By David Coulson Sep 16, 2007, 6:44 GMT
Princeton, NJ - It didn't take Princeton long to figure out that the magic of 2006's Ivy League co-championship season hadn't carried over to the Tigers' opening game of 2007.
Stung by five first-half turnovers, Princeton fell behind 23-0 on the way to a 32-21 loss to Lehigh before 8,640 fans at Princeton Stadium.
Freshmen running backs Kwesi Kankam and Jaren Walker combined for 132 yards rushing and a pair of scores, while senior quarterback Sedale Threatt threw for one TD and ran for another.
But it was takeaways that played an even bigger role in the win for Lehigh (1-1).
'We played with a lot of intensity and emotion early,' said Lehigh coach Andy Coen, who had been critical of the Mountain Hawks' start in last week's 30-20 loss to Villanova. 'I don't think it was a clean game by any stretch of the imagination.'
'We had a short field,' Coen added. 'Our defense did a great job and our special teams put us in good position.'
The omen of the game was cast on Princeton's very first play from scrimmage, when running back R.C. Lagamarsino rushed for 15 yards, but fumbled at the end of the play.
'It turned what could have been a great momentum play early into something else,' said Princeton coach Roger Hughes.
Defensive tackle Paul Bode recovered at the Princeton 48 and Lehigh capitalized with a seven-play drive to take a quick 7-0 lead.
Princeton made a spirited defensive stand after Lehigh took a first and goal at the three, but Kankam finally banged in from a yard out for the touchdown, just three minutes into the game.
On Princeton's third play of the next drive, quarterback Bill Foran had a pass slip through the hands of Adam Berry and Brannan Thomas intercepted to give the Mountain Hawks the ball back at the Lehigh 49.
With Threatt converting a pair of third downs, Lehigh pushed the ball down the field again and Threatt's three-yard strike to tight end Troy Healion made it 13-0.
Jason Leo knocked his extra point try off the left upright and then missed two field goal attempts of 36 yards later in the half.
But that was one of the few things the Mountain Hawks had to complain about in the first half.
After wasting a pair of Princeton turnovers on a Threatt interception and a missed field goal, Lehigh finally scored again following Thomas' 35-yard punt return.
It took an incredible 10 plays for the Mountain Hawks to go 22 yards before Leo's 25-yard field goal made it 16-0.
Tom Randazza's pouched kickoff near the sideline was not fielded by the Tigers and Lehigh's Brendan Van Ackeran fell on it at the Princeton 23.
Walker turned a fourth and one from the 14 into an 11-yard yard burst for a key first down and Threatt dashed in from the two a couple of plays later to give the Mountain Hawks a 23-0 advantage with 33 seconds left in the half.
Lehigh ran 54 of its 92 plays in the first half, piling up a 21 1/2 to 8 1/2 possession time edge in the first two quarters. Time of possession finished up 39-21 in the Mountain Hawks' favor.
The lead grew to 25-0 in the third quarter when Jesse Sanchez blocked Ryan Coyle's punt from the end zone for a safety.
At that point, Princeton began a furious comeback.
Foran fired a seven-yard scoring strike to fullback Rob Toresco and a 15-yard TD pass to Berry to make it a 25-14 game before the third quarter ended.
But Lehigh broke Princetons back with a 13-play, 48-yard scoring drive that milked seven and a half minutes off the clock.
Kankam's 17-yard scamper with a screen pass on third and 16 pushed the ball to the Tiger 14 and Walker finished off the drive with five straight carries, including a two-yard scoring plunge that pushed the lead back to 18 points.
'I was really happy with that 13-play drive,' said Coen.
After the amount of time Princeton's defense spent on the field in the first half, the Tigers were not able to stop the Mountain Hawks when they needed to the most.
'You look at the final stats and they ran 92 plays,' said Hughes. 'I don't want to make excuses for our defense, but we got worn out.'
Reserve quarterback Greg Mroz came off the bench to toss a 21-yard touchdown pass to Wil Thanheiser with 3:22 remaining, but Lehigh recovered an onside kick and snuffed out one final Princeton drive to finish off the win.
'I was pleased with the way we played in the second half,' said Hughes. 'But you can't expect to spot a team like Lehigh 23 points and expect to win.'
© 2007 The Sports Network
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