South Mountaineer Volume 38, Issue 12

              DID YOU KNOW?
The Lehigh wrestling team is ranked
second to Cornell University in the
Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling
Association's preseason rankings.
 , ,—, _	
Winter Sports Schedules/Wrestling Update
Men's and Women's Basketball Previews
More on The Game
Page 13
Page 14
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South Mountaineer
Volume 9, Issue 12
Lehigh University Athletics Weekly
November 21,1995
LU Klings on to win league
Brian Klingerman catches game-winning TD pass in
overtime to lead Lehigh to second Patriot League title
byTedMeixetl
The Morning Call
Lafayette and Lehigh have
played 131 games in a classic
collegiate football rivalry that
stretches over 112 years.
It may be another 112 years -
maybe even another 131 games —
before they play another to equal
Saturday's epic, a dramatic come-
from-behind 37-30 double overtime
victory that lifted Lehigh to the
Patriot League Championship, its
second in three years.
With 15,412 enthralled fans
looking on in near darkness at
Goodman Stadium, diminutive 5-
foot-7, 165-pound senior flanker
Brian Klingerman's sensational,
leaping one-handed catch of Bob
Aylsworth's pass just inside the back
of the end zone with Leopards'
safety Matt Cope draped all over
him, provided Lehigh's history-
making victory margin.
But neither Lehigh (8-3, 5-0) nor
their fans could celebrate with total
abandon until they managed to turn
back the gallant Leopards' final
overtime opportunity.
Finally, on fourth-and-two from
the Lehigh 17-yard line, Lafayette
freshman tailback Jasen O'Neil lost
his footing after taking an option
pitch from reserve quarterback Joe
Clair and, untouched, fell to the turf
at the 18.
And the gripping struggle,
which saw Lehigh trailing by 30-14
with only 11:33 left in the fourth
quarter of regulation, was over —
soon to take its place as one of the
greatest games in the storied
history of the rivalry.
Of his game-winning toss to
Klingerman - their third TD
connection of the game — the joyous
Aylsworth said, "In the huddle, it
was (supposed to be) a
running play, but Brian said,
'Don't forget 67.' I heard the
sideline yelling, 'Go with 67,'
so I said, 'OK, Brian ... here it
is.'
"It's an option route, and
the way (Lafayette) lined up
presnap, I thought Brian
would take the out cut. He
cut it up the middle nice and
I just put it up to the back. I
didn't even see it; I was on
my back. But I heard the
Joe Ryan
The 1995 Patriot League football champions celebrate in the locker room.
cheers."
Klingerman, who was voted the
game's MVP, chose the post cut
because, "I saw there was nobody in
center field, and I knew the guy on
me had me man-to-man. This 67 is a
play we've run thousands of times
in practice. I just broke it down. I
wanted a shot to put it in the end
zone - and Bob put it where I was
the only one who could catch it."
Almost from the outset, the
game defied logic.
Given Lehigh's offensive
explosiveness, it defies logic that the
first quarter was scoreless.
It also defies logic that, faced
with that seemingly insurmountable
16-point fourth-quarter deficit,
Lehigh was able to rally
dramatically to force overtime and
then win in the second round of OT.
But they did, with two TDs; the
FINAL PATRIOT LEAGUE STANDINGS
Institution League Overall
LEHIGH* 5-0 8-3
Bucknell 4-1 7-4
Lafayette 3-2 4-6-1
Fordham 2-3 4-6-1
Holy Cross 1-4 2-9
Colgate 0-5 0-11
* Wins league championship
Last Week:   Lehigh 37, Lafayette 30 (2 OT)
Holy Cross 39, Colgate 20
Army 37, Bucknell 6
first, a 37-yard pass and run from
Aylsworth to tight end David
Meurer with 8:49 left and then an 8-
yard run by tailback Rabih Abdullah
with 3:41 remaining. Lehigh tacked
on two crucial two-point
conversions: a fade from Aylsworth
to Klingerman and an Abdullah run.
Finally, it absolutely defies logic
that, in all the excitement, rock-
tough Abdullah's scintillating
exploits were overlooked.
Abdullah barreled around and
through Lafayette's solid and
veteran defensive unit 42 times for
223 yards and caught six passes for
20 more. Along with Aylsworth and
Lafayette's Clair and Quincy Miller,
he was a certified MVP candidate
until Klingerman's overtime heroics.
Ironically, perhaps his best run
went for no gain; he broke at least
eight tackles to avoid a huge
loss and the Leopards never
did get him off his feet.
"It's conditioning," AbduMah
said. "We worked hard all
summer. We're tired, too - but
not as tired as the other team."
Kevin Higgins, Lehigh's
elated second-year head coach,
insisted he never lost the faith.
And he spoke of a legacy for
the season, a legacy his team
may well have created.
"That," he admitted of
Lafayette's 30-14 lead, "wasn't
in the script."
FOOTBALL STATS
Score By Quarters
12    3    4 OT F
LC      0  14    9    7 0   0 30
LU      0  14    0  16 0   7 37
Scoring:
LC Quincy Miller 59 pass from
Joe Clair (Brian Menecola kick)
LU Brian Klingerman 24 pass
from Bob Aylsworth (Mike Swartz
kick)
LC Jasen O'Neil 8 run (Menecola
kick)
LU Klingerman 30 pass from
Aylsworth (Swartz kick)
LC Menecola 30 field goal
LC O'Neil 10 run (kick failed)
LC Miller 82 pass from Clair
(Menecola kick)
LU David Meurer 37 pass from
Aylsworth (Klingerman from
Aylsworth pass)
LU Rabih Abdullah 8 run
(Abdullah rush)
LU Klingerman 14 pass from
Aylsworth (Swartz kick)
LEHIGH LC
26 First Downs 18
228 Net Rushing 176
240 Net Passing 243
468 Total Yards 419
7-73 Penalties 12-106
1-0 Fumbles-Lost 1-1
2 Interceptions 1
34:13 Possession 25:47
0-0 Sacks By-Yards  1-5
Rushing
LU: Abdullah 42-223
LC: O'Neil 23-89
Passing
LU: Aylsworth 24-50-1-240, 4 TD
LC: Clair 20-43-1-202, 2 TD,
McHale 3-6-0-32, O'Neil 0-1-1-0
Receiving
LU: Klingerman 10-118, Abdullah
6-20, Streeter 3-25, Kelly 2-24
LC: McPheeters 5-70
Tackles
LU: Eckenrode 12, McDonald 8,
Stokes 8
LC: Howard 14, Cope 9,
Conaboy 9, Urban 9, Morrissey 9
Punting
LU: Talbott 7-41.1
LC: Cimo 8-34.8
Schedule/Results
Sept. 9     at Army L 9-42
Sept. 16   at Colgate        W 20-9
Sept. 23   YALE W 21-10
Sept. 30    UNH L 14-35
Oct. 7       at Bucknell     W 30-23
Oct. 14     at Columbia   W 37-35
Oct. 21      CORNELL      W 34-23
Oct. 28     at UMass L 36-44
Nov. 4      at Fordham      W 17-0
Nov. 11       HOLY CROSS W 51-21
Nov. 18     LAFAYETTE  W 37-30