Iain Crimmons

13

Lehigh
LEH

9-4, 5-1

34

winner

Idaho
IDA

10-3, 6-2

13

34

winner

Points by quarter

team	1	2	3	4	F
LEH Lehigh	0	6	0	7	13
IDA Idaho	6	13	15	0	34

Match Review: Football | 12/8/2024 1:17:00 AM

MOSCOW, Idaho – Lehigh’s run through the FCS playoffs ended Saturday with a 34-13 loss to No. 8 Idaho at the P1FCU Kibbie Dome. The Vandals’ passing attack managed 318 yards against Lehigh’s top-10 pass defense and advanced to next week’s quarterfinals against No. 1 seed Montana State.

The Mountain Hawks fell behind 12-0 in the second quarter, trailed 19-6 at halftime and didn’t reach the end zone until the final minutes of the game.

Lehigh managed 371 yards of its own, but struggled to turn its drives into touchdowns. The Mountain Hawks converted just 5 of 15 third downs and were 0-for-3 on fourth downs, while Idaho (10-3) was 7-for-12 on third downs and converted on its only fourth-down attempt.

Second semester Luke Yoder And Mason Humphrey Lehigh went up and down offensively, with Yoder gaining 74 yards on 11 carries, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the season. Humphrey was targeted 14 times in the passing game and had six receptions for 98 yards.

Follow-up with @coach_cahill 👇 pic.twitter.com/0fn2tj0GhS

— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) December 8, 2024

Yoder rushed for 28 yards on Lehigh’s first play from scrimmage, but the Mountain Hawks were eventually forced to punt. Idaho responded with a 14-play, 80-yard drive on its first possession, capped by a five-yard scoring pass from Jack Lane to Jordan Dwyer.

Lehigh put Idaho deep early in the second quarter, but Lane hit Mark Hamper with a 28-yard pass that converted a 3rd-and-11, and on the very next play Dwyer scored on a 62-yard bomb. After a second failed conversion, the Vandals led 12-0.

An 11-play, 57-yard drive stalled inside the Idaho 20 with Junior Nick Garrido He kicked a 35-yard field goal to put the Mountain Hawks on the field.

Idaho extended its lead late in the first half with a long, 42-yard shot from Lane to Hamper. The Mountain Hawks responded by driving down the field, and as time expired on halftime, Garrido stormed the field with his field goal unit and scored from 39 yards to put Lehigh up 19-6 at halftime.

The second half began with a 75-yard drive by Idaho capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Deshaun Buchanan, with a two-point conversion extending the Vandals’ lead to 27-6.

Lehigh moved 44 yards in 10 plays on its first possession of the half, but on fourth-and-5 quarterback play Hayden Johnson was picked off by Zach Johnson, who ran 74 yards for a touchdown that put the Mountain Hawks back by 28.

Toward the end of the fourth quarter, Johnson gave way to the graduate student Dante Perriwho completed an eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive. Highlighted by a 42-yard connection with Junior Geoffrey JamielPerri capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown rush, giving Lehigh its only touchdown of the night.

Johnson completed 13 of 27 for 143 yards and an interception and also ran for 69 yards on 12 carries. Perri was 4-for-4 for 59 yards and rushed twice for five yards.

Jamiel added four receptions for 67 yards in the passing game.

Defensive back, sophomore William Parton led the way with nine tackles, including a tackle-for-loss. Junior Brycen Edwards added eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Junior TJ Burke had Lehigh’s only sack.

BURKE BRINGS THE BOOM 💪#FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ESPN+ / @LehighFootball pic.twitter.com/gPvIgIPfkp

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) December 8, 2024

Lane finished the game 16 of 22 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Dwyer caught seven for 166 and two scores, while Hamper added 97 and a touchdown on five receptions.

The Patriot League champion Mountain Hawks finished the season 9-4 after going 2-9 in 2023. The seven-win turnaround was second-best in Division I FCS football.

Gallery: (12/7/2024) Idaho Football, 12/7/24

EXTRA POINTS…Lehigh rushed for 169 yards, gained more than 100 yards for the 20th straight game and limited Idaho to just 92 yards on the ground…Before Saturday’s game, the longest pass play Lehigh allowed this season was 36 yards…Idaho had three plays longer than this Saturday night… Lehigh is now 1-3 all-time when playing indoors and 0-2 at the Kibbie Dome… Lehigh is now 10-14 overall in the FCS playoffs and 7-12 at the FCS level…sophomore year Broc Bender made his first career start at Lehigh’s stud position…Yoder finished his second season with 1,014 yards for Lehigh’s first 1,000-yard rushing campaign since Dom Bragalone ran for 1,388 in 2017…Lehigh lost for the first time this season while wearing white pants… the mountain In 2024, the Hawks were 9-1 in white pants and 0-3 in brown pants.

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