South Mountaineer Volume 35, Issue 02

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Volume 35, Number 2
September 16, 1992
Bethlehem, Pa.
LEHIGHLIGHTS
PETE WONT "PACK" IT IN—Just one
week after being released by the Atlanta
Falcons, former Lehigh wide receiver
Horace "Pete" Hamm is back on the
scene in the National Football League.
Hamm was picked up by the Green Bay
Packers last Wednesday and signed to the
team's developmental squad. This means
Hamm will be able to work out with the
team and could be placed on the active
roster if he is needed.
ALL IN THE FAMILY — Last Monday's
volleyball matchup between Marshall and
Lehigh presented an interesting scenario.
Engineer head coach Jack Casteel was
opposed by his niece, Vanessa Seghers,
who coaches the Thundering Herd. Seghers
got a leg up on her uncle as Marshall
prevailed, three games to one.
BERLINER'S BACK — Greg Berliner
of East Brunswick, NJ, a senior letterman
on LehighUniversity's basketball squad last
season, will be a part-time assistant coach
with the Engineers during the 1992-93
campaign. He was in 28 of the Engineers'
29 conlestslast season, seeing reserve duty
at forward or center. Berliner averaged 5.1
points and two rebounds while playing
about 17 minutes a game.
OLYMPIC SPORTS RADIO REPORT
— WGPA (1100 AM), in conjunction
with Lehigh's Office of Sports Information,
will air a daily update on Olympic sports
action involving the Lehigh Engineers.
The reports can be heard weekday mornings
at 8:45 a.m.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN — The Lehigh
field hockey and women's soccer teams are
learning a lot about domestic travel.The
field hockey team had its first two games at
home but now faces four straight road
contests and won't play at home for nearly
two weeks. The women's soccer team,
meanwhile, plays six of its first seven
games away from the Goodman Campus.
INSIDE the Mountaineer
A new man at the QB reins.. 2
Saks getting his "kicks"  2
Fall sports roundup   3
An Engineer in Barcelona .. 3
LU-N. Hampshire capsule.... 4
Football ticket info   4
LIFE AT THE TOP
The Lehigh offense has made a habit of being
among the nationally-ranked leaders for
yardage in Division I-AA football. A look at the
year-by-year totals since 1988.
YEAR YARDS     RANK   LEADER
1988
5341
1ST       LEHIGH
1989
5433
2ND      IDAHO
1990
5003
4TH       WM & MARY
1991
5133
5TH       WEBER ST.
Engineers join the 500 Club
Begelman's last-minute field goal lifts LU to thrilling landmark win
By GLENN HOFMANN
Sports Information Director
Win number 500 in Lehigh's football
history wasn't easy, but it sure was
exciting. The Engineers delighted a
Volunteer Day crowd of 11,822 with a
stirring come-from-behind 16-14 win
over Fordham in the season-opener for
both schools.
This game wasn't decided until the
final two minutes. Fordham led 14-13
after scoring on a 10-yard touchdown
pass from Conrad Olear to Tom Garlick
with 4:41 remaining. The Rams appeared
on their way to a first-ever Patriot League
win. When Lehigh's ensuing drive stalled
on downs at the Fordham 33-yard line
all Fordham had to do was run out the
remaining 1:31 on the clock.
"We thought we were going to win,"
Fordham running back Tony Iasiello
said. "We,were going to run put the
clock.
But the Lehigh defense stiffened as
they had done all game long. The ensuing
three plays netted only eight yards and
the Rams were forced to punt.
Ram center Mike Dougherty's snap
bounced back to punter Steve
Muzzonigro. The ball went through his
legs and when he finally retrieved it and
attempted to punt, he missed the ball.
Lehigh's Adam Ciperski recoverd the
ball at the Fordham 24 yard line with
1:08 remaining.
After Mark Lookenbill gained one
yard and quarterback Scott
Semptimphelter completed a five-yard
pass to Dave DiDomizio, "Sempti" spiked
the ball on third down. It was fourth and
four from the 18 yard line and in trotted
placekicker Dave Begelman.
His 35-yarder with just :23 remaining
was good and the Engineers had escaped
with their fifth straight win over Fordham.
"People reacted pretty favorably to
it," Begelman said of the game-winning
kick. "I was glad to come back after
missing the extra point earlier."
