South Mountaineer Volume 32, Issue 08

              Volume 32, Number 8
October 24, 1989
Bethlehem, Pa.
Lehigh passes test; wins 33-13
Engineers win fourth straight
Photography by YOUNG HONG
■.'-•,
Photography by YOUNG HONG
By GLENN HOFMANN
Sports Information Assistant
At his weekly press luncheon last Wednesday. Head Coach Hank Small spoke
of last Saturday's game against Northeastern as a major test for the Engineers. If
Saturday's game was a test, Lehigh passed with flying colors...literally.
Quarterback Todd Brunner (Cranbury. N.J.) continued to pile up big numbers
and further entrench himself in the Lehigh record books as the Engineers rolled to a
33-13 trouncing of Northeastern before 1 1,223 chilled fans, the third largest crowd
in Goodman Stadium history.
For the day Brunner completed 35 of 49 passes for 422 yards and four touchdown passes.-the fourth time this season the senior quarterback has thrown four or
more touchdown passes in a game.
For his effort. Brunner was rewarded with Colonial League Offensive Player of
the Week honors as well as ECAC Player of the Week.  -
"We practiced all week against a couple of defenses and we figured they'd play
a prevent type of defense", Brunner explained. "They gave our receivers a little
more room than we expected and they did a great job of getting open. I was surprised they gave us the middle because we've shown we have a good passing
game."
"Todd obviously had an outstanding day." coach Small said. "I think Todd
did an excellent job of getting the ball to the right people at the right time."
The master of getting open was Rob Varano (Mt. Carmel, Pa.) who hauled in
14 of Brunner's tosses for 185 yards and one touchdown.
"We ran some plays and they backed off," Varano said. "The middle was
open the whole game and Todd got us the ball when we were free."
Varano's 14 catches tied the Lehigh mark for most ever by an Engineer receiver
and moved him into fifth place on the all-time list. His 185 yards was the sixth best
performance by an Engineer receiver.
Making life easier for Brunner and Varano was the play of the offensive line
and Brunner singled out the two guys who replaced injured tackle Keith Petzold
(Farmingdale. N.Y.). Petzold injured his knee against Bucknell and will not see
action the rest of the year.
"I was kind of skeptical of Conney Berger (Dover, N.J.) and Rich Windish
(Hellertown, Pa.) since it was their first start, but they played a great game. "
Brunner said. "They were put into the fire and they went out there and did the job
to perfection. I wasn't hurried all day."
"Todd knows when they have a great game by if he's getting hit or not". Small
added.  "And our center Jarrod Johnson also played well."
And while the offense continued to get most of the attention, the game actually
turned on an excellent defensive play by the special teams unit.
After jumping out to a 9-0 first quarter lead thanks to a Brunner to-Varano 10-
yard hookup and a 28-yard field goal by Erik Bird (Cassellberry, Fla.), Lehigh and
Northeastern traded possessions until the Huskies were forced to punt from their
own 16 with just over five minutes left ir; the second quarter.
Punter Bill Sansone's kick never passed the line of scrimmage as Lehigh put on
a ferocious rush and freshman Mike Wetzel (North Schuykill, Pa.) stormed through
the line to block the punt and give the offense a first down on the NU 1 I.
Two plays later. Brunner hit Rich Clark for a 7-yard score and Lehigh had a 16-
0 halftime lead against a wishbone attack, which historically is not a come-from-
behind offense.
Small says his special teams unit has been coming on strong the last couple of
games.
"Many of the guys only get into the game on p'unts or kickoffs. They're hungry
and they want to make the most of their opportunities and lately they have. No
question about it. that was a key play." See ENG|NEERS page 3
Linebacker Gary Karnish (top) catches Northeastern quarterback Dan Daponde's fumble in the
air. Karnish, who had 17 tackles and the intercepted fumble, was named Colonial League
Defensive Player of the Week. Fullback Kevin Costello (bottom) rumbles for yardage after
catching one of his six receptions on Saturday. Costello became the fifth running back in Lehigh
history to have 40 catches in a season.