Box Score
See The Final Play (courtesy of Service Electric 2 Sports)
Photo Gallery (Photos by Heather Nichols)
Postgame Audio
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- "I'll see you in the end zone."
With four seconds left on the clock and Cornell essentially facing a fourth-and-goal from the 20, senior Jesse Baker went into the huddle and announced to his teammates where to find him after the game's final play.
Four seconds later, Baker delivered on his promise, and the entire team joined him in the corner of the end zone as the Big Red football team remained unbeaten with a 25-24 victory over Lehigh on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Stadium. Senior Nathan Ford found Baker in the end zone for the second time in the contest and the fourth time this season to send home a boisterous, but disappointed, crowd of 10,460 partisan Lehigh grads on campus for Alumni Day. The touchdown also capped a school-record 472-yard passing day by the Big Red in improving to 3-0 on the season. The Mountain Hawks dropped their second consecutive heartbreaker at the gun to fall to 1-3.
Ford and Baker each had career days in the victory, with Ford posting the third-best passing yardage total in school history with a 39-of-63 passing effort that resulted in 438 yards and two scores. He also ran for a short touchdown. Baker hauled in 10 passes for 141 yards and two scores, while classmate Zac Canty had a game-high 11 catches and also surpassed the 100-yard mark with 120 yards. Sophomore Brad Greenway drilled two field goals to round out the scoring, while Stephen Liuzza had both a pass (34) and reception (31) of more than 30 yards in the win. The offensive line also didn't surrender a sack on 63 pass attempts. The line has yet to allow a sack after three contests.
The Cornell defense was again stout against the run, allowing Lehigh just 65 yards in holding its third straight opponent under 100 yards on the ground. Junior linebacker Chris Costello had a game-high 11 tackles, including 2.5 of the eight total tackles for a loss. Senior Tim Bax had seven tackles, including one for a loss and a pass breakup, and also recovered a Mountain Hawk fumble.
Lehigh got a strong game from sophomore quarterback J.B. Clark, who went 24-of-35 passing for 264 yards and a touchdown. He also scored once on the ground. Running back Matt McGowan, who entered the game averaging more than 90 yards per game, was limited to 23 yards on 11 carries in the loss. Jason Leo booted a 35 and 46-yard field goal, but also missed an extra point in the one-point loss.Tim Diamond led the Lehigh defense with 11 tackles.
While the catch was the story, the drive was a microcosm of the season so far. Facing a five-point deficit and needing six to win, the Big Red took the ball at its own 22 and methodically moved the ball downfield. Ford completed two passes and used a Lehigh pass interference call to get out to the Big Red 38. Ford converted a third-and-7 with an eight-yard bullet to Canty for a first down. That started three consecutive sets of downs that ended with fourth-down conversion attempts. Cornell confidently converted each time, as Ford calmly completed a short pass to move the chains, first to junior Bryan Walters, then to senior Zac Canty, and finally the game-winning toss to Baker
As the touchdown signal went into the air, the Big Red mobbed Baker in the end zone, while the officials ran off the field. After 15 seconds of celebrating, the officials realized they didn't have the Big Red attempt the conversion. The Big Red took a knee rather than giving the Mountain Hawks a chance to block a kick and return it with no time left, and celebrated the team's third victory of less than a field goal in as many games.
Cornell started slow in the first half, picked it up at the end, then had its momentum squashed in the final 11-seconds of the half, as for the second straight week, a punt return for a touchdown changed the complexion of the game at the break.
After falling behind 6-0 at the end of the first quarter on a pair of Lehigh field goals, the Big Red stormed back with consecutive scoring drives that put the visitors up 10-6. The first, a 10-play, 78-yard drive ended with a 27-yard field goal and came. The kick took some air out of Lehigh, which had just turned the ball over when McGowan fumbled it away at the Cornell 13 while moving toward putting the home team up double figures early in the second quarter. With the momentum back on its side, head coach Jim Knowles took a risky chance with an on-sides kick. Senior Tim Bax recovered the ball on the sideline and Cornell struck again to take the lead. Marching downfield, the Big Red saw Ford complete all five passes on a 10-play drive that resulted in the senior keeping it himself from one-yard out to go up 10-6 with 1:14 left in the half.
After the Cornell defense forced Lehigh to turn it over on downs at the Big Red's own 42, Lehigh's use of timeouts and Cornell's inability to run the ball on this day backfired. Nick Maxwell's line drive punt was fielded by Lehigh's Jarard Cribbs at the 16 and the sophomore broke through the wedge for an 84-yard return for a score to put the home team up 12-10 at the half. Even the missed extra point wasn't able to quiet the partisan Lehigh crowd.
Cornell stemmed any of the lost momentum immediately in the second half, not allowing the hangover to linger. The Big Red opened the second half with a sustained 12-play drive that took more than six minutes off the clock. The drive stalled at the Lehigh 17, but Greenway split the uprights on his 35-yard effort to put the visitors back in the lead at 13-12 with 8:19 left in the second quarter.
Neither squad could dent the scoreboard again until the fourth quarter, as a Ford interception took an opportunity to put points on the board late in the third. The senior bounced right back after Lehigh regained the lead on a quick-strike possession. The first of four alternating possessions that resulted in touchdowns to trade the lead and end the contest, Lehigh's Clark found Mike FItzgerald on a broke coverage 50-yard pitch-and-catch to make it 18-13 Lehigh with 11:37 left. Ford answered almost immediately, finding Horatio Blackman down the left side of the field for a 43-yard bomb on the second play of the drive, then completing consecutive throws to Canty for eight yards and Baker for 15 for the score. Baker's grab came after the ball was tipped.
The Big Red remains on the road next Saturday when it faces the other conference preseason favorite, Harvard. The two teams will meet in the first "Ivy League Game of the Week" on Versus with a noon kickoff.
