next game:
Colgate
11/12/2022 | 12:00 PM
ESPN+
Fox Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 1230 AM
Nov 12 (Sat) / 12:00 PM
Colgate
History
WORCESTER, Mass. – Junior quarterback Dante Perri threw a pair of touchdown passes to bring Lehigh within a touchdown on two occasions, but no. 6/7 Holy Cross seemed to always have an answer as the Crusaders posted a 42-14 win over the Mountain Hawks Saturday at Fitton Field.
The Crusaders (9-0, 5-0 Patriot League) churned out 338 rushing yards in the win which clinched their fourth consecutive Patriot League title.
Lehigh (1-8, 1-3 Patriot League) gained 281 yards of offense and trailed just 21-14 a minute into the second half, before Holy Cross scored the final 21 points of the game.
Holy Cross took a 14-0 lead with 9:30 to go in the first half, behind a two-yard Jordan Fuller touchdown rush and a one-yard run by Peter Oliver.
Lehigh answered the Oliver touchdown with an eight-play, 71-yard scoring drive. Facing 4th-and-8 from the Crusader 35, Perri found senior Jalen Burbage over the middle and Burbage broke tackles and raced into the end zone for his second touchdown of the season, to bring Lehigh within 14-7.
The Crusaders added one more score before halftime, capitalizing on a shorter field after the Mountain Hawks had to re-punt three times due to penalties. Quarterback Matthew Sluka hit Spencer Gilliam for a six-yard score and Holy Cross led 21-7 at halftime.
Lehigh’s defense made its biggest play of the day on the opening play of the second half. Sluka’s pass over the middle was intercepted by sophomore Logan Jones, who returned the interception for a touchdown that was negated by a penalty. Instead, Lehigh took over at the Holy Cross 40 and two plays later Perri hit first-year Geoffrey Jamiel on a receive screen and Jamiel raced 39 yards for his first career touchdown as Lehigh trailed 21-14 early in the third quarter.
The Lehigh defense came up with a stop, but the Mountain Hawks could not capitalize after a punt pinned them back at their five yard line. Holy Cross got the ball back with a short field and Sluka re-established a two touchdown lead with a four-yard scoring run. The Crusaders scored again on a five-yard Fuller rush to lead 35-14 after three quarters.
The breakout runs from the quarterback really hurt us,” Lehigh head coach Tom Gilmore said. “He’s a heck of a player. They were doing a very good job of doubling us up front and forcing our defensive backs to make tackles in open space. We missed a couple. We just needed to make sure up some of that stuff. Then we gave up some third downs when we did have them stopped. We allowed them to extend their drives.”
A 17-yard connection between Perri and junior Connor Kennedy gave Lehigh a 1st-and-goal at the Holy Cross one to begin the final quarterer, but the Mountain Hawks were turned away on four consecutive plays.
Holy Cross put the game away with a 13-play, 98-yard drive, culminating in Fuller’s third touchdown of the day.
Perri finished 18-of-27 for 200 yards and two touchdowns for the Mountain Hawks. Jamiel was his top target with five catches for a career-best 88 yards. Burbage added four catches for 61 yards.
Lehigh rushed for 81 yards, with sophomore Gaige Garcia leading the way, gaining 63 yards on 16 carries.
Seniors Nate Norris and TyGee Leach had 12 and 11 tackles, respectively, to lead the defensive effort.
“There were definitely improvements but we have to finish the job,” Gilmore said. “We did a lot of good things, but the penalties, the big plays we’re giving up. We still have to do a better job protecting the quarterback, but we had some times where we did. We hit a couple plays. The inconsistency right now is obviously what is hurting us and against a really good football team, you’re going to pay for those.”
Lehigh was hurt by 10 penalties for 96 yards lost.
Sluka completed 11-of-17 for 126 yards with a touchdown and an interception for Holy Cross and also rushed 16 times for 146 yards and a score. Oliver rushed 17 times for 136 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re still not there yet, I understand that,” Gilmore said. “But there were a lot of good things and it was a shame we let this game get away from us, because we are a lot closer than the score indicated.”
The Mountain Hawks return to Goodman Stadium next Saturday to host Colgate on Salute to Service Day, presented by Weis Markets. Game time is set for noon. Tickets are available and can be purchased at LehighTickets.com or by calling 610-7LU-GAME during business hours.
EXTRA POINTS… Perri’s two touchdown passes tied a career high… Lehigh was held without a sack for the first time in 2022 as the Mountain Hawks came into the day with a league-leading 21… the Mountain Hawks allowed fewer than 202 passing yards for the third consecutive week… junior linebacker Mike DeNucci had two tackles for loss and a pass breakup to go along with seven tackles… Saturday marked Tom Gilmore’s first game at Fitton Field since he was the head coach at Holy Cross from 2004-17.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter other Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Comments are closed.