The 2024 Lehigh Mountain Hawks football team represented Lehigh University as a member of the Patriot League during the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Mountain Hawks were led by second-year head coach Kevin Cahill and played home games at Goodman Stadium in Lower Saucon, Pennsylvania.
Preseason In Lehigh's previous season, the Mountain Hawks' roster was very senior heavy, with most of the team's starting players graduating. As such there is an equally large oncoming group of Freshmen, including two quarterbacks Matt Machalik of Palmerton and Hayden Johnson of Manheim Township, as well as senior QB Matt Rauscher and fifth-year QB Dante Perri. Additionally, coach Cahill has highlighted the new freshmen defenders, including Broc Bender, second-team all-state linebacker from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia.
Schedule
Game summaries at Army (FBS)
Statistics LEHARMY First downs 16 26 Total yards 282 432 Rushing yards 172 375 Passing yards 110 57 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10-19-2 5-8-0 Time of possession 26:56 33:04 Team Category Player StatisticsLehigh Passing Dante Perri 6/11, 64 yards Rushing Luke Yoder 10 carries, 51 yards, 1 TD Receiving Mason Humphrey 5 receptions, 61 yards Army Passing Bryson Daily 3/6, 35 yards Rushing Noah Short 8 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD Receiving Casey Reynolds/Cam Schurr 1 reception, 22 yards
The season opener and the first time that the teams have met since 1995 and the first time Lehigh has played an FBS team since 2018. In the opening drive the Black Knights performed a 35-yard fake punt followed by a 1-yard touchdown by Bryson Daily. The Mountain Hawks responded the next drive by scoring in a seven-play drive off an 18-yard rushing touchdown by Luke Yoder. However, Army then scored on back to back drives with rushing touchdowns from Daily and Kanye Udoh and hold Lehigh scoreless, making it 21–7 at the half. Army scored early in the third with a 3-yard run from Noah Short, and scored twice in the fourth quarter to finish the game 42–7. Army held Lehigh scoreless in the second half, mostly due to two interceptions by Lehigh quarterback Hayden Johnson deep in Army territory. Lehigh had three quarterbacks take snaps in an effort to confuse Army, with Dante Perri, Matt Machalik and Hayden Johnson all being used in different packages.
Wagner
Statistics WAGLEH First downs 18 15 Total yards 249 274 Rushing yards 95 190 Passing yards 154 84 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 18-32-3 6-8-0 Time of possession 31:00 29:00 Team Category Player StatisticsWagner Passing Damien Mazil 18/31, 154 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT Rushing Sekou Kamau 14 carries, 55 yards Receiving Jaylen Bonelli 5 receptions, 54 yards, TDLehigh Passing Dante Perri 6/8, 84 yards, 2 TD Rushing Luke Yoder 9 carries, 64 yards, TD Receiving Mason Humphrey 2 receptions, 43 yards, TD
Seeking to bounce back from their defeat by Army, Lehigh started their home opener by scoring first off a 16-yard pass from Dante Perri to wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel, following with two more touchdowns to take a 21–0 lead only 5 minutes into the game. The Mountain Hawks continued their strong start with first-year Hayden Johnson scoring his first collegiate touchdown for a 28–0 lead, followed by two more touchdowns by Lehigh to make it 42–0 at the half. This is the first time that Lehigh scored 42 points before halftime since their 2016 season against Yale. Lehigh scored again to start the third quarter to make the lead 49–0 before the Seahawks scored two late touchdowns to finish the game. Wagner had three turnovers, including a pick-six, finishing the game with 249 yards of total offense. This was Lehigh's largest margin of victory in 17 years, since its 2007 45–0 win against Georgetown, and the most points scored since its 2018 season against Bucknell. Junior receiver Geoffrey Jamiel put him over 100 career receptions and 1,000 receiving yards during the game, while juniors Tyler Ochojski and Matt Spatny secured Lehigh's first two sacks of the season. Junior defensive back Nick Peltekian said “This should be the standard for this team every week.” The game was also head coach Kevin Cahill's first ever home win.
at LIU
Statistics LEHLIU First downs 20 15 Total yards 282 320 Rushing yards 143 166 Passing yards 139 154 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 10–18–0 16–26–1 Time of possession 33:55 26:05 Team Category Player StatisticsLehigh Passing Dante Perri 6/14, 113 yards, TD Rushing Luke Yoder 23 carries, 94 yards, TD Receiving Logan Galletta 2 receptions, 47 yardsLIU Passing Luca Stanzani 16/26, 160 yards, 2 TD, INT Rushing Ethan Greenwood 5 carries, 65 yards Receiving Cory Nichols 7 receptions, 52 yards, 2 TD
LIU was looking to come back from two losses with a home-opener against Lehigh, with this being the first time Lehigh traveled to LIU. The LIU sharks opened scoring with a 13-yard pass from Luca Stanzani to Michael Love before the Mountain Hawks tied with a Luke Yoder rushing touchdown. First-year quarterback Hayden Johnson then had his first career touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Geoffrey Jamiel. The Sharks opened up the second half with a Stanzani 3-yard passing touchdown to Michael Love then with 37 seconds left in the third LIU's kicker Michael Coney made a field goal. Lehigh held the game scoreless in the fourth quarter, with the game coming down to the Mountain Hawks' Will Parton stopping a fourth-and-2 attempt with 57 seconds left to preserve the win. This was the first time that Lehigh won back-to-back games since 2021, and are now 7-0 all time against the Sharks.
Princeton
Statistics PRINLEH First downs 1417 Total yards 212346 Rushing yards -7153 Passing yards 219193 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 16-22-3 16-40-0 Time of possession 25:2934:31 Team Category Player StatisticsPrinceton Passing Blaine Hipa 16/38, 219, 2 TD, 3 INT Rushing John Volker 10 carries, 28 yards, TD Receiving Luke Colella5 receptions, 86 yards, TDLehigh Passing Hayden Johnson12/13, 165 yards, TD Rushing Jaden Green18 carries, 82 yards, 2 TD Receiving Dylan McFadden2 receptions, 62 yards
Lehigh hosted Princeton for its "Parents Weekend" homecoming game. This was Princeton's first game of the season. Both teams' marching bands put on special halftime performances, and food-trucks provided food to the homecoming crowd. Lehigh opened up the scoring with a 20-yard run up the middle by sophomore running back Luke Yoder six minutes into the game. Princeton responded tying the game to end the first quarter. The Mountain Hawks would outscore Princeton by 14 points in the 2nd quarter to make it 21-7 going into the second half. The Tigers scored on their opening possession of the second half and cut the lead to just 7 points. The fourth quarter started off with Johnson finding an open Geoffrey Jamiel on a 17-yard passing touchdown to put Lehigh's lead back to 14 points with 14:10 remaining in the game. Princeton got the ball back with 1:54 remaining with a chance to have a game-winning drive, however, Brycen Edwards intercepted Blaine Hipa to secure the win for Lehigh. The Tigers responded six minutes later with a touchdown of their own, but failed to convert the two-point conversion. This was the first time that Lehigh beat an ivy league school since 2016. Hayden Johnson had the best day of his career to date, going 12-of-13 while throwing for 165 yards with one touchdown. Lehigh also started Dante Perri who was 4-of-9 and finished with 28 yards.
