Saturday, October 3
12:30 PM
Lehigh University
2-3
12
vs
27
Yale (Homecoming)
3-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Yale
10
3
8
6
27
Lehigh
0
0
7
5
12
Mountain Hawks drop 27-12 decision to Yale on Homecoming
10/3/2015 5:43:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – After falling behind 13-0 at the half, the Lehigh football team battled back, but Yale proved too much in the end as the Mountain Hawks fell 27-12 on Saturday afternoon on Homecoming at Goodman Stadium. Junior Nick Shafnisky led the offense with 211 yards passing and 79 yards rushing while the defense forced three turnovers, led by an interception and forced fumble from sophomore Quentin Jones.
A third-quarter Lehigh touchdown pulled the Mountain Hawks back within six at 13-7, but Yale responded with the next 16 points before a late Lehigh charge wasn't enough.
Pelletier followed up a record-setting 15-catch performance at Princeton by tallying 10 receptions for 104 yards on Saturday. Sophomore Sasha Kelsey also had five catches for 53 yards while junior Trevor Socarras tallied six receptions for 30 yards.
Shafnisky's 79 yards rushing led the offense while freshman Dominic Bragalone only had eight carries, rushing for 18 yards.
Junior Brian Githens led the defense with 12 tackles and three pass breakups, but Lehigh falls to 2-3. Yale wins its third straight to open the season.
"Not a good a good today, at all, particularly offensively," Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. "Yale really dominated the line of scrimmage and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. They were not allowing us to really get anything going in the run game at all. I've said this before, but we have to have the balance. We have to be able to run the ball and we have to be efficient throwing the football. We weren't doing any of that until the tail end of the game when we were trying to get back in it."
The Yale offense got off to a quick start, spending just 3:27 to score. The nine-play drive was capped off by a two-yard run from Deshawn Salter. The Bulldogs jumped out in front 7-0 with 11:33 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing offensive possession, Yale again moved the ball deep within Lehigh territory, but settled for a field goal after the Mountain Hawks' defense held the Bulldogs from further damage. Bryan Holmes' 44-yard attempt hit the crossbar and went through to give Yale a 10-0 with 5:50 on the first-quarter clock.
The Lehigh offense was set up in great field position on its second possession of the first quarter after Jones picked off a deflected pass by Morgan Roberts. After a couple of first downs aided by penalties, the Mountain Hawks failed to convert on fourth and seven deep within Yale territory. The Bulldogs would take over with 13:57 left in the half.
The Lehigh defense would force another turnover this time by way of a fumble. Junior Brandon Leaks stripped Salter and senior Matt Laub recovered it on the Lehigh 15. Despite their second forced turnover of the game, the Mountain Hawks couldn't capitalize offensively and were forced to punt after a three-and-out.
Yale would extend its lead after a seven-play, 57-yard drive that resulted in a 20-yard field goal by Holmes. The field goal would be the last score of the half for either side as the Bulldogs took a 13-0 lead into halftime.
Along with his six total tackles Githens had two pass breakups in the first half. The Lehigh offense was limited to 99 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes of play. Sophomore Troy Pelletier accumulated 46 yards receiving on four receptions.
The Lehigh offense came out of the locker room with a strong drive. Shafnisky capped off a nine-play, 77-yard drive with a 24-yard scamper to the end zone to cut the Lehigh deficit to 13-7 with 12:00 left in the third quarter.
On their ensuing offensive possession, the Mountain Hawks were held to a three-and-out. On fourth down, senior punter Austin Devine fumbled a snap and the ball rolled out the back of the end zone for a safety to give Yale a 15-7 lead with 9:30 left in the third quarter.
A few minutes later, Yale was on the verge of adding to its lead, but Jones forced another turnover when he stripped a receiver on the Lehigh one-yard line. The ball hit the pylon, resulting in a touchback, giving Lehigh the ball back with 6:40 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs capitalized on their next opportunity to extend the lead when Salter rumbled 42 yards for a touchdown with 3:34 on the third-quarter clock. Yale took a 21-7 lead into the fourth quarter after falling short of the goal line on a two-point conversion.
Yale tacked on another touchdown on a five-yard reception by Ross Drwal, but the Bulldogs' two-point conversion pass attempt was intercepted by junior Pierce Ripanti and returned for a defensive PAT. Yale led 27-9 with 14:19 remaining in the game.
