The Brown & White

Brown and maroon helmets will collide for the 144th time Saturday on Lafayette College turf in college football's most played rivalry.

Lehigh Head Coach Andy Coen said this game has value to everyone in the community.

"It's the tradition and how important the game is not only to the players on both teams but the alumni and the students," Coen said. "It is really, without a doubt, the biggest game of the year."

The Lafayette Leopards currently lead the rivalry with a record of 76-62-5. For the Lehigh seniors, Saturday's game weighs even heavier because they have yet to claim a win over Lafayette.

Senior defensive back Brendan VanAckeren said he and his classmates are hungry for a win to finish off their careers.

"It will be emotional knowing that it is the last time that us seniors will ever put on the pads to represent Lehigh football," VanAckeren said.

"Being 0-3 against Lafayette in our careers, the senior class will have nothing on our minds except closing our careers with a win against Lafayette," VanAckeren said.

After a season plagued by close losses, the Mountain Hawks hope to make up for it this weekend by putting a "W" in the record books.

Lehigh has suffered two one-point losses and two three-point losses this season.

VanAckeren said even though Lehigh failed to advance to postseason play, the Lafayette game feels like a championship game.

"The loss to Colgate eliminated us from contention for the Patriot League Championship, but that has no effect on our mindset going into the Lehigh-Lafayette game," VanAckeren said. "Playing to beat Lafayette alone takes on the feel of a championship-caliber game."

Coach Coen said the slate is wiped clean going into this game.

"This is the type of game that can make our season because we've had a disappointing season with a few close losses," Coen said. "But beating Lafayette, particularly for our seniors, will really make up for a lot of things that happened this year, so hopefully we can do that."

Lehigh is 4-6 overall this season and Lafayette is 7-3, but the Hawks are coming off a 31-15 victory over Bucknell University and the Leopards are coming off a 27-26 loss to the College of the Holy Cross.

Senior outside linebacker Tim Diamond said the squad will reach a whole new level of play for this matchup.

"The records of each team do not even matter," Diamond said. "We are approaching this game as if it's a championship game."

Coen said regardless of what the numbers say, the Hawks are poised to take on the Leopards.

"Lafayette has played very well all year and they're very good on both sides of the ball," Coen said. "It'll be a tough game, without a doubt, but hopefully our seniors can give us an edge."

Diamond said the team can deliver that edge.

"We have to limit the mistakes on offense, defense and special teams and put together a consistent game," Diamond said.

"If we play a complete game for all four quarters, we will put ourselves in a great position to win."

Coen said the hardest thing for the Hawks will be blocking out extra distractions heading into the game.

"The biggest thing is other distractions that go on," Coen said. "The students are more into it and there's more conversation on campus about it but you have to just maintain focus."

Coen said the Hawks will need to overcome Lafayette's home field advantage.

"They pump a lot of music into the stadium," Coen said. "We'll work to make sure that we can handle that because we call a lot of plays on the line of scrimmage and it's important that we can communicate with each other."

Diamond said the Lehigh squad understands the meaning of the rivalry and aims to draw strength from it.

"Everyone on our team respects the history and tradition the game brings and hopefully we can get the win for Lehigh," Diamond said.

VanAckeren said the mix of tradition and teamwork have the ability to yield success in the game versus the Leopards.

"It's an honor and privilege to be part of such a storied rivalry, knowing that so many players have come before you each feeling the same emotion that we will feel Nov. 22," VanAckeren said.

"We can only hope to add to the Lehigh legacy in respect to the long-standing rivalry."

Coen, who will take part in his ninth Lehigh-Lafayette game, said passion is the biggest part of this week every year.

"It's two good schools about 15-20 miles apart and it really affects everybody who has a connection to either of the schools," Coen said.

"To to be part of this is hard to describe and to put in words," Coen said. "There's so much passion with it. It's what college athletics are all about."

Kick off is at 1 p.m. at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa.