http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLER
Lehigh football coach Andy Coen has confirmed that senior quarterback Brandon Bialkowski suffered a fractured collarbone in the third quarter of Saturday's game against Bucknell and will miss the remainder of the season.
Although Coen wouldn't make the official announcement yet, it is expected that junior Matt McHale will become the starter when the Mountain Hawks play Holy Cross on Nov. 9 at Goodman Stadium. Nick Shafnisky, the freshman from Whitehall, moves up to No. 2 on the depth chart.
Coen said it was a tough blow for his team to absorb, but felt bad most of all for Bialkowski.
"It's absolutely disappointing for him, a kid who did all the right things and learned the system and waited for his turn," Coen said. "When he got his turn, he certainly took advantage of it. He's not only a great example for his teammates, but to kids playing football all over the place.
"This is a world where if you're not playing as a freshman or sophomore, you're unhappy. This is a guy who waited his turn behind some good players [previous starters Chris Lum and Mike Colvin] and took advantage of it and put his team in a position where it could win a championship."
Lehigh is 6-2 overall, 1-1 in the Patriot League. If the Mountain Hawks defeat Holy Cross, Colgate and Lafayette in November, they would still be league champs and return to the NCAA FCS playoffs.
However, that stuff is far from being at the forefront at this point. The team has to come to grips with losing one of the biggest bright spots of the season to date.
Bialkowski, a product of Gilbert, Ariz., is 216 for 337 passing for 2,647 yards with 10 interceptions and 18 touchdowns.
He entered the Bucknell game second in the FCS in passing yards game (353.3) and third in completions per game and total passing yards. He was twice named the Patriot League offensive player of the week and he set a school single-game record by completing 42 passes in 57 attempts at Princeton on Sept 21. His 430 yards passing against the Tigers was the sixth highest single-game total in school history. He narrowly missed his seventh straight 300-yard passing game when he finished with 298 against Georgetown on Oct. 19.
He was taken out of the game with Lehigh enjoying a big lead and was replaced by McHale.
McHale, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior from Madison, N.J., relieved Bialkowski at Bucknell and completed 7 of 13 passes for 57 yards and had one interception. McHale also carried seven times for 26 yards.
Shafnisky had one series at Bucknell, running three times for 28 yards, but was 0-for-2 on two pass attempts with an interception.
"The good thing now is we have a bye and we've got three quarterbacks healthy in the program and we'll see who the best one is," Coen said. "Matt had been the backup all year. He played two or three drives against Georgetown and a quarter-and-a-half at Bucknell. He did do some good things, and some other things that he can improve upon.
"The quarterback position is always magnified, but we've had a lot of guys get hurt this year and other guys have stepped up. Now the guy who will play quarterback next Saturday has to step up and do his part. Both [McHale and Shafnisky] have to be ready to play. We haven't had a chance to sit down as a staff and evaluate everything yet."
Coen said the offense won't change.
"The kids who play have to go out there and run our system," Coen said. "We can't change it."
Coen said he hoped his team would rally around the unfortunate situation.
"We met on Sunday as a team and what happened on Saturday was disheartening," Coen said. "We need really to focus on preparing ourselves the right way. Something got missed in the process on Saturday. We clearly weren't ready to play an inspired football team on Saturday and that falls on my shoulders. That's what happens [48-10] when you're not ready."
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