Dominant Lehigh's Streak Broken

As Lehigh junior Matt Douglas’ 29-yard field goal attempt sailed just wide of the uprights last Saturday, Division I’s longest active regular-season winning streak came to an end at 26. The Mountain Hawks, Harvard’s opponent this weekend, lost their bid for a third straight undefeated regular season.

“I am pretty disappointed that Penn beat Lehigh,” said Harvard quarterback and captain Neil Rose. “I wanted Harvard to be the team to break Lehigh’s streak.”

Even though that streak is now history, Rose and Harvard will get their chance to end the Mountain Hawks’ other 26-game streak, their lengthy home unbeaten string.

When No. 25 Harvard visits No. 14 Lehigh’s Goodman Stadium on Saturday, the Mountain Hawks will also be trying to avoid losing consecutive games to Ivy League foes for the first time since 1992, when they fell to Cornell and Princeton in successive weeks.

Over the past five seasons, Lehigh has consistently asserted its dominance over the Patriot League and its other foes. Until falling from fourth to 14th in this week’s national rankings, the Mountain Hawks had been a fixture in the top ten every week since Oct. 30, 2000.

Last Saturday’s defeat in Philadelphia marked only their second loss in their last 48 regular season games, a span which included three undefeated regular seasons and four Patriot League titles. Their only other setback during that period was a 28-24 defeat at Colgate in 1999, a loss that ended what had been a 20-game winning streak.

No. 23 Penn’s victory also represented Lehigh’s first loss to an Ivy League squad since Harvard’s 35-30 triumph in Bethlehem in 1997, a streak which spanned 15 contests.

Included in that run of 15 were two disappointing Harvard losses, both at the Stadium. In 1998, the Crimson squandered a 17-0 halftime lead, ultimately falling 21-17 en route to a 4-6 season. In 2000, Harvard dug itself an early hole from which it could not recover, dropping a one-sided contest, 45-13.

“What happened out there was a combination of us playing an outstanding team while also constantly putting ourselves behind the eight ball,” Harvard coach Tim Murphy explained following the 2000 defeat. “When you commit so many turnovers against an opponent like Lehigh, this is the final score you’re going to end up with.”

Like Harvard, Lehigh faces the challenge of recruiting without athletic scholarships—the Patriot and Ivy Leagues are the only two Division I conferences that prohibit athletic scholarships.

However, even without the benefit of scholarships, Lehigh has consistently been able to recruit top-flight athletes, two of whom have gone on to long careers in the National Football League. Defensive end Rich Owens is currently in his 8th season, his second with the Kansas City Chiefs, while Bears running back Rabih Abdullah enters his 5th season in the league.

Such stellar recruiting has enabled the Mountain Hawks to record several victories over scholarship programs, including an impressive 37-26 triumph over Division I-A Buffalo in this year’s season opener.

“Lehigh is an excellent team,” said Penn coach Al Bagnoli. “Great speed, and very athletic.”

Yet for all of their recent success, Lehigh has had its problems with the Ivy League so far this season. Two weeks ago, it spotted Princeton a 24-7 fourth quarter lead before rallying to win 31-24, the winning score coming on junior quarterback Chad Schwenk’s touchdown pass with 12 seconds left on the clock.

They similarly allowed Penn to take a 24-7 lead, but this time their late-game heroics could not lead them to victory. Junior quarterback Matt Shiels—relieving an ineffective Schwenk—was unable to lead the Mountain Hawks into the endzone on their final drive, setting the stage for Douglas’ fateful miss.

“The stiff competition from the Ivy teams may be a surprise to some I-AA fans and Lehigh fans, but not to our coaching staff,” Lehigh coach Pete Lembo wrote in an e-mail. “Most of us have coached in the Ivy League before coming to Lehigh and know full well just how talented and well-coached these teams are. If you look back to our team’s success over the last five years, many of our closest games have been against Ivy League foes.”

Although Penn is currently ranked above Harvard, the Crimson may well be the best team Lehigh will face this season. Harvard enters the contest having won its last 11 games, including wins over both Princeton and Penn last year and over the Patriot League’s Holy Cross two weekends ago.

“Streak or no streak, Harvard presents us with a number of challenges from a preparation standpoint,” Lembo said. “With their outstanding skill and line on offense, they may be the best overall unit we have seen in recent years, including in the I-AA playoffs.

“This Saturday will be a big test for us,” Lembo added. “I believe it will set the tone for the rest of the season. We must bounce back and move on from the Penn loss.”

While Lehigh’s upset loss proves it can be beaten, Harvard’s Ivy schedule now figures to be much tougher than first thought. Princeton and Penn have demonstrated that the Crimson’s league opponents are not to be overlooked this season.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are playing a top-ranked team or a team that hasn’t won yet,” Rose said. “We will play hard, like desperate soldiers—and they will too. That’s what’s great about college football.”