Posted in Ned Daryoush

Game Preview, #Rivalry150, Yankee Stadium, 11/22/2014

I know it's been several years in the making.  I know we are almost at the eve of the biggest edition of the Lehigh/Lafayette Rivalry yet, the one in Yankee Stadium, the 150th meeting, the one I've been waiting for years to arrive.

Yet it's one play, one play, that I keep thinking about in the run-up to this game.

Bubble screen.

I keep seeing that bubble screen in the 149th meeting of Lehigh and Lafayette, the one that put the game out of reach, the one that turned Lehigh's bid for a championship last season become one that fell just short of a championship.

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Game Preview: Lehigh at Yale, 9/21/2014

New Haven Register
When you Google "Yale Football", you get to Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniaki.

The reason for that is the golf superstar and the rising women's tennis star showed up at at Yale a few years ago.  Apparently Yale's football team had been making a habit of showing up as a team at the New Haven Open and cheering Wozniaki on, so Caroline and her then-boyfriend Rory (wearing a Yale football jersey, at that), showed up at a practice.

Head coach Tony Reno, though, is hoping that's not the only thing that shows up when you Google "Yale Football" after this season, which is the 100th anniversary of their football home, the Yale Bowl.

The best way for Yale to kick off their 100th Yale Bowl season would be a win over Lehigh.
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Lehigh Fights Hard, But Bolt Of Lightning and James Madison Power Surge Leads to Defeat, 31-28

It could be that a bolt of lightning, which hit ground supposedly eight miles from Murray Goodman stadium, helped short out a possible Lehigh victory.

Going into halftime, all the electricity was on Lehigh's side.

Sophomore CB Brandon Leaks unleashed a powerful hit on scrambling JMU QB Vad Lee, stopping him a yard short of the end-zone pylon and giving Lehigh a 21-10 lead going into halftime.

Momentum was all Lehigh in an incredible first half for the Mountain Hawks.-

Before that lightning came down, that is.

The strike - if there actually was a strike, because I didn't see or hear it - caused a half-hour delay at halftime, despite nothing but blue skies with some clouds at Murray Goodman stadium.

But the lightning gave James Madison, gathering under a tree right before the second half began, the power surge they needed to earn the victory.
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Lehigh Offense Mic’Ed Up And Jacked Up For The Season

Lehigh's newest online multimedia involves the Lehigh coaching staff on microphone.

This week it was newly-promoted defensive coordinator Joe Bottiglieri, and in the video below you see the coach in various stages of instruction.

The piece of the video that relates to the offense, though, is the highlight of the piece.

Sophomore TE Zach Bucklin, "built like a small Volkswagen", as coach Bott himself mentioned, barreled into Lehigh's defensive coordinator, sending them both to the ground.

In an odd sort of way, Bucklin's tire tracks over Bottiglieri's back signifies what Lehigh's offense hopes to be in the 2014 season as well.

Sure, Lehigh will still have the type of offense that will work fast and spread things out.  Sure, the playbook will still be as think as a phone book.  But to think of this as a finesse team may be a mistake.  They may very well be a team that simply is also going to try to out-run and out-muscle you more often.

And, if necessary, run you over.
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Spring Season: Offensive Line and Tight Ends

It's not exactly a secret that the foundation of Lehigh's offense in the Andy Coen era is an exceptional pass blocking unit.

With graduates from this unit like OL Keith Schauder, OL A.J. Hood, OL Troy McKenna, C Matt Lippincott and OL Will Rackley, who earns his paycheck on the offensive line of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, it's clear that offensive line is always a priority for Coen and offensive line coach Brett Sawyer.

This year sees Lippincott and Hood graduate, but also sees a lot of excitement with a lot of returning starting talent - including a bookend tackle in senior OL Ned Daryoush.

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