The fourth-quarter rally pushes Lehigh past Richmond 20-16 in the first round of the FCS

Hannahally Photography

20

winner

Lehigh
LEH

9-3, 5-1

16

Richmond
RIC

10-3, 8-0

winner

20

16

Points by quarters

team	1	2	3	4	F
LEH Lehigh	0	7	0	13	20
RIC Richmond	3	6	0	7	16

Match Review: Football | 11/30/2024 6:22:00 p.m

RICHMOND, Va. – Trailing 16-7 with 10:36 left, Lehigh’s offense made two big plays while the defense got the job done as the Mountain Hawks defeated No. 9 Richmond 20-16 in the first round of FCS on Saturday playoffs at Robins Stadium.

First-year quarterback Hayden Johnson associated with Junior Geoffrey Jamiel with a 54-yard catch-and-run that gave Lehigh a 20-16 lead with 6:21 to play. Jamiel had a career day with 10 catches for 137 yards and the go-ahead score. Johnson completed 14 of 18 for 199 yards, with two touchdowns and one interception.

Lehigh’s defense limited Richmond to one touchdown on four red zone trips and held the Spiders to 1 of 3 on fourth down conversions.

The Mountain Hawks (9-3) win their first FCS playoff game since 2011 and will face No. 8 seed Idaho next Saturday at 9:00 p.m. ET at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.

Follow-up with @coach_cahill And Geoffrey Jamiel!#GoLehigh #TheNest pic.twitter.com/Woz0TXZMMj

— Lehigh Football (@LehighFootball) November 30, 2024

Richmond (10-3) marched down the field on its first drive, with Sean O’Haire kicking a 25-yard field goal to give the Spiders an early 3-0 lead.

Lehigh’s promising opening drive ended in an interception, but the defense stepped up with Junior Jackson Dowd fending off a fourth-down pass attempt from Camden Coleman.

O’Haire’s second field goal of the game gave Richmond a 6-0 lead with 5:27 left before halftime, and Lehigh responded with a 17-play, 70-yard drive to take the lead. Johnson scored as a freshman Matt D’Avino for a 41-yard completion, with D’Avino making a juggling catch. On 3rd and 5, Johnson connected with the first-rounder Logan Galletta on a seven-yard touchdown, with Nick Garridos Extra point gives Lehigh a 7-6 score.

Cool, calm, collected 😎#FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ESPN+ / @LehighFootball pic.twitter.com/sbMKT0MOV2

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 30, 2024

Richmond led the way in 1:04, with O’Haire’s third short field goal of the half giving the Spiders a 9-7 lead at halftime.

Lehigh had a golden opportunity to regain the lead in the third quarter when the Mountain Hawks systematically moved the ball deep into Richmond territory. Johnson was stopped short of the goal line on third down and Lehigh brought out the field goal team. After a false start penalty and a bad snap, Lehigh was stopped on downs and Richmond took over at its five-yard line.

Richmond took advantage of Johnson’s only mistake and drove 39 yards in five plays after an interception by Jabril Hayes. On 4th-and-1 from the Lehigh seven, Coleman hit Sean Clarke over the middle for a touchdown, extending the Spiders’ lead to 16-7.

Quick reply 🫢#FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ESPN+ / @LehighFootball pic.twitter.com/YJy1vdOipY

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 30, 2024

On Lehigh’s next offensive play as a freshman Jaden Green raced 65 yards around the right side for a touchdown that brought Lehigh back to within two scores.

The defense is playing without the graduate linebacker at this point Mike DeNucci and juniors Matt Spatny And Tyler Ochojskiboth of whom left Saturday’s game with injuries, delivered a three-pointer and gave the Mountain Hawks the ball back.

Johnson scrambled his legs 19 yards to convert a 3rd-and-17, then hit Jamiel over the middle two plays later, with the junior taking advantage of his volatility to race toward the end zone and put Lehigh on top .

HE JUST GOES ON!#FCSPlayoffs x 🎥 ESPN+ / @LehighFootball pic.twitter.com/spDIxsIgvH

— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) November 30, 2024

Richmond wanted to respond by pushing the Spiders into Lehigh territory. Two consecutive pass breakups by Dowd and Junior Brycen Edwards On third and fourth down, Lehigh gave the ball back at its 34 with 4:05 left.

The Mountain Hawks scored a first down before having to punt the football away with less than two minutes left. Connor Pooles The 43-yard punt was mitigated by Richmond as a freshman Ignatious Williams He recovered at the Richmond 17, allowing Lehigh to run out the clock.

Richmond had a slight edge in total yardage, 345-328. Lehigh rushed for 128 and passed for 200. Green led Lehigh on the ground with 70 yards on 11 carries as a sophomore Luke Yoder ran 12 times for 52 yards.

Edwards and sophomores Aidan Singleton led the defense with 12 tackles and a pass breakup. Second semester William Parton added eight tackles.

Next Saturday’s second-round game begins at 6:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. ET) and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with audio coverage on FOX Sports Radio 94.7 FM and 12:30 p.m. and on LVFOXSports.com.

EXTRA POINTS … Lehigh’s nine wins are the most since the 2016 team finished 9-3 … the Mountain Hawks ended a 16-game losing streak against CAA opponents that followed a win over New Hampshire in 2013 goes back… Richmond joins the Patriot League He will be an associate member in football next season and will face Lehigh in both teams’ season opener at Goodman Stadium. The all-time series between Lehigh and Richmond is now tied 2-2, with Lehigh winning both meetings in the FCS playoffs…The Mountain Hawks didn’t record a sack on Saturday and got their only takeaway on a muffed punt…Parton and Dowd had Lehigh’s two tackles lost…Dowd also had two of Lehigh’s five separations pass.

Follow Lehigh Football on X/Twitter And Instagram and happy to continue Facebook for exclusive updates throughout the season.