Washington, D.C. — The Lehigh University football team traveled down to the nation’s capital on November 2, for an evenly projected matchup versus Georgetown. The Mountain Hawks, however, had other plans, and delivered a dominant performance in all three phases. They used a 24-point second quarter and 310 rushing yards to defeat the Hoyas 43-6 at Cooper Field.
“I was happy with the way we played,” Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill said. “We came out and played four quarters of football. We talked about being better than last weekend. I thought we were better this week than last week, and that’s the improvement we’re looking for every week. And we’ve got room to grow still.”
Lehigh was led by freshman running back Jaden Green, who finished the contest with 88 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Freshman quarterback Hayden Johnson added 83 yards and a touchdown with his legs alongside 75 yards with his arm. Sophomore running back Connor Hilling capped off the rushing attack with a 20-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
On the flip side, Georgetown could not get any offense going for most of the afternoon. Junior quarterback Danny Lauter went 22-of-37 for 189 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions; junior receiver Jimmy Kibble (Loudoun County/2020) led all receivers with 5 receptions for 47 yards; and sophomore running back Bryce Cox translated 11 carries into 77 yards.
“Obviously, not the result we wanted,” Georgetown head coach Rob Sgarlata said. “I give Lehigh a lot of credit, they did a good job of running the football and stopping our running attack. We are never happy with a loss, but I was extremely happy with how our kids stuck together on the sideline and in the locker room after the game.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Georgetown forced an early Lehigh punt, but the Mountain Hawks defense stopped any momentum the Hoyas had when junior defensive back Nick Peltekian intercepted Lauter and raced 49 yards to the Georgetown 1 yard line. On the next play, Johnson took a keeper into the end zone to open the scoring at 7-0.
The Lehigh defense stepped up again on the ensuing drive as Lauter overthrew his target to force a three-and-out. The Mountain Hawks offense capitalized on the momentum as Johnson used his legs for 34 yards, moving into Georgetown territory. On the next play, Green took a handoff and raced down the sideline after finding a hole in the defense for a 24-yard score and a 14-0 lead.
“Offensively, we ran the ball effectively,” Cahill said. “We got some things we got to clean up. We still have a way to go growing as an offense. We made some young mistakes that we have to overcome at times, but we got to continue to improve.”
On the third play of Lehigh’s next offensive possession, Green got a handoff again and ran 57 yards untouched, resulting in a touchdown and the longest play for the Mountain Hawks this season.
The Lehigh offense was not done in the second quarter as they used an 8-play, 68-yard drive to get into the red zone. The offense did stall out, but junior kicker Nick Garrido made a 29-yard field goal to make it a 24-0 ball game heading into the locker room.
Lehigh kept their momentum going into the third quarter as they recovered a surprise onside kick to open the half. The Mountain Hawks offense, however, was shut down by the Georgetown defense.
Then, the Hoyas used four plays to move into Lehigh territory. On 1st-and-10, with momentum on their side, Lauter dropped back and found one of his receivers, but instead, the ball bounced off the receiver’s hands and into the arms of Lehigh senior defensive back Jordan Adderley, who raced down the sideline 62 yards for the touchdown.
“We played sound football,” Adderley said. “Made plays on the ball. You know, the Lord blessed me with a chance to get the ball in my hands, and I made a play.”
The Mountain Hawks defense wasn’t done in the third quarter. Sophomore defensive lineman Jadin Nelson pressured Lauter into the end zone, but the quarterback was able to get the ball away. Georgetown thought they got away from the safety, but the refs threw their flags for an intentional grounding penalty. Two points added onto the Lehigh score giving them a 36-0 lead.
“Monday was the most physical practice we’ve had so far,” Adderley said. “It started Monday off, and we kept it going Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and beyond. When we are physical throughout the whole week and prepare, good things happen.”
In the fourth quarter, Georgetown spoiled the shutout bid after Lauter found junior tight end Max McCormick for a 5-yard touchdown. The Hoyas failed on a two-point conversion.
Lehigh added one more touchdown as the game clock wound down, when Hilling took a handoff and found a hole in the defense for a 20-yard score to end the game at 43-6.
Georgetown (2-2 Patriot League, 5-4) has a bye week before traveling to New York to face off against Fordham on November 16. Lehigh (2-1 Patriot League, 5-3) stays on the road this week against Holy Cross on November 9.
“There are a lot of lessons to be learned in this game,” Sgarlata said. “We will use the bye week to get healthy and prepare. I am looking forward to getting back on the field up in the Bronx in front of the New York Hoya football family at Fordham.”
Caroline Layne captured 100+ photos at the game!
Scoring Plays
| Period | Time | Team | Play | Score |
| 2Q | 13:37 | Lehigh | Hayden Johnson 1-yard TD run (Nick Garrido PAT) | 7-0 |
| 2Q | 10:40 | Lehigh | Jaden Green 24-yard TD run (Nick Garrido PAT) | 14-0 |
| 2Q | 7:20 | Lehigh | Jaden Green 57-yard TD run (Nick Garrido PAT) | 21-0 |
| 2Q | 0:21 | Lehigh | Nick Garrido 29-yard field goal | 24-0 |
| 3Q | 11:05 | Lehigh | Jordan Adderley 61-yard interception returnd TD (Nick Garrido PAT) | 31-0 |
| 3Q | 6:25 | Lehigh | Nick Garrido 30-yard field goal | 34-0 |
| 3Q | 2:59 | Lehigh | Jadin Nelson forced safety | 36-0 |
| 4Q | 6:34 | Georgetown | Danny Lauter to Max McCormick 5-yard TD pass (2pt failed) | 36-6 |
| 4Q | 4:18 | Lehigh | Connor Hilling 20-yard TD run (Canaan Kimball PAT) | 43-6 |