#Lehigh gameday blog: Lehigh holds on, beats Liberty 27-24

FROM KEITH GROLLER

3:47 p.m.

A 54-yard field goal try on the last play of regulation falls short and Lehigh holds on to post a 27-24 win over Liberty here at Goodman Stadium. Lehigh improves to 3-1, Liberty falls to 1-3.

A weird game in many ways with fast turnarounds and turnovers and touchdowns negated by penalties. The bottom line is that the offense, though far from crisp, did enough and so did a defense that continues to bend, but doesn't break.

Quarterback Chris Lum was 18 for 38 for 300 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions. Ryan Spadola and Jake Drwal each caught seven passes totaling 190 yards and Keith Sherman had 81 yards on 16 carries and a 73-yard TD reception.

Chris Summers caught 15 passes for 205 yards and two scores for Liberty, which was making its first appearance in Bethlehem.

Lehigh returns to Goodman Stadium to play Yale next Saturday before spending the rest of October on the road with games at Bucknell, Fordham and Colgate.

3:43 p.m.

Liberty gets the ball back at its own 15 with 29 seconds left, trailing by three.

3:37 p.m.

Juat as they did at Princeton last week, when they had to have it, Lehigh staged a great drive and put this game away with the big play being a 5-yard run by Zach Barket off a pitch on 4th-and-1 at the Liberty 20. Lehigh has the ball at the 13 with 1:27 left and Lehigh still protecting a 27-24 lead. Liberty has one timeout left.

3:27 p.m.

Northampton grad Billy Boyko just came up with a fumble recovery to end a Liberty drive. Lehigh takes over at its 18 with 5:34 left, still protecting a 27-24 lead.

3:20 p.m.

Jon Littlejohn comes up with his second interception of the day, but Lehigh was called for defensive holidng on the play. So Liberty maintains possession. Lehigh still leads 27-24 with nine minutes left.

3:15 p.m.

Liberty stopped Lehigh, but Lehigh went with a quick kick and downed the ball at the Liberty 1. Flames take over with a long way to go, trailing 27-24 with just under 12 minutes left.

3:10 p;m.

Lehigh just got help from a Liberty penalty and has the ball at the Flames 37, first and 10, with 13:31 left Mountain Hawks would love to get a touchdown here to open up some breathing room. . .

3:03 p.m.

On first play of the fourth quarter, Lum threw it up for grabs in the end zone. Spadola tried to make a play on it, but Liberty's Walt Akins picked it off. Liberty's ball at their own 20. That was Lum's second interception of the day and sixth of the season.

3:00 p.m.

Third quarter ends with Lehigh facing a 4th-and-12 at the Liberty 28. The Mountain Hawks still lead 27-4.

2:58 p.m.

After an exchange of punts and a nice return by Jake Drwal, Lehigh has the ball at the Liberty 6 and is looking to extend its lead late in the third quarter.

2:48 p.m.

In a game full of fast turnarounds, we've had another one. A bad snap on a Lehigh punt attempt set up Liberty at the Mountain Hawks 15 and RB Aldreakis Allen ran it in on the very first play. It's now Lehigh 27-24 with 2:45 left in the first half.

2:46 p.m.

Just when it looked like Liberty was going to get back into the game with a drive to the Lehigh 30, Bryan Andrews picked off a poorly-thrown pass in the end zone. It's Lehigh ball. Lehigh leads 27-17 with 3:50 left in the third quarter.

2:32 p.m.

Wildcat quarterback Mike Colvin keeps for a 4-yard touchdown run and Lehigh just capped a very impressive drive to start the second half. Lehigh uses 12 plays, goes 70 yards and consumes 5:36. It's now 27-17 Mountain Hawks with 9:16 left in the third quarter.

2:07 p.m.

Some halftime stats. Lum is 10-for-19 passing for 213 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Spadola has four catches for 86 yards, Jake Drwal has three grabs for 42 yards. Chris Summers has burned the Lehigh defense with nine catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns. Liberty QB Brown is 15-for-19 for 208 yards and two scores.

