Lehigh freshman receives honors; Mountain Hawks move up in national polls

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER Lehigh moved up from No. 9 to No. 8 in The Sports Network FCS national poll and went from No. 7 to No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll. Also, Lehigh freshman Laquan Lambert who had two blocked punts against Bucknell was named both the Patriot League’s Special Teams Player of the Week and the Sports Network’s National Special Teams Player of the Week. Lambert ran one of the blocked punts back for a 60-yard score. It was the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since Jonathon Littlejohn scored off a Shane Ryan block in the 2010 Lehigh-Lafayette game in Easton. Lambert’s second block came early in the second quarter and gave Lehigh the ball at the Bucknell 15 yard line. Two plays later quarterback Mike Colvin connected with junior Lee Kurfis for a 14 yard touchdown, which put the Mountain Hawks up 21-6. Lambert is the second Lehigh player to earn a national award, joining senior linebacker Billy Boyko from Northampton who was named Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at Liberty on September 22. Here are the national polls starting with the coaches poll: Team (No. 1 Votes) 2012 Record Points Previous Ranking 1. Eastern Washington (22) 6-1 642 1 2. Georgia Southern (1) 6-1 614 3 3. North Dakota State (3) 6-1 593 4 4. Montana State 6-1 552 5 5. Sam Houston State 5-2 548 6 6. Lehigh 8-0 494 7 7. Old Dominion 6-1 493 8 8. Wofford 6-1 473 9 9. Stony Brook 7-1 439 10 10. James Madison 5-2 413 2 11. Cal Poly 7-0 398 12 12. New Hampshire 6-2 370 14 13. Northern Arizona 6-1 327 15 14. Central Arkansas 6-2 275 17 15. Appalachian State 5-3 240 11 16. Delaware 5-2 228 T-22 17. Illinois State 6-2 225 13 T-18. Eastern Kentucky 6-2 172 24 T-18. Indiana State 6-2 172 25 20. Albany 6-1 153 T-22 T-21. Tennessee State 7-1 115 18 T-21. Youngstown State 4-3 115 16 23. Villanova 6-2 111 NR 24. Harvard 5-1 56 20 25. Towson 3-4 53 19 1. Eastern Washington Eagles (125) 6-1 4014 1 2. Georgia Southern Eagles (14) 6-1 3787 3 3. North Dakota State Bison (13) 6-1 3746 4 4. Montana State Bobcats 6-1 3489 5 5. Sam Houston State Bearkats (5) 5-2 3218 6 6. Old Dominion Monarchs 6-1 3089 7 7. Wofford Terriers 6-1 3060 8 8. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (3) 8-0 2839 9 9. James Madison Dukes 5-2 2779 2 10. Stony Brook Seawolves (1) 7-1 2704 10 11. Cal Poly Mustangs (3) 7-0 2437 14 12. New Hampshire Wildcats 6-2 2434 12 13. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 6-1 2083 16 14. Central Arkansas Bears 6-2 1654 19 15. Indiana State Sycamores 6-2 1416 21 16. Appalachian State Mountaineers 5-3 1404 13 17. Illinois State Redbirds 6-2 1394 11 18. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 6-2 1152 23 19. Villanova Wildcats 6-2 1135 24 20. Delaware Blue Hens 5-2 837 25 21. Tennessee State Tigers 7-1 786 17 22. Youngstown State Penguins 4-3 686 15 23. Towson Tigers 3-4 515 15 24. Albany Great Danes 6-1 483 NR 25. Richmond Spiders 5-3 456 NR