South Mountaineer Volume 35, Issue 12

              Volume 35, Number 12
November 24, 1992
Bethlehem, Pa.
LEHIGHLIGHTS
CRISTINO IN COMMAND -Senior wide
receiver Jason Cristino made his final
game in a Lehigh uniform a memorable one
with a record-shattering performance
against Lafayette. Cristino was one of two
Engineers to break a Lehigh single-game
record. He caught 11 passes for 319 yards
and three touchdowns, breaking the previous
mark of 266 yards set by Ronnie Benn in
1985. Cristino also wound up wilh 1,282
yards receiving for the season, which set a
Lehigh single-season record. He caught
scoring strikes of 41, 77 and 5 yards from
Scott Semptimphelter. Cristino lopped off
the weekend by being named Patriot
League co-Offensive Player of the Week.
GREAT SCOTT! - Junior quarterback
Scott Semptimphelter was the other
record-breaker in Saturday's game. He
completed 25 of 39 passes for 480 yards,
breaking the previous mark of 467 yards set
by Todd Brunner against Colgate in 1989.
"Sempti" was named Patriot League
Offensive Player of the Week three times
this season and-was a member of ihe ECAC
Honor Roll on six occassions. His 3.190
yards passing on the season ranks third in
single-season Lehigh.history.
For more on SehiptimpheltevandCristino's
incredible accomplishments, see page 2.
A STATISTICIAN'S NIGHTMARE—
Aside from all of the solid individual
performances in Saturday's contest, ihe
two teams combined for some eye-popping
numbers. Lehigh (561) and Lafayette (511)
combined for 1,072 yards in total offense.
The squads came up with a total of 49 first
downs, 25 by Lehigh and 24 by Lafayette.
Lafayette racked up 283 yards on the ground
while Lehigh's potent air attack produced
480 yards.
BYE WEEKS— The South Mountaineer
will not be published December 1 or
December 8 because of the Thanksgiving
holiday. After two weeks off fofturkey and
cranberry sauce, the Mountaineer will return
on Dec. 15.
INSIDE the Mountaineer
More Lehigh-Lafayette: A record-
breaking day 2
Wrestlers at ESU  2
Men's hoops preview 3
Winter sports slate 4
Football cumulative stats 4
SEMPTI'S SUPER SEASON
Scott Semptimphelterfinisbed the 1992 season
with some unbelievable numbers for a first-year
starter. A look at where some of his season totals
rank in Lehigh history: -
CATEGORY
NUMBER
PLACE
PASSING YARDS
3190
3RD
COMP. PERCENT
60.3
3RD
INT. PERCENTEAGE      3.0
3RD
'ASS COMPLETIONS    241
4TH
RATING POINTS
136.4
6TH
Meeting No. 128 between Lehigh and Lafayette was ...
ANOTHER CLASSIC BATTLE
Engineers rewrite record books despite 32-29 loss to archrivals
SINGLE-GAME YDS       480(vs.Laf.)   1ST
By SCOTT GRAMLING '93
South Mountaineer Editor
The big players are expected to
make the big plays in the big games..
That is exactly what happened in the
Engineers' biggest game of the season
- the 128th meeting between Lehigh
and Lafayette.
But as amazing as some of the
individual performances were, they
could not erase costly Lehigh mistakes
that proved to be the difference in
Lafayette's 32-29 victory.
The Engineers twice failed to put
points on the board in the first half
despite having first down inside the
Lafayette five-yard line.
"We didn't do the things we had to
and we still had a chance to win the
football game on the final play,"-said
Lehigh head coach Hank Small.
The record-setting performance of
senior wide receiver Jason Cristino and
junior quarterback Scott
Semptimphelter were what gave the
Engineers the chance to win.
Cristino established school and
league records with 319 receiving yards
on 11 receptions, and his effort ranks
10th on the all-time Division I-AA
single-game list. He finished the season
with 1,282 yards, breaking Steve
Kreider's record of 1,181 yards set in
1977.
Semptimphelter broke both school
and league records for single-game
passing yards with 480. He completed
25 of 39 passes, including three
touchdown strikes to Cristino, and ended
the season with 3,190 yards, the third
best total in Lehigh history.
"They were just great, great efforts
by Jason and Scott," Small said.
"Against a team like Lafayette, we had
to put points on the board."
On the game's first drive, Lehigh
drove from its own 28 to the Lafayette
one-yard line with the help of a 50-yard
Cristino reception. The Engineers failed
to score on three straight running plays
from the one, and then fumbled the snap
on fourth down.
The Leopards took a 7-0 lead on a
34-yard touchdown pass from senior
Tom Kirchhoff to senior wide receiver
Jamal Jordan with two seconds left in
the first quarter.
