Saturday, November 5
12:30 PM

Lehigh University

8-2 , 5-0

20
vs
13

Bucknell

3-6 , 2-2

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Bucknell
7
6
0
0
13
Lehigh
7
0
13
0
20

No. 24/21 Lehigh rallies past Bucknell 20-13 to claim Patriot League Championship

11/5/2016 5:48:00 PM | Football


Patriot League Championship Merchandise

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – On a day where the Patriot League's top-ranked defense held No. 24/21 Lehigh's high-powered offense in check, the Mountain Hawks' defense rose to the occasion in the second half, shutting out Bucknell over the final 30 minutes as Lehigh rallied for a 20-13 victory over the Bison Saturday at Goodman Stadium. The victory, Lehigh's eighth straight, clinched Lehigh's 11th Patriot League Football championship. The Mountain Hawks became the first team to clinch a berth in the FCS Playoffs.
 
Senior linebackers Colton Caslow and Pierce Ripanti led the way defensively with 11 and 10 tackles respectively. Ripanti added a key third-quarter interception and the Mountain Hawks' fourth sack of the game on fourth down late in the game, which allowed Lehigh to run out the clock.
 
The Mountain Hawks mustered just 357 yards of offense and were held to their lowest point total of the season, but the defense allowed just 382 yards, including just 133 in the second half and kept an opponent off the scoreboard in the second half for the third time this season.
 
Bucknell's defense pressured senior quarterback Nick Shafnisky all day, recording four sacks, while limiting Shafnisky to 18-of-37 passing for 264 yards and a touchdown. Shafnisky also ran 12 times for just four net yards.
 
"These 17 guys (seniors) have been through everything with me these last four years," Shafnisky said. "I credit all of them. I credit the freshmen who bought in even if they're not playing – the scout team – little things like that. It's a whole team effort that people don't really realize. I always say this but we have the best coaches in the nation. The hours and the work they put in its second to none."
 
Junior Troy Pelletier led the Mountain Hawks with 110 yards on seven catches, while classmate Gatlin Casey added 71 on seven receptions, including the go-ahead score in the third quarter.
 
Lehigh improves to 8-2 overall and 5-0 in the Patriot League with the victory. The Mountain Hawks' Patriot League title is their first since 2011. Lehigh's 11 Patriot League titles are the most among league schools.
 
"Obviously this was not an easy football game," said Lehigh head coach Andy Coen, who guided the Mountain Hawks to their fourth league title in 11 seasons. "We knew that coming in. I credit the Bucknell kids for really playing their tails off, but our guys did as well. At halftime it just came back to trusting yourself and trusting the guy next to you and things are going to work out. We forced some things, got a couple of turnovers that were very important in the game."
 
The Mountain Hawks received the opening kickoff and moved the ball into Bucknell territory, converting one fourth and short near midfield before eventually turning the ball over on downs on the Bison 36.
 
Bucknell (3-5, 2-2 PL) posted a strong first drive, and took an early 7-0 lead following a Joey DeFloria six-yard run.
 
The Mountain Hawks answered with an impressive 11-play, 87-yard drive, highlighted by a 31-yard pass from Shafnisky to senior Trevor Socarras to convert a 3rd-and-11.  Shafnisky capped the drive with a one-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7-7.
 
A long pass to Will Carter set Bucknell up deep in Lehigh territory but a sack by Caslow on the opening play of the second quarter forced the Bison to settle for a 26-yard field goal attempt, which John Burdick missed wide right.
17415 
The Bison got the ball back and took the lead on a Chad Freshnock 11-yard run with 8:30 to play in the half. Burdick's extra point hit the right upright giving the Bison a 13-7 advantage, which they took into the locker room after Lehigh gained just 31 yards on its subsequent three drives.
 
Lehigh's defense opened up the second half with their first three and out of the afternoon, with sophomore Donovan Harris setting the tone on the first play by making a tackle for a seven yard loss after a bad snap.
 
The Mountain Hawks' first drive of the second half stalled at the Bucknell 20, but an Ed Mish 37-yard field goal brought Lehigh within 13-10. After another Lehigh stop, the Mountain Hawks relied on another tricky third down Shafnisky to Socarras connection, this one covering 40 yards to keep the drive alive. Seven plays later, Shafnisky threw his only touchdown pass of the day, a nine-yarder to Casey to give Lehigh its first lead at 17-13.
 
"There was no yelling, screaming, anything like that," Coen said. "They said 'we know what we can do and we need to do it better than we were doing.' The defense did a great job. The first half on first and second downs they were gaining big chunks of yardage, but we were able to stop that in the second half and then we were able to get our pass rush going and the guys did a great job with that."
 
