Lehigh-Holy Cross-Gilmore: A flashback

When Kevin Higgins left Lehigh to becomes quarterbacks coach of the Detroit Lions in 2001, he gave Lehigh athletic director Joe Sterrett three recommendations for the head coaching position.

Pete Lembo, Higgins’ assistant head coach.

Dave Cecchini, the offensive coordinator.

Tom Gilmore, the defensive coordinator.

Together, those four guys had put their talents together to make Lehigh virtually unbeatable. In Higgins’ last three seasons as head coach, the Brown and White lost only one regular-season game. Won 32.

Sterrett got Higgins’ decision on a Sunday. On that same day, Sterrett met with the entire coaching staff and learned that, if he was willing to stay inside for Higgins’ replacement, all of Higgins’ coaches were committed to staying to maintain the momentum.

Sterrett met with each of Higgins’ recommended staffers for about an hour apiece.

A paralyzing snowstorm the next day kept Sterrett from doing anything on Monday, but he did call the college president. He had a decision, he told Dr. Gregory Farrington.

On Tuesday, he met with the coaches as a group again.

On Wednesday, he announced that Lembo would become the head coach.

During the press conference confirming all the decisions, Sterrett told us that the three coaches “never viewed [the interview process] in competitive terms, so this is not a case of one winning and two losing. I told them none of them was good enough [to replace Higgins] but together they have a chance.”

Leopards replay: The start of something good?

Selwyn Simpson celebrates his winning touchdown. Photo courtesy of Lafayette Sports.

I got a bunch of grief when I came out with my Lafayette-Leopards-run-the-table prediction for the Patriot League portion of the schedule.

They had a bit of a stumble in the opener against Georgetown, a game they might have won.

But the tables turned for them big time on Saturday against Bucknell – in a game they just as easily might have lost.

My point is this: the 2019 Patriot League has no such thing as a lock to win or lose.

Proof? Look at league leader Lehigh. A win Colgate on a last-minute TD … a win over Fordham in overtime … a win over Georgetown on the final play.

Can what took place on Saturday be contagious for Lafayette?

Can Lafayette use that rare touchdown-off-turnover victory over a Bison team that has to be stunned today be the “breakthrough” we haven’t heard Coach John Garrett talk about for several weeks?

Until that fourth-quarter rally against the Bison, the lead to my Morning Call game story was probably going to be about the Bucknell punter.

My story was trimmed in several places, including my last paragraph. Here’s a piece of what wound up on the cutting-room floor.

Lafayette FB: A QB shakeup, scouting the Hoyas

I admit to getting a bit nit-picky. One of my favorite targets is the depth chart released by Lafayette football coach John Garrett.

I have come to accept the fact that the two-deep list that usually comes with sports information director Phil LaBella’s weekly game notes may not be an accurate indication of who will or won’t play in that week’s game. Garrett is super protective of information concerning injuries.

Last week was the worst. The notes for the Leopards’ game with Princeton came with no depth chart page. To compound the dilemma, Princeton Coach Bob Surace also provided no two-deep for the Tigers. Garrett and Surace are long-time friends, so I don’t know if they were playing some kind of mind game before the undefeated Tigers and the winless Leopards met last Friday night.

When I arrived at the weekly media luncheon on Tuesday, the first thing I wanted to see was whether Garrett would again be withholding information, fearful, perhaps, that he was giving Georgetown Coach Rob Sgarlata some secrets in advance of Saturday’s game in Washington.

I’m happy to say depth charts for both the Hoyas and the Leopards were handed out. I immediately began looking for names of previously injured players who might be making a return for what Garrett would say “almost feels like a second season” consisting of all six Patriot League contests.

(NOTE: I’m not going to address the “almost” remark, except to say that if what’s about to begin this week doesn’t feel “exactly” like a second season, the next six Saturdays won’t be much fun for Leopard fans. No one should be happier than the Leopards to have a clean slate and something to play for.)

Can the Leopards solve their third-down dilemma?

Two Ivy League football teams, one Patriot League team and one of my “favorite” all-time FCS teams – the Leathernecks of Western Illinois – all outrank the 0-6 Lafayette Leopards in third-down ineptitude in 2019.

According to the latest NCAA FCS football statistics, through games played on Saturday, WIU ranks No. 124 in third-down conversions, having been successful just 21 of 90 times in six games for 23.3 percent.

The three C’s – Columbia, Colgate and Cornell – rank No. 119-121, respectively.  The Lions and the Big Red have played just four games, while the Raiders have played seven and been successful on just 25 of 91 chances on third down.

All that should come as no consolation for John Garrett, the head coach, offensive coordinator and play caller for the Leopards, who are 25-of-86, for 29.1 percent to sit in 115^th place on the national list.

Leopards: The 2019 Patriot champs? Or not!

I, Paul Reinhard, being of sound mind (obviously questionable) and body (doubtful) do hereby, with great trepidation, make the following declaration:

Lafayette College will win the 2019 Patriot League football championship -- without losing a game.

WHAT?!?!?! Have I gone mad?  Did someone slip me a Mickey?  Do we need that guy Adam Schiff to start some witch-hunt-type investigation?

It’s nowhere near April Fool’s Day, so it can’t be anything like that April 1, 2003 column I wrote exposing the “fact” that Mario Andretti was coming out of retirement to drive for his son Michael at the Indianapolis 500. That’s a story for another time.

But the idea of the 2019 Leopards winning the league title might sound just as preposterous as that Andretti challenge. They are, after all, 0-5 as they take their midseason bye week. And the next opponent, Ivy League favorite Princeton, the No. 2 offensive team in the FCS after its first two games, doesn’t figure to set the stage for a title run for Coach John Garrett’s team.

As a matter of fact, Lafayette is now mired in the longest losing streak (eight games over two seasons) since it lost 14 in a row from Oct. 20, 1951 through Sept. 26, 1953. It had a 14-game winless streak from 11-2-63 through 9-18-65, but two ties, including to Lehigh in THE GAME No. 100, figured in there. It lost seven straight during that drought. I’m pretty sure the Lafayette sports information guys won’t be including that information in next week’s game notes.