On the ensuing drive, Lehigh followed a good return by driving 41 yards to the Yale 25 yard-line, which included two catches for 32 yards from Kelsey. However, an interception gave the Bulldogs the ball back.
After a Yale punt, the Mountain Hawks drove 47 yards on 12 plays, all through the air including two catches for 23 yards from Pelletier. Eventually, freshman Ed Mish kicked a 27-yard field goal to pull Lehigh within two scores, 27-12 with 5:51 remaining.
Lehigh's defense forced another punt, but the Mountain Hawks eventually turned the ball over on downs.
Total yards finished 529-317 in favor of Yale, led by a dominant 278-87 edge on the ground. The Bulldogs also finished with a 251-230 edge passing. Salter carried 29 times for 233 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulldog offense, while Drwal, younger brother of former Lehigh standout Jake Drwal '12 caught five balls for 57 yards.
"I give the guys credit," Coen said. "They competed, particularly in the second half. It's a great group of guys but we've got a ways to go here to be more consistent. That's our deal. When we've played consistent football, we've done well and that's really one football game out of the five that we've played right now."
Lehigh returns to the road next Saturday to open Patriot League play against Bucknell. Game time is set for 1 p.m. from Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa. Video of the contest will be streamed on the Patriot League Network while audio coverage will be available on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as ESPNLV.com beginning at noon.
The Mountain Hawks will return to Goodman Stadium to host Georgetown on October 31. 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.
EXTRA POINTS… Yale claimed the Yank Townsend trophy for the fifth time in six meetings… the trophy is named after Charles Frederick "Yank" Townsend, the only member of Lehigh's class of 1895 from the state of Connecticut… With heavy rains hitting the Lehigh Valley all day Friday into Saturday morning, Lehigh Athletics tarped the Goodman Stadium playing surface Friday morning... Lehigh's men's lacrosse team assisted in the tarp removal process Saturday morning... Pelletier now has three consecutive games with at least ten receptions and 100 receiving yards… senior Greg Palma and junior Colton Caslow were credited with sacks… Lehigh recognized its 2015 Patriot League Champion softball and baseball teams during media timeouts… freshman Mike Gies returned four kickoffs for 63 yards… with wins by Princeton on Friday and James Madison and Yale on Saturday, the three teams to defeat Lehigh this season are a combined 11-0.
Team Stats
YALE
LEHIGH
Total Yards
529
317
Pass Yards
251
230
Rushing Yards
278
87
Penalty Yards
94
69
1st Downs
29
22
3rd Downs
6
6
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
32:32
27:28
1st Quarter
YALE 7, LEHIGH 0
YALE - Salter 2 yd run (Holmes kick), 9 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:27
YALE 10, LEHIGH 0
YALE - Holmes 44 yd field goal 11 plays, 42 yards, TOP 3:56
2nd Quarter
YALE 13, LEHIGH 0
YALE - Holmes 20 yd field goal 7 plays, 57 yards, TOP 2:10
3rd Quarter
YALE 13, LEHIGH 7
LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 24 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 9 plays, 77 yards, TOP 2:53
YALE 15, LEHIGH 7
YALE - TEAM 6 yd safety
YALE 21, LEHIGH 7
YALE - Salter 42 yd run (Oplinger rushfailed), 4 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:10
4th Quarter
YALE 27, LEHIGH 7
YALE - Drwal 5 yd pass from Roberts (Scott passintercepted) 3 plays, 7 yards, TOP 1:01
YALE 27, LEHIGH 9
LEHIGH - Ripanti, Pierce 98 yd PAT return
YALE 27, LEHIGH 12
LEHIGH - Mish, Ed 27 yd field goal 12 plays, 47 yards, TOP 3:58
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
26
TD
0
YDS
211
INT
1
CMP
2
TD
0
YDS
19
INT
0
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
P
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ FootballLehigh Sports Central: Football
Wednesday, August 27
2025 Lehigh Football Season Preview: Special Teams
Thursday, August 21
2025 Lehigh Football Season Preview: Defense
Thursday, August 21
2025 Lehigh Football Season Preview: Offense
Wednesday, August 20