On Bucknell's very next play, Ripanti tipped a R.J. Nitti pass and then caught the ball for his first career interception, setting Lehigh up at the Bucknell 18. The Mountain Hawks were kept out of the end zone but Mish's second field goal of the game extended Lehigh's lead to 20-13.
 
After the field goal, Bucknell marched 71 yards in 17 plays looking for a tying score. The Bison converted a 4th-and-1 and a 3rd-and-1 to keep the drive going, but on 4th-and-goal from the Lehigh four, Nitti was picked off by Harris in the end zone to halt the threat.
 
Lehigh got the ball back with 5:51 to play and picked up a key third down when Shafnisky hit Pelletier for 39 yards but on the very next play a fumbled exchange gave the Bison the ball on their own 34.
 
Bucknell ran nine plays, with several first downs negated by personal foul penalties. Facing 4th-and-13 from Lehigh's 48, Ripanti sacked Nitti to get Lehigh the ball back. A 13-yard run by sophomore Dominick Bragalone picked up a critical first down, allowing Lehigh to kneel on three consecutive plays to run out the clock and set off the celebration.
 
Bragalone finished with 86 yards on 17 carries as the Bison defense limited Lehigh to just 93 rushing yards.
 
For Bucknell, Nitti completed 17-of-26 passes for 228 yards and two interceptions. DeFloria carried 28 times for 119 yards and also led the receiving corps with five catches. Carter caught four passes for 120 yards.
 
"Sometimes the hardest ones are the ones you enjoy the most," Coen said. "When you're winning a championship it should be hard. Bucknell made it hard but we're the ones with the trophy and I can't be more proud of a group of guys than these guys."
 
The Mountain Hawks will have their bye week next Saturday and will close out the regular season on Nov. 19 when they visit Lafayette for the 152nd meeting of college football's most-played rivalry. Game time is set for 12:30 p.m. from Fisher Stadium in Easton. The game will be televised on WFMZ-TV as well as streamed on the Patriot League Network.
 
EXTRA POINTS… Lehigh will be making its 10th appearance in the FCS playoffs and its 13th playoff appearance overall… the Mountain Hawks now have an in-season winning streak of eight games or more for the 11th time in program history and the first time since 2012… Lehigh has now won the game prior to its Lafayette game 12 times in the last 14 years… Pelletier and Casey both went over 1,000 receiving yards for the season, marking just the second time Lehigh has had two 1,000 yard receivers in one season… Ryan Spadola '13 (1,614) and Jake Drwal '12 (1,060) accomplished the feat in 2011… Pelletier also eclipsed 200 receptions for his career (207)… Bragalone eclipsed 2,000 yards rushing for his career and needs four yards for his second straight 1,000 yard season… Harris had nine tackles and two tackles-for-loss to go with his interception… senior Jimmy Mitchell and junior Harrison Johnson also had sacks for Lehigh… Saturday's attendance on Military Appreciation Day was 7,049.
 
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
 

Team Stats

BUCKNELL
LEHIGH
Total Yards
382
357
Pass Yards
228
264
Rushing Yards
154
93
Penalty Yards
65
28
1st Downs
21
21
3rd Downs
5
9
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
33:11
26:49
1st Quarter
Logo

BUCKNELL 7, LEHIGH 0

BUCKNELL - DeFloria, Joey 6 yd run (Burdick, John kick), 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 5:23

Logo

BUCKNELL 7, LEHIGH 7

LEHIGH - Shafnisky, Nick 1 yd run (Mish, Ed kick), 11 plays, 87 yards, TOP 4:27

2nd Quarter
Logo

BUCKNELL 13, LEHIGH 7

BUCKNELL - Freshnock, Chad 11 yd run (Burdick, John kickfailed), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:03

3rd Quarter
Logo

BUCKNELL 13, LEHIGH 10

LEHIGH - Mish, Ed 37 yd field goal 11 plays, 40 yards, TOP 4:11

Logo

BUCKNELL 13, LEHIGH 17

LEHIGH - Casey, Gatlin 9 yd pass from Shafnisky, Nick (Mish, Ed kick) 10 plays, 94 yards, TOP 4:36

Logo

BUCKNELL 13, LEHIGH 20

LEHIGH - Mish, Ed 20 yd field goal 7 plays, 15 yards, TOP 1:14

Game Leaders

CMP
18
TD
1
YDS
264
INT
0

Players Mentioned

WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
K
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DL
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WR
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LB
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QB
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WR
/ Football
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