2:04 p.m.

Finally we're at halftime of a very entertaining game here at Goodman Stadium. Lehigh leads 20-17.

1:55 p.m.

As they have done often this season, the Mountain Hawks struck right back. A 73-yard TD pass (actually it was about a 20-yard throw and 53-yard run) from Lum to Keith Sherman on a screen has given Lehigh the lead back with still 2:05 left in the first half. What a shootout has developed here at Goodman Stadium. Lehigh leads 20-17.

1:50 p.m.

In what was easily his worst play of what has been an outstanding season so far, Lehigh quarterback Chris Lum was intercepted as he was trying to throw the ball away. Liberty returned it for a touchdown, but yet another TD was wiped out by a penalty. But Liberty still has the ball at the Lehigh 28. And on the first play, Liberty gets the TD anyway on a TD pass. Bad, bad turn of events for Lehigh that began with an ill-advised throw by Lum.

1:45 p.m.

Another offensive pass interference call negated a Liberty touchdown and on the very next play Lehigh's Jon Littlejohn came up with an interception to end the Flames drive. Lehigh has the ball back with a chance to add to its lead before halftime. It's Lehigh 13-10 with 3:50 left in the half.

1:38 p.m.

An offensive pass interference penalty called on Ryan Spadola wiped out a Lehigh touchdown pass. So, the Mountain Hawks had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Divers. It's now 13-10 Mountain Hawks with 6:21 left in the first half.

1:27 p.m.

The shootout we expected is now underway. It took Liberty just three plays to answer back, getting a 49-yard touchdown pass from Mike Brown to Chrs Summers. It's now 10-10 with 9:59 left in the first half.

1:21 p.m.

Wow. Lehigh just struck in a hurry. After Courtney Jarvis recovered an onsides kick, Lehigh struck immediately -- getting a 55-yard TD bolt from Chris Lum to Ryan Spadola. It is Lum's 15th TD pass of the season and Spadola's seventh TD reception. All of a sudden, it's 10-3 Lehigh with 11:05 left in the half.

1:17 p.m.

Tim Divers just kicked a 30-yard field goal to get Lehigh on the board and tie the game at 3 with 11:17 left in the first half. Lehigh went 67 yards on 13 plays, but had a first-and-goal at the 7. A holding penalty basically killed the chance for a touchdown.

1:07 p.m.

Lehigh got one first down on a Keith Sherman third-down run and has the ball at its own 42 facing a 2nd-and-2 as the first quarter ends.

1:04 p.m.

Big break for Lehigh. A Liberty touchdown pass was wiped out by an illegal use of the hands penalty and then the Flames missed a 31-yard field goal try. It's still Liberty 3-0 with 2:02 left in the first quarter.

1:02 p.m.

Second home game and the second time the scoreboard has malfunctioned here at Goodman Stadium. Jeez, since the scoreboard is only really needed seven times a year (6 home games and the Brown and White Game), you'd think it would work like a charm. Not!

12:53 p.m.

Lehigh got one first down on its first possession, but the passing game misfired and the Mountain Hawks had to punt. Liberty has the ball back and is already in Lehigh territory at the 45.

12:45 p.m.

Liberty took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field to a first-and-goal at the Lehigh 9. With help from a false start penalty, the Lehigh defense stiffened and Liberty had to settle for a 39-yard field goal, It was still an impressive 12-play, 48-yard drive that consumed 5:19. Liberty leads 3-0 with 9:41 left in the first quarter.

12:29 p.m.

We've got a full pressbox and actually more people across the way than expected from Liberty University for today's battle of nationally-ranked FCS teams. This is Liberty's first visit ever to Bethlehem. It's quite a trip from Lynchburg, Va., but at least 100 folks or so made the journey. This is going to be a huge challenge for the Mountain Hawks against what figures to be a very talented offense. Also, Lehigh is banged up with linebacker Devin Greene still out of action. On offense, Keith Sherman will start at tailback ahead of the injured Zach Barket.

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