Lehigh-Georgetown preview: Can the streak continue without Ryan Spadola?

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER It's a shame. That's the first thing I thought when learning that Lehigh wide receiver Ryan Spadola, an All-American on every list there is, has mononucleosis and will miss today's game at Georgetown, and possibly, several more. Spadola is the best Lehigh receiver I've seen in 12 seasons on the Mountain Hawks beat. He's a game-changer. I'd feel bad for anyone to have to go through this in his senior year, but especially Spadola who went through that unfortunate mess at the end of last season. I think this is a guy with the ability to play in the NFL and missing time this season -- whether it's one game or the next four -- is only going to hurt his chances. Spadola was having a very good, but not great season. There were some uncharacteristic errors he made last week in particular that resulted in penalties and now, knowing that he was dealing with an illness, you understand why and you also understand why he may have been a half-step behind where he was last year.Spadola But for Lehigh to remain unbeaten, remain ranked high in the nation and remain on course for a third consecutive league championship and playoff berth, it can't feel sorry for itself or Spadola this afternoon in Washington, D.C., against a formidable Georgetown team. Lehigh must use this as a wakeup call. Their margin for error just got much thinner. The team that has been far from perfect had better start playing much cleaner and crisper. The five things to look for from Lehigh today: 1. RUN THE BALL. Lehigh has run the ball well at times with Zach Barket and Keith Sherman, and, of course, quarterback Mike Colvin, but now the boys in brown have to be more committed to the run and get some yardage on first down to avoid second and third-and-longs. 2. COLVIN MUST PLAY WITHIN HIMSELF. The quarterback may try to make up for Spadola's absence by himself, that would be a mistake. He has to avoid the mistakes that come with trying to make plays that aren't there. 3. DEFENSIVE TURNOVERS. The defense must play its best football and get a few takeaways from a Hoyas team that can get careless. 4. SUSTAIN THE EMOTION. One of the big concerns every year in the Lafayette game is that Lehigh comes up with tremendous emotion early and then has trouble sustaining it. The Mountain Hawks, playing in a hostile environment, can't get too high, too early. 5. RECEIVERS MUST PLAY WELL. This is obvious. Josh Parris, Lee Kurfis, Sergio Fernandez-Soto and all of the wideouts aren't going to have the open space in the secondary that they've had in the past because of Spadola garnering extra attention. So, these guys are going to have to work harder to create space and catch the ball in traffic to move the chains and put points on the board. I still think Lehigh can win, but it just got much harder.