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Lehigh University Mountain Hawks outlast rival Lafayette Leopards in winning consecutive league titles.

Tagged under: Gameday Hub, News, Pennsylvania Colleges, pfn

| November 23, 2025

Behind Luke Yoders 4 touchdown performance, Lehigh football competes first unbeaten season since 2001.

EASTON- Before a standing-room-only crowd of over 13,000 frenzied fans at Fisher Stadium on the campus of Lafayette College, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks finished off their undefeated run in the Patriot League, and in turn, also captured their second straight league championship with a hard-fought 42-32 win in “The Rivalry” game.

This game most certainly lived up to all expectations going into the contest as the visitors from Bethlehem, as the campuses are just 16 miles apart and this was the 161st version of the longest running games in the nation. Lehigh, ranked 4th by the FCS coaches poll came back four times Saturday afternoon, before putting the game away late

Lafayette started the game with an impressive 75 yard drive that took seven minutes off the clock when running back Kente Edwards scored from a yard out giving the Leopards a 7-0 lead. Edwards finished the day with 157 yards and three touchdowns.

Luke Yoder got the Mountain Hawks to even the score, when he found daylight right up the middle and cashed in from 29 yards with 4:46 left in the opening quarter. Yoder was named the unanimously the MVP after his 234 yards rushing and four scores on just 19 touches.

Early in the second stanza, Lafayette quarterback Dean DeNobile gave the lead back to the Leopards with short burst for a three yard score and a 14-7 lead just 39 seconds into the quarter.

Lehigh was able to knot the score at 14, when quarterback Hayden Johnson hooked up with WR Mason Humphrey down the home sides for a 77 yard score midway through the quarter. The big plays were beneficial for the Mountain Hawks as the Leopards held a 35:38 to 24:22 time of possession advantage.

Place-kicker Jack Simonetta gave Lafayette the lead back at 17-14 going into the locker room with a 21 yard field goal with a just over a minute left before intermission. Lehigh was driving again but a key interception by DB Kevin Dodard came up with an incredible interception near the goal line ending the threat.

The second half opened with a bang as on the first play from scrimmage for the Mountain Hawks, Yoder, a junior from East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida, and found another hole and cashed in from 80 yards out, giving the visitor their first lead 21-17.

Lafayette came right back to score on an Edwards’ run from a yard out with 2:46 left in the third quarter making it a 24-21 game. Yoder had an answer for that score as he crossed the goal line from 3 yards out giving the lead back to Lehigh at 28-24.

After stopping the Leopards on a fourth-and-one at the Lafayette 48. Lehigh faced their own fourth down drama with ball at the Leopards 29 and needing a yard to continue the drive, Johnson, in shotgun formation pushed his way forward kept his legs churning for a for a 22 yard power-play inside the Lafayette 10. Yoder capped off the drive from six yards out, given his team the first two-score lead of the contest at 35-24 with still 10:20 left in regulation.

Lafayette (8-4) would not go away as they scored again on Edwards’ third touchdown capping off a nine play 75 yard drive one a one yard plunge the two-point conversion was good making it 35-32.

The dagger came in on Lehigh’s next time consuming drive going 75 yards in 10 plays eating up over five minutes when Johnson snuck it in from a yard out closing out the scoring at 42-32 with 1:53 on the clock.

The 4th seeded Mountain Hawks (12-0) will find out on Sunday whether they get a bye in the first round of the playoffs and who their opponent will be possibly on December 6th.

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