Bucknell
Statistics BUCKLEH First downs 1626 Total yards 270500 Rushing yards 120202 Passing yards 150 298 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 15-2221-33-1 Time of possession 23:1136:49 Team Category Player StatisticsBucknell Passing Ralph Rucker IV 15/22, 150 yards, 2 TD Rushing Tariq Thomas 18 carries, 77 yards Receiving Eric Weatherly5 receptions, 55 yardsLehigh Passing Hayden Johnson17/23, 200 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Luke Yoder22 carries, 137 yards Receiving Geoffrey Jamiel9 receptions, 136 yards
The game was branded as "Tackle Cancer Day" sponsored by Red Robin in partnership with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Lehigh entered the game atop the Patriot league. Lehigh climbed to a 14–0 lead with 4:11 remaining in the first half. Bucknell's TJ Cadden, who had a 73-yard punt return in the previous game, returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to get the Bison on the board. Over the next 62 seconds Bucknell would force a fumble, and score off a 31-yard pass to tie the game 14-14. Lehigh would regain its lead in the third quarter to make the game 21–14. Bucknell's Aaron Davis returned a 79-yard interception to give Bucknell its only lead of regulation, 28–21 with 6 minutes left before Lehigh responded with a short Yoder touchdown run with 1:30 remaining. Bucknell was able to get the ball into field-goal range, however, Bison kicker Matt Schearer bounced the 52-yard attempt off the upright. After exchanging touchdowns, Bucknell's opening drive of the second overtime stalled, resulting in a 42-yard Schearer field goal. Lehigh's response was short lived, as they fumbled the ball which was recovered by Bucknell's Gavin Willis to end the game 38–35. The game put Bucknell at the top of the Patriot League, and was their best start to a season since 2015. Lehigh Junior WR Geoffrey Jamiel had a career day with nine catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns, while Sophomore WR Mason Humphrey also had 109 yards. Lehigh's RB Luke Yoder also carried the ball 22 times for 137 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Lehigh's QBs, Johnson and Perri, went 17-of-23 for 200 years, and 4-of-10 for 98 yards respectively. Despite the loss, the Mountain Hawks led in total yards, 500 to just 270.
at Yale (Yank Townsend Trophy)
Statistics LEHYALE First downs 20 20 Total yards 372 365 Rushing yards 250 258 Passing yards 122 107 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 14-29-3 15-26-1 Time of possession 31:56 28:04 Team Category Player StatisticsLehigh Passing Hayden Johnson8/16, 74 Yards, 1 INT Rushing Luke Yoder 15 carries, 143 yards, 1 TD Receiving Geoffrey Jamiel7 receptions, 54 yardsYale Passing Grant Jordan15/26, 107 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Tre Peterson12 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD Receiving Mason Shipp6 receptions, 55 yards
Lehigh opened scoring with a field goal on the game-opening drive. Yale's opening drive started when Aidan Singleton picked off the Bulldog's Grant Jordan, however, Lehigh was unable to capitalize on the turnover. Grant responded with a 20-yard pass to Joey Felton on his second ever pass attempt, before Yale scored, which was quickly followed by a Yale intercepting Lehigh QB Dante Perri, and returning the interception for 53 yards and a touchdown making it 14–3 at the end of the quarter. The Mountain Hawk's Luke Yoder scored on a 38-yard run, making it 14–10, the closest the game would be. Yale's Grant then scored on a 10-yard run with the Bulldogs scoring again with a fourth and 1 plunge by Josh Pitsenberger with 5 seconds left in the half after another Lehigh interception. Yale's Nick Conforti extended the lead with a 40-yard field goal after a Lehigh fumble, with Lehigh responding with a 10-play 68-yard drive capped with a 10-yard Rushing touchdown by Jaden Green. With the win Yale retained the Yank Townsend Trophy, which has been awarded to the winner of each Lehigh-Yale game since 2006. Yoder ran for 143 yards and a touchdown.
Fordham
Statistics FORLEH First downs 16 18 Total yards 226 372 Rushing yards 98 246 Passing yards 128 126 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 15-34-1 10-17 Time of possession 26:25 33:35 Team Category Player StatisticsFordham Passing Trip Holley 8/18, 69 yards Rushing Julius Loughridge 17 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD Receiving Cole Thornton 4 receptions, 37 yardsLehigh Passing Hayden Johnson6/9, 99 yards, 1 TD Rushing Jaden Green17 carries, 147 yards, 1 TD Receiving Geoffrey Jamiel 3 receptions, 47 yards