After the game Begelman and head
coach Hank Small dedicated the game
to former Lehigh kicker Erik Bird who
died earlier this year after suffering from
Junior linebacker Kevin Jefferson leads an Engineer charge against Fordham. Lehigh's special
teams played a huge role in the 16-14 victory, blocking one punt and recovering a botched
— Photo by Joe Ryan
attempt which set up the game-winning field goal.
a brain tumor.
"I'd like to thank Erik," Begelman said
after the game. "He helped me through thick
and thin."
"On behalf of all the coaches and the
team we'd like to dedicate this win to the
memory of Erik Bird, Al Snyder and my dad,
who passed away," Small said.
Entering the contest there were many
questions to be answered. The defense, which
had looked so good in the preseason, still had
to prove its worth in game-like situations.
And it did.
"We were using a lot of different sets,"
junior linebacker Kevin Jefferson explained.
"They ran a lot of different out-patterns, but
we knew they would have a hard time breaking
any big plays on us."
Jefferson had nine tackles, but it was the
play of classmate and fellow linebacker Lance
Haynes which led Lehigh. Haynes had 15
tackles, 12 unassisted, two tackles for loss
and one sack. Junior defensive lineman Brett
Almassy had 14 tackles for the Engineers.
"Our defense really did the job for us
today," Small said. "They kept us in the
game and I can't say enough about their
performance."
Offensively, most questions centered
around Semptimphelter. He completed 18 of
30 passes for 234 yards and two interceptions.
The junior QB showed the ability to scramble,
something Lehigh fans haven't seen much of
in the past few years.
Tailback Mark Lookenbill (71 yards
rushing) scored both of Lehigh's touchdowns,
the first on a five-yard run after Ben Taylor
blocked a punt on Fordhani's initial drive at
the Ram 31 yard line. Lookenbill's second
run, a two yard dash, gave Lehigh a 13-7 lead
early in the second quarter. Senior receiver
Jason Cristino led the team in receiving with
six catches for 117 yards.
But the story of this game was the Lehigh
defense and th big plays of the special teams,
which blocked one punt, one field goal attempt
and forced the big punting turnover at the
end of the game.
"The guys never gave up," Small said.
"They never stopped believing. Those are
things you like to see in a football team."
EXTRA POINTS: This Saturday vs. UNH
is family Day with youth 12 & under admitted
free with a paying adult (limit five youth/
adult)...Mark Lookenbill moved into seventh
on the all-time LU receiving list... Crowd of
11,822 was sixth largest at Goodman
Stadium...Other Patriot League games:
Lafayette 21 Hofstra 14; Army 17 Holy
Cross 7; Villanova 34 Bucknell 0 and Rutgers
41 Colgate 0.
New kickoff time for Lehigh-Lafayette
Lafayette College has announced that kickoff time for the 128th Lehigh-
Lafayette football game has been set for 10:45 a.m.
The early starting time for the game is the lastest in a series of measures
intended to curtail the excessive use of alcohol and consequent rowdy,
dangerous behavior by fans.
"It is fully the home team's prerogative regarding game time," said
Lehigh athletic director Joe Sterrett. "I think it's not ideal. We would still
plan to have our game time next year at 1 p.m., and I believe we can do that.'
As was the case at last year's game, Fisher Field will be equipped with
steel goalposts. In previous years fans rushed the field at or near the end of
the game, toppling wooden posts and then engaging in dangerous fights for
possession of the splinters.
Fordham   7 0 0 7     —14
LEHIGH   7 6 0 3     —16
LEH — Lookenbill 5 run (Begelman kick)
Ford — Lang 1 run (Hagan kick)
LEH — Lookenbill 2 run (kick missed)
Ford — Garlick 10 pass from Olear (Hagan kick)
LEH — Begelman 35 FG
TEAM STATS
LEHIGH
Fordham
First downs
13
20
Rushes-Yards
31-55
59-119
Yds. Passing
234
173
Passes C-A-I
18-30-2
17-25-0
Funbles-lost
1-1
1-1
Punts-Avg.
4-32.8
4-23.0
Penalties-Yds.
6-40
3-25
LEHIGH INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing — Lookenbill 21-71. DiDomizio 2-6
Passing — Semptimphelter 18-30 for 234
Receiving — Cristino 6-117. Lookenbill 5-34.
Cecchini 3-49
Tackles — Haynes 15. Almassy 14. Torres 11
Widder 11 Yadush 10. Ciperski 10