Bethlehem, PA - November 23, 2024: In the 160th meeting of The Rivalry, Lehigh University defeated Lafayette College 38-14 Saturday afternoon at a sold out Goodman Stadium. The win earned Lehigh their 13th Patriot League Championship, as well as an automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. Lehigh is now riding a five-game winning streak since late October, a good place to be heading into the playoffs.
This year’s Rivalry was the first in almost 20 years in which both teams came in to the game with a winning record. Lehigh entered at 7-3 while Lafayette entered at 6-5. Lafayette still holds the series edge at 82-73 with there being 5 ties. Lehigh however, has been cutting into that lead in the more recent years.
Lehigh Head Coach Kevin Cahill, in his second year, has taken his team from the bottom of the Patriot League to the top in one season. Coach Cahill said after the win that he is very proud of the team and that they have become resilient. He mentioned there is still work to do and they are looking forward to the FCS playoffs.
Lafayette won the coin toss and deferred. Lehigh took the opening kickoff and drove down the field on a 9 play, 69-yard drive capped off by a 19-yard run by RB Jaden Green (0) to put Lehigh up early 7-0. Green has been a work horse for Lehigh all season and he continued with that play today, running for 69 yards on 11 carries and 1 touchdown.
On Lafayette’s first possession, they showed they were not intimidated as they went on a 9 play, 82-yard drive of their own which was capped off by a 9-yard run by RB Jamar Curtis (5).
After both teams scored on their opening possession, it was Lehigh who took it to the next level as they scored 21 unanswered points before the half. Palmerton (PA) High School graduate and quarterback Matt Machalik (7) scored on a 1-yard run from the wildcat position, WR Mason Humphrey (82) caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Hayden Johnson (1), and Johnson himself ran for a touchdown from five yards out. Lehigh kicker Nick Garrido (49) added five extra points and a 31-yard field goal in the game.
Lafayette moved the ball before the half but an interception by Lehigh’s Nick Peltekian (3) stopped one of their drives while several penalties by their defense helped the Lehigh offense on their drives. Lafayette’s Curtis scored his second touchdown of the game, a 2-yard run in the 3rd quarter, and he finished the game with 131 yards on 21 carries and 2 touchdowns. He finished the season with an impressive 1,139 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns.
Lehigh’s Mason Moore (16) put an exclamation point on the win when in the 4th quarter, he stepped in front of a Lafayette receiver, picked off a pass and raced 41-yards for the touchdown. It was Moore’s second interception on the season.
Lehigh as a team totaled 344 yards on offense, 234 yards were on the ground. Machalik carried the ball ten times for 69 yards. Lafayette had 283 yards of total offense, 171 through the air. Lafayette wide-receiver Elijah Steward caught 10 passes for 78 yards on the day.
The Lehigh offensive line did not only control the trenches by opening holes for their runners, but it did not allow a sack. On the contrary, the Lehigh defense had five sacks and two interceptions. Lehigh’s Aidan Singleton led the defense with 5 solo tackles while Brycen Edwards and Mason Moore had four solos each. Jackson Dowd added three solo tackles.
Coach Cahill added after the game that his team responded late in the season after the Yale loss. He said it was a great atmosphere today with the stands packed and that it was a talking point this season to winning Goodman. He noted that 5th year graduate student Dante Perri (12) has been a great mentor for the team and it meant a lot he returned to win a championship.
Additional notes from Lehigh Athletics: First year Lehigh QB Hayden Johnson (1), Lancaster, PA, took home the game MVP. Lehigh retiring Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett '76 was honored during Saturday's game. He received the game ball postgame. It was Sterrett's 53rd Rivalry game as a student-athlete, coach, and administrator. He has been the Dean of Athletics for 35 years. Today's attendance was 15,097. Lehigh will learn their FCS playoff foe and location of the game Sunday afternoon. The game will be played on Saturday, November 30.
