A Patriot League champion was crowned at the end of the Lafayette-Lehigh Rivalry game for the second consecutive year. But instead of the Leopards, it was the Mountain Hawks who lifted the Patriot League trophy on Saturday after a dominant 38-14 performance at Goodman Stadium in Bethlehem.
The Leopards (2-4 Patriot League, 6-6 overall) finished their season at .500 and fifth in the Patriot League.
Penalties plagued the Leopards throughout the game — they gave the Mountain Hawks 90 yards on eight penalties, in comparison to Lehigh’s 35 yards in three penalties.
“We felt we had to control the field, and we did not, and those are things that we’ll have to correct move forward,” head coach John Troxell said. “While the execution sometimes wasn’t there, I thought our effort was really good. The kids kept battling.”
Both teams got off to a quick start, trading rushing touchdowns on their opening drives. Lehigh (5-1 Patriot League, 8-3 overall) drove down the field in five minutes to take the lead at 7-0 with 9:47 left to play in the first quarter.
The Leopards answered quickly, thanks to a perfect passing drive from junior quarterback Dean DeNobile, who set up junior running back Jamar Curtis for a 9-yard rush to sneak in the endzone at the pylon and knot the score at 7-7.
Building on the offense’s momentum, senior defensive back Gabe DuBois picked off a pass on the Mountain Hawks’ first play of the next drive, holding on to the ball even after his legs got cut out from under him on Lehigh’s 47-yard line.
However, the Leopards could not capitalize on their good field position. After a tackle for loss and a false start, DeNobile was sacked for a loss of six yards on third down to force a punt from the Maroon and White.
“They did exactly what I thought was gonna happen,” DeNobile said. “They clattered the individual guy and I thought I had our tight end up the seam, but by the time I got back to him he was in my face.”
Lehigh scored on its next three possessions, running a reliable quarterback sneak that the Leopards struggled to stop.
The Leopards could not respond on their next two drives, with one punt and an endzone interception, in which a Lehigh defender scooped up a deflected ball targeted at junior wide receiver Elijah Steward.
“We had a shot at it, 50-50 ball,” DeNobile said. “I kind of laid it out there and it was a little under-thrown.”
Lehigh took possession with one minute left to play in the half, advancing the ball quickly after a pair of Maroon and White personal fouls that set up the Mountain Hawks at the Leopards’ 21-yard line. Lehigh found the endzone on a quarterback sneak, taking a 28-7 lead into the half.
“When you’re playing a team, and you’re getting them in the third down, and you’re giving them a 15-yard penalty,” Troxell said. “It’s hard to recover from those things.”
The Leopards came out of the half hot, stringing together a 10-play, 4:39-minute drive to narrow the deficit. The Maroon and White relied on the run game, with eight rush attempts for 56 yards, capped off by a rushing touchdown from Curtis to bring the score to 28-14.
Curtis broke 3,000 career yards on Saturday, with 131 net yards in the game.
“O-line did a great job of blocking,” Curtis said. “We was getting the looks we wanted in terms of the run game, and it just let me do what I do.”
Although the Leopards were able to limit the Mountain Hawks to a field goal on their next drive, the Maroon and White could not narrow the deficit. A low snap on third down led to a sack, forcing the Maroon and White to punt again.
After a successful stop with 8:31 left to play, the Leopards needed to string together a late rally to keep their hopes alive. However, DeNobile threw his second interception of the day, which Lehigh returned for a touchdown to take a 38-14 lead.
With the air sucked out of the Leopards’ offense, DeNobile was sacked three times in their next drive, and the Maroon and White turned the ball over on downs near mid-field with 3:47 to play.
DeNobile said that the team is already looking ahead to 2025.
“We’re still a great team, I really do believe that,” DeNobile said. “I think there’s just some unfortunate things that happened with us, and we had to battle through a lot of adversity this year. If it happens again next year, then it happens again next year, we’re gonna be prepared.”
Lehigh became Patriot League co-champions with Holy Cross with the win, and clinched an automatic bid into the FCS playoffs.
