The Lehigh football team scored the game’s first 21 points and cruised from there, topping Lafayette 49-35 on Saturday in Goodman Stadium in the 151st meeting of college football’s most-played rivalry. Junior quarterback Nick Shafnisky was stellar, racking up 392 yards of total offense to earn game MVP honors. He also finished the afternoon with a career-high four passing touchdowns and a rushing score. The Mountain Hawks wrap up the 2015 season at 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the Patriot League, having won four of their last six games.
“I’m very, very happy for our senior class to come away with this win,” Lehigh head coach Andy Coen said. “It was the most important thing in my mind, especially coming off the tough loss the week before.
This game is always about the seniors and our seniors did a great job helping us turn our football program around from where it was a year ago. They’ve been great examples to our younger players. We’ve got a good young football team coming back. I look forward to working with those guys.”
Shafnisky enjoyed a monster first half, leading the Mountain Hawks to 28 first-half points by throwing for 248 yards and rushing for 70 more as Lehigh led 28-14 after 30 minutes of play. He finished the game 21-of-27 while gaining 109 rushing yards on 18 carries. He found four different receivers for touchdowns as junior Trevor Socarras tallied a game-high six catches for 50 yards, sophomore Troy Pelletier tallied five receptions for 86 yards, senior Derek Knott had four catches for 44 yards and sophomore Gatlin Casey tallied three receptions for 80 yards. All four recorded touchdowns.
Freshman Dominick Bragalone rushed for 88 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown, eclipsing 1,000 yards on the season with a 44-yard touchdown run with 3:43 to play. In the process, he became the first freshman in school history, to reach the 1,000-yard plateau. Bragalone’s 1,008 rushing yards mark the 11th 1,000 yard rushing season in school annals.
“I have to give credit to the five big boys up front,” Shafnisky said. “They’ve been the heart of our offense all year. Our rushing attack was unbelievable with two freshman running backs and a sophomore who had never seen action. For the three of them, and for Dom to get his 1,000 yards, just shows how strong our five guys up front were.”
Lafayette’s DeSean Brown had a strong game, rushing 35 times for 146 yards and three scores. Leopard quarterback Drew Reed completed 19-of-31 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns.
Lehigh forced a three-and-out on Lafayette’s first drive and immediately drove the field for a touchdown. On the first offensive play from scrimmage, Shafnisky found Knott for 34 yards down to the Leopards’ 27-yard line. Seven plays later, the Mountain Hawks punched it into the end zone. The drive included a big 27-yard catch by Casey on third-and-15, leading to a three-yard touchdown catch by Socarras. The extra point made it 7-0 with 10:02 remaining in the first quarter.
Lafayette responded on the ensuing drive by reaching Lehigh’s 31-yard line, but Jacob Bissell missed a 48-yard field goal to keep the Mountain Hawks on top, 7-0.
It took the Lehigh offense just 2:05 to double its lead. On the first play, Shafnisky connected with Casey for 48 yards down to the Lafayette 21-yard line. After gaining one first down, Shafnisky found Knott on third-and-goal from the three-yard line to make it 14-0 with 3:38 on the first-quarter clock.
After Lehigh forced another punt, the offense scored its third touchdown in as many drives, going 49 yards on eight plays. Following an incomplete pass, a 14-yard Shafnisky run and 18-yard Pelletier catch moved the Mountain Hawks to the Leopards’ 17-yard line. Four plays later, Shafnisky found Casey from five yards out to make the score 21-0 with 14:15 left in the second quarter.
The Leopards got on the scoreboard on the following possession with a 78-yard drive. Lafayette used 25-yard reception on third down to get into Lehigh territory, eventually punching it into the end zone behind a 15-yard run from DeSean Brown to pull his squad within 21-7 with 10:07 left in the quarter.
The Mountain Hawks’ offense responded once again, driving 83 yards in six plays. Pelletier had a big 35-yard reception down to the five-yard line, then Shafnisky followed with a five-yard touchdown run as the extra point made it 28-7 with 6:50 on the second-quarter clock.
“I thought he was fabulous,” Coen said of Shafnisky. “Running the ball on designed runs and escapes. He was very accurate in his passes. I don’t think I’ve seen a better performance in a long time.”
Lafayette responded with its second straight touchdown, staging a long 10-play, 59-yard drive to pull within 28-14 with exactly one minute remaining in the first half.
The Mountain Hawks drove into Lafayette territory, ending with a 26-yard Shafnisky run down to the Leopards’ six-yard line, but he stepped out of bounds after the clock hit zero, ending the half.
The Mountain Hawks recovered a surprise onside kick to begin the second half and converted the possession into their fifth touchdown. A pair of Lafayette penalties proved large on the drive as Lehigh finished the drive with a nine-yard touchdown reception from Pelletier to make the score 35-14 less than two minutes into the second half.
Lafayette followed by driving the ball inside the Lehigh 10-yard line, but the Mountain Hawk defense came up with a big stop. Sophomore Tyler Cavenas forced a fumble and junior Brandon Leaks scooped the loose ball and scampered 84 yards for a touchdown, making it 42-14 with 8:40 on the third-quarter clock.
After trading punts, the Leopards staged a seven-play, 71-yard drive capped off by a three-yard run from Brown to pull Lafayette within 42-21 with 55 seconds left in the third quarter.
Lehigh went on to drive inside the Lafayette 30-yard line, but a fourth-down pass from Shafnisky was intercepted, giving the Leopards the ball at their 12-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
The Mountain Hawk defense responded by forcing a punt after a three-and-out. Lehigh drove all the way to Lafayette’s 24-yard line, but penalties pushed the Mountain Hawks back. They eventually tried a 43-yard field goal, but it was no good, giving Lafayette the ball back at the Lehigh 26-yard line with 6:39 to play.
Lafayette responded by driving 74 yards for a touchdown, but on Lehigh’s first play of the ensuing drive, Bragalone ran 44 yards on the left side all the way to the end zone, as the Mountain Hawks took a 49-28 lead.
The Leopards added a late touchdown, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Mountain Hawks snapped a two-game losing streak against Lafayette and beat their arch rivals for the 32nd time in their last 51 tries.
Lafayette ended up with a 487-485 edge in total offense, including a 209-202 advantage on the ground while the Mountain Hawks held a 283-278 edge through the air. The Leopards finish the 2015 campaign at 1-10 overall and 0-6 in the league.
“It was a good football game,” Coen said. “I want to say this about the Lafayette kids. They had a tough year. They went through a lot of hardship. Those kids didn’t quit at all. Many times I thought we had them, up by 21 points and they kept coming back right until the very end. Those kids were competing. That’s a tribute to Frank (Tavani) and the relationship he has with those guys and the coaching staff over there. My hat’s off to them.”
Recap courtesy Lehigh University Athletics.