Lehigh Stops Georgetown Two Point Conversion to Win Patriot League Opener @LehighFootball @HoyasFB

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Alec Eskin | September 11, 2022

A cloudy Saturday night and a highly anticipated Patriot League opener between the Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the Georgetown Hoyas. The Hoyas started off their season with a win over Marist and Lehigh with a loss to Villanova. But the games that are the most critical are in conference, and that’s what it was tonight as both teams demonstrated on the field. A back-and-forth game that had Georgetown jumping out to a 10-0 lead before Lehigh took a 21-13 lead in the third quarter. But perhaps a season highlight for the Mountain Hawks, is stopping a two-point conversion attempt by the Hoyas with 1:04 to go in the 4th quarter to ultimately seal the game and their first win of the year. Here’s a deeper recap of each teams’ night:

The Georgetown Hoyas were a team that was never going to let this game get away from them, especially with the stakes so high. This was a team where you had to fight for every yard on offense and defense. On offense, they had it going in the first and first six minutes of the second quarter. This was topped off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Pierce Holley to Brock Biestek. However, after that, they had trouble moving the ball down the field after facing constant pressure from that Lehigh defensive line. However, they were able to score after a long scoring drought beginning at the end of the second quarter. With 1:04 left to go, they scored with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Tomas. The biggest offensive play of the game for the Hoyas was the ensuing two-point conversion on a speed option to the outside that was stuffed by Lehigh’s defense. On defense, the Hoyas forced two turnovers, an interception and a fumble. Their defense also did not allow any points after the beginning of the third quarter due to some strong defensive line play. Their defense is what kept this game close tonight, even after the Hoyas quickly got down by eight.

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks were a team that was looking to avenge their loss last week to Villanova. The Mountain Hawks on offense started out of the game slow, with back-to-back-to-back sacks on Dante Perri. However, they rightened the ship, going on a scoring run of 21-3 at one point during the game. Their run game was their strength on offense, with Gaige Garcia, Jack DiPeitro, and Zaythan Hill. Hill led the way with 86 yards and a touchdown. Passing wise, Dante Perri was 12 for 18 for 137 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Perri’s touchdown pass was to Eric Johnson for 20 yards. The biggest play overall for the offense was a 25 yard touchdown run from Gaige Garcia. The offense was a lot more efficient than last week, with less mistakes in the redzone, aside from the one fumble they had in that area. The defense for the Mountain Hawks is going to make headlines after tonight’s performance. They were able to turn away the Hoyas twice by turnover on downs, both times within 30 yards of the endzone. The run defense was stout, only allowing 113 yards on 32 carries for an average of about 3.53 yards per carry. However, they made perhaps a season saving play, stopping the Hoyas on a pitch option to deny them tying the game and ultimately their first Patriot League victory of the year. Overall, they have looked improved from last year based on their first two games against Villanova and Georgetown.

Georgetown plays at Monmouth next week on Saturday at 1:00 PM, who is currently 0-2 after losing today to Fordham in a high scoring game 52-49. Lehigh will play Richmond at home next week on Saturday at 12:00 PM. Richmond is currently 1-1 after beating St. Francis PA 31-21. Both teams will play non-conference games next week against solid teams. This once again should be a very good weekend for some Division One FCS football.

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