Orlando's pair of TD catches help UNH whip Lehigh, 31-10

FROM KEITH GROLLER

DURHAM, N.H. — Joey Orlando wouldn't say it was the best game of his college career, but the smile on his face revealed it was at least in the top two.

The former Liberty High School star caught a career-high 10 passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns and was an offensive catalyst for the University of New Hampshire in a 31-10 rout of Lehigh Saturday afternoon that delighted the majority in a Parents Day crowd of 8,144 at Cowell Stadium.

Orlando's father, Bo, an ex-NFL player and member of the Liberty coaching staff, watched his son more than double his 2010 pass-catching total.

The redshirt sophomore, who helped Liberty make back-to-back appearances in the PIAA 4A state finals, came in with six receptions for 81 yards, but was much more active against a Lehigh defense that was burned for more than 350 yards passing for the second straight week.


UNH quarterback R.J. Toman found Orlando for a one-yard TD pass in the first quarter and again for a 14-yard scoring strike in the third. Orlando also had a 20-yard reception in the fourth quarter for a first down that helped the No. 16 ranked Wildcats run out the clock.

"Every week our offense is spread out depending on the coverages we get, but we all know we're going to get the ball at some point," Orlando said. "If the offensive line gives R.J. time to throw, anybody in our offense can have a big day."

Orlando said his performance against Lehigh rivaled his breakout effort last season against Ball State when he caught four passes for 70 yards, including a first career touchdown.

"This one is special, though," he said. "I spend a lot of time over at Lehigh and know some of the guys and the coaches."

New Hampshire features another Lehigh Valley connection in offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey and he knew his offense would be challenged by Lehigh.

"We saw a very good team on tape and a team that played Villanova tough defensively two weeks ago, so we knew we were in for a battle," said Cramsey, the starting quarterback on Central Catholic's 1993 state title team.

"I was just happy for Joey because he has been doing a very good job for us and he had a big game for us in a loss last week to Rhode Island. You always have a little something extra for your hometown team."

While some Lehigh Valley people were happy with what happened here along the New England seacoast, the team that had the long ride back to the Valley on Saturday night was anything but pleased.

Just as was the case two weeks earlier with Villanova, Lehigh knew it would have its hands full with another of the FCS level's elite..

But coach Andy Coen was disgusted with his team's offensive output. The Mountain Hawks (2-2) didn't do nearly enough with three takeaways and a 76-yard kickoff return by John Kennedy.

"New Hampshire presented us with a lot of opportunities and offensively we weren't able to take advantage of any them, except maybe one," Coen said. "You're not going to beat many teams doing the things we did today, especially when you're playing a team with 63 scholarships and you have none. I'm not very happy with our football team."

Michael Colvin, getting his first career start at quarterback in place of injured Chris Lum, struggled with 10 completions in 28 attempts for 69 yards. He was intercepted three times.

Lehigh needed help on their two scores.

A 42-yard Jake Peery field goal came shortly after an Alex Smith punt pinned UNH at its 2. That was followed by a subsequent three-and-out that gave the Mountain Hawks got the ball at the Wildcats 30. Even a six-yard drive got them three points.

After UNH went up 10-3, Lehigh rallied back again with a 40-yard drive set up by Bryan Andrews' fumble recovery. Jay Campbell sliced 11 yards for a touchdown and Peery's kick made it 10-10 less than a minute into the second quarter.

But New Hampshire outscored the visitors 21-0 from there.

The key drive was an 80-yard, 12-play beauty that made it 24-10 just before halftime.

"That was big for them to go up two scores before halftime," Coen said. "It was kind of frenetic out there for both teams, but we definitely should not have been down 24-10. I really got after our guys at halftime."

After Coen's lambasting, the defense allowed just seven more points — six on Orlando's second TD catch — but the offense was held scoreless and managed just 48 total yards after intermission.

"I'm as angry right now as I've probably been in five years," Coen said. "It has nothing to do with effort, but we just have to execute better, especially in games like this."

http://www.mcall.com/sports/college/mc-lehigh-unh-football-0925-20100925,0,7563011.story