The second quarter began much
like the first. Lehigh started on its own
28, and then fumbled on first down at
the Leopard one-yard line. Sophomore
tailback Jason Mastropierro lost the
ball before reaching the line of
scrimmage but appeared to recover his
fumble.
"The ball was loose and the guy
from Lafayette had his hands on it, but
Jason dived in and recovered it,"
Semptimphelter said. "One ref said
Lehigh's ball and the other overruled him."
In continuing to replay the events of
the first quarter, Jordan caught another
touchdown pass, this time for 84 yards, to
give the Leopards a 14-0 advantage. But
just 1:32 later, the Engineers got on the
scoreboard.
Semptimphelter threw his first
incomplete pass of the day in trying to find
Cristino deep over the middle. On the next
play, Cristino dove to catch a 38-yard pass
on a similar pattern on third-and-15. On
what looked like an instant replay, Cristino
made a diving effort to haul in a 41-yard
score on the next play.
out on the field."
Lafayette held the ball for 6:25 on the
first drive of the second half and took a' 17-
14 lead on a 24-yard field goal by sophomore
Jason McLaughlin. Just 28 seconds later,
the Engineers took their first lead of the
game as Cristino, making yet another big
play, ripped the ball away from a Leopard
defender and outran the defense for a 77-
yard score.
But Lafayette came up with perhaps
the biggest play of tbe game with 1 1:22
remaining in the final quarter. Kirchhoff
connected with senior tight end Craig
Roubinek on fourth-and-fi ve from the seven-
yard line to give the Leopards the lead for
good.
Sophomore tailback Erik Marsh, who
rushed for 251 yards and was chosen as
the game's Most Valuable Player,
scored on a five-yard touchdown run
.with 5:58 left to boost Lafayette's lead
to 32-21.
"It was a reflection of our season."
Wetzel said. "You can't get blame either
side of the ball. It's real upsetting."
The Engineers mounted a comeback as
Cristino's third touchdown catch of the
day and a Mastropierro two-point
conversion run made the score 32-29
with 4:04 to go. But Marsh and the
Leopards were able to hold on to the
ball for most of the remaining time,
giving the Engineers a desparation try
that feel short as the final gun sounded.
"All week long we were talking about
this being our second chance, a whole
new season," Cristino said. "But this
was like our whole season. We came up
short again."
The final score indicates that Lehigh
came up short, but 13.725 fans at Fisher
When Jason Mastropierro scored in the second quarter, Field in Easton. Pa. witnessed many
Lehigh had tied the game at 14-14.       -Photo by Ken white     players come up big.
The Lehigh defense then took its turn
in making a big play. Lafayette coach Bill
Russo elected to go for the first down on
fourth-and-inches from.his own 21-yard
line. Senior cornerback Mike Wetzel and
junior tackle Mark Widder were able to
get penetration and stop Lafayette for a
loss.
It looked as if the Engineers would
not be able to take advantage of superb
field position, as they faced fourth-and-15
from the Leopard 26-yard line. But it was
junior receiver Dave Cecchini's turn to
come up with a big play, as he jumped high
above a Leopard defender to pull down a
pass at the one-yard line.
This time the Engineers would not
falter, as two plays later, Mastropierro
scampered in for the touchdown to tie the
game at 14-14.
"We were dying to get the win,"
Cristino said. "We wanted to leave it all
LEHIGH
LAFAYETTE
14
7
8    —29
15    —32
LAF — Jordan 34 pass from Kirchhoff (McL'lin kick)
LAF - Jordan 84 pass from Kirchhoff (McL'lin kick)
LEH - Cristino 41 pass from Sempti (Dyson kick)
LEH - Mastropierro 1 run (Dyson kick)
LAF - McLaughlin 24 FG
LEH - Cristino 77 pass from Sempti (Dyson kick)
LAF - Roubinek 7 pass from Kirch hoff (pass good)
LAF - Marsh 5 run (McLaughlin kick)
LEH - Cristino 5 pass from Sem (Mastropierro run)
TEAM STATS
First Downs
Rushes-Yards
Yds. Passing
Passes C-A-l
Punts-Avg.
Penalties-Yds.
LEHIGH INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing — Mastropierro 20-47-1
Passing - Semptimphelter 25-39 for 480 yards
Receiving - Cristino 11-319-3, Cecchini 7-80, Rubin
3-38, McCarthy 2-20, LaFeir 1-15, Mastropierro 1-8
Tackles - Haynes 12, Jefferson 11, Wetzel 8
LEHIGH
LAFAYETTE
25
24
34-81
58-283
480
228
25-39-1
14-20-0
2-31.5
2-33.5
2-10
3-25