Lehigh Notes

The Bulldogs concluded their non-conference play with a 38-23 victory over Lehigh at home. Yale moves to 3-2 on the season with an unblemished non-conference record, but the pressure is now on for a 5-0 run to finish the season.

The offensive line was the star of the contest as the linemen paved the way for 6.5 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns. Peterson finally found some open space in the running game and was able to rush for 98 yards on just 12 carries. Peterson’s 57-yard touchdown late in the third quarter was a dagger to Lehigh. Pitsenberger added 68 yards and a touchdown while Denney was solid as well with 46 yards. Jordan was not sacked and was very elusive when scrambling and rushing. The passing game never hit its stride with Jordan throwing an ugly interception early on and forcing too many passes deep into coverage. Shipp, Felton, Nenad and Pantelis all performed with the limited opportunities given. Yates was unfortunately injured and Luke Foster filled in at tight end. The offensive line combination of St. Aubyn, Sullivan, Smith, Charron, and Bennett seems to be giving Yale more push up front than we saw earlier in the season. Sophomore Quinton Lewis has also rotated in often at guard giving the Bulldogs an experienced core for the future. If Yale can sharpen up the play calling and execution in the passing game while continuing to improve in run blocking, it will be tough for Ivy defenses to slow the Bulldogs down.

Shaffer and Yang did not participate due to injuries and Gulley appeared to be injured after a harsh landing into the turf. Lehigh gashed the depleted run defense with 6.8 yards per carry and three rushing touchdowns. The front seven failed to get off blocks and fill gaps leaving the safeties to make touchdown saving tackles if possible. The defense kept Yale in control by producing 4 turnovers. Kamara stripped a running back after a long dash and Da’Quan Gonzales returned a poorly placed pass for a touchdown. Tarver could be the highest performing defender through the first five games and picked off two passes to go along with 8 tackles. Guyton struggled early on with a pass interference penalty and wasn’t seen later in the contest with Thompson and Gonzales manning the corner spots. Gonzales was burned for a possible touchdown but luckily the pass was dropped by Lehigh. Egodogbare and Jackson-Bass were difficult for Lehigh to contain at times. The linebackers continue to be a problematic position producing just 4 solo tackles out of the starting trio on Saturday. The defense will need to have its best week of practice this week as Penn features the best quarterback, running back, and wide receiver that Yale has faced all season.

Conforti nailed a 40-yard field goal on his only attempt and was 5 of 5 on PATs. Florio had a 38.8-yard punting average with one punt placed inside the redzone. The kickoff team remains an area of concern as Lehigh’s top returner averaged 27.2 yards per kick return.