found Kurfis in the middle for 62 yards as the crowd came to life.
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The defense again forced a punt and this time, it only took three plays to go 82 yards and tie the score at 37. Kurfis had another big play, making a 77-yard reception to set up a two-yard score by Farrell with 3:32 remaining. The extra point was no good, keeping the score knotted at 37.
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The Blue Devils drove down-field, but missed a 39-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining to lead to overtime.
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CCSU got the scoring started in the extra session, but Kurfis came up with a 25-yard touchdown reception on the first play of Lehigh's first possession to tie the score at 44. Farrell scampered in from 11 yards out to give the Mountain Hawks a 51-44 advantage before the defense came up with a stop to clinch the thrilling overtime victory.
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The Blue Devils held the edge in total yards (483-471) and rush yards (258-105) while the Mountain Hawks had the advantage through the air (366-225).
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Lehigh hits the road for two weeks, beginning with a matchup at Monmouth next Saturday. The Mountain Hawks return home to host No. 8/11 New Hampshire on Sept. 28 at 12:30 p.m. Tickets for the game are still available, and may be purchased in one of three ways: by visiting the Lehigh ticket office located in Stabler Arena, by calling (610) 7LU-GAME, or on-line anytime at LehighTickets.com.
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EXTRA POINTS: The Mountain Hawks won their season opener for a fourth straight year … Bialkowski connected with Parris in the third quarter for the first touchdown in each of their careers … It marked Lehigh's first overtime game since September 10, 2011 a 48-41 New Hampshire overtime victory … It was Lehigh's first overtime victory since the 2009 finale against Lafayette … The Mountain Hawks improved to 3-1 all-time against Central Connecticut State and 9-2 all-time against the NEC... Kurfis' 222 receiving yards marked the fifth-highest single-game total in school history and the highest single-game total in Goodman Stadium history... the Mountain Hawks failed to record a quarterback sack for the first time since Lehigh's quarterfinal loss to North Dakota State in December 2011.
Team Stats
CCSU 7, LEHIGH 0
CCSU - HOLLOMON, Rob 1 yd run (CALITRI, Steven kick), 10 plays, 73 yards, TOP 4:15
CCSU 7, LEHIGH 3
LEHIGH - Pandy, Ryan 20 yd field goal 17 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:46
CCSU 14, LEHIGH 3
CCSU - BENZING, Scott 49 yd pass from SANGIACOMO, N. (CALITRI, Steven kick) 5 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:14
CCSU 14, LEHIGH 10
LEHIGH - Sherman, Keith 1 yd run (Pandy, Ryan kick), 13 plays, 69 yards, TOP 4:10
CCSU 21, LEHIGH 10
CCSU - JONES, Denzell 2 yd pass from SANGIACOMO, N. (CALITRI, Steven kick) 13 plays, 53 yards, TOP 4:42
CCSU 21, LEHIGH 17
LEHIGH - Parris, Josh 57 yd pass from Bialkowski, Bra (Pandy, Ryan kick) 3 plays, 64 yards, TOP 0:43
CCSU 28, LEHIGH 17
CCSU - HOLLOMON, Rob 17 yd run (CALITRI, Steven kick), 2 plays, 19 yards, TOP 0:41
CCSU 34, LEHIGH 17
CCSU - HOLLOMON, Rob 13 yd run (CALITRI, Steven kickblocked), 2 plays, 14 yards, TOP 0:44
CCSU 37, LEHIGH 17
CCSU - CALITRI, Steven 20 yd field goal 17 plays, 83 yards, TOP 9:25
CCSU 37, LEHIGH 24
LEHIGH - Sherman, Keith 9 yd pass from Bialkowski, Bra (Pandy, Ryan kick) 3 plays, 50 yards, TOP 0:38
CCSU 37, LEHIGH 31
LEHIGH - Kurfis, Lee 62 yd pass from Bialkowski, Bra (Pandy, Ryan kick) 2 plays, 62 yards, TOP 0:13
CCSU 37, LEHIGH 37
LEHIGH - Farrell, Sean 2 yd run (Pandy, Ryan kickfailed), 3 plays, 82 yards, TOP 0:52
CCSU 44, LEHIGH 37
CCSU - HOLMES, Tyrell 4 yd pass from SANGIACOMO, N. (CALITRI, Steven kick) 14 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:22
CCSU 44, LEHIGH 44
LEHIGH - Kurfis, Lee 25 yd pass from Bialkowski, Bra (Pandy, Ryan kick) 14 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:22
CCSU 44, LEHIGH 51
LEHIGH - Farrell, Sean 11 yd run (Pandy, Ryan kick), 14 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:22
