South Mountaineer Volume 40, Issue 03

              Lehigh Athletics
Website: http://www.lehigh.edu
Hotline: (610) 758-LULU
Lehigh-Fordham WFMZ-TV, Chan. 69
Satellite: Telstar 5, Transponder K-12
SOCCER: Women's coach begins her inaugural season
CROSS COUNTRY: Off and running at Goodman Campus
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11
STATISTICS: The complete week's scores and statistics
South Mountaineer
Volume 11, Issue 3
Lehigh University Athletics Weekly
September 9,1997
Football
Lehigh ready to soar to new heights
Football team looks to capture fifth League Title in Three Years
Led by a potent passing attack and
swarming defense, the Lehigh football
team has high expectations entering the
1997 season.
The team was chosen by the league's
seven head coaches as the favorite to win
the 1997 Patriot League crown.
This year's team lost 32 letterman
along with four starters on offense, five on
defense and Ail-American punter Ben
Talbott.
However, the squad returns 14
starters, including preseason All-Ameri-
ean tailback Rabih Abdullah, who missed
all of the 1996 season after suffering a
knee injury in the opening game of the
season.
Lehigh's high powered-offense hopes
to duplicate the succss of last year's
season.
In 1996, the passing attack finished
in the top ten nationally (eigth) despite
using three different starting quarterbacks.
Phil Stambaugh, sophomore and MVP of
the Lafayette game
and senior Seka
Edwards are
expected to man the
signal-calling duties
this fall.
Defensively.
Lehigh returns its
leading tackier,
sophomore Ian
Eason, who last year
lead the team with
106 total tackles.
Other key returners for the defense
inelude linebacker Drew Poppleton (60
tackles) and the only returning starter in
the seeondary, Sam Brimlcy.
Lehigh will face a very competitive
schedule this year.
The team's schedule includes new
Patriot League member Towson and top-
25 I-AA schools Hofstra and Delaware.
The Patriot League schedules
matches Lehigh against traditional rivals
Lafayette, Bucknell, Colgate, Fordham
and Holy Cross.
Head Coach
Kevin Higgins
Lehigh Offense
After an intense preseason, sophomore Phil
Stambaugh was named the starting quarterback
last week.
Stambaugh, a sophomore from Roseto and
MVP of the Lehigh-Lafayette game, returns
after starting the last four games of the season.
Senior Seka Edwards, who posted a 2-1
record as starter will be a capable backup.
Edwards threw for the most  yards in a
single game in the Patriot League with a 367
yard performance against New Hampshire.
Lehigh is eagerly awaiting the return of
what Patriot League sources say is their best
NFL prospect, senior   Rabih Abdullah.
He rushed for a school-record 1,536 during
his junior campaign in which he led the league
in rushing, scoring and all purpose yards.
The 6'1", 210-pound tailback enters the
1997 season with 2,471 career rushing
yards and needs 718 more to break Rod
Gardner record of 3,188.
Junior wide receiver Deron Braswell will
look to continue his stellar play in
which he led the conference in both receptions
(65) and recieving yardage (1,135).
Braswell will be helped by the return of
Brian Baker to the receiving corp.
Baker, who moved to running back when
Rabih Abdullah went down, became only the
sixth player in Lehigh history to rush for more
than 1,000 yards in a season.
Senior running back Kabih Abdullah
Now he moves back to wide
receiver.
With the loss of all-league
performers Doug Yates and Brian
Bartelle, returning starters Caleb
Moyer and Mike Kudow. will have
to anchor the line of one of the most
potent offenses in I-AA.
Seniors Johnathon Stiegler
and Ryan Polke are the other
potential starters on the line.
Lehigh Defense
Sophomore Ian Eason will
lead the defensive charge against
opposing offenses this fall.
The chemical engineering
major was named to the All-Patriot
League Defensive Second Team,
the only freshman named on defense.
He led Lehigh in both
tackles (106) and solo tackles (89).
Also with Eason in the
linebackingcorp is returning starter
junior Drew Poppleton.
Poppleton missed the first three
games of the 1996 season but still
finished sixth on the team in tackles (60).
Leadership will come from an
experienced defensive line which
returns three out of four starters
from last year's team.
The defensive line is
anchored by junior David
Merrifield (48 tackles), junior
Nick Martucci (14 tackles) and
senior Mike Taluskie (30
tackles).
A young secondary will be led
by lone returning starter, junior
free safety Sam Brinley.
He returns to a secondary that
graduated three all-league
performers Mark Miller,
Tahir Rivers and Curtis May.
Sophomore Eji Maxilom-Paige
Sporting New's
Street & Smith's
Game Plan's College
College Football Yearbook
College Football
Football Preview
I.Lehigh
1 .Colgate
I.Lehigh
2.Colgate
2. Lehigh
2.Colgate
3.Lafayette
3.Lafayette
3.Bucknell
4.Bucknell
4.Bucknell
4.Lafayette
5.Holy Cross
5.Towson
5.Towson
6.Fordham
6.Holy Cross
6.Holy Cross
7.Towson
7.Fordham
7:Fordham
Sophomore linebacker Ian Eason
Junior Caliphe Buchannan, junior
B.J,. Hill and sophomore Kevin Josheph
will be looked upon to replace the three
Lehigh Special Teams
Last season's kicker, freshman Matt
Swartz, connected on 15 of 17 point after
attempts and will return again.
Swartz will likely shoulder the punting
duties as well as kicking duties with the
departure of Ail-American Ben Talbott.
Both punt and kick-returning chores
will be in the sure hands of Eji Maxilom-
Paige.
As a freshman, Paige finished second
in the Patiot League in punt returns with a
7.1 average.
Also, Paige handled every punt return
for Lehigh last season without a single
drop.
Patriot League Summary
Last Week
Bucknell 23
Duquesne 16
Colgate 7
Richmond 23
Fordham 23
Lafayette 0
Towson 22
Monmouth 21
This Week
Lafayette @ Army
Holy Cross @ Towson
LEHIGH @ Fordham