The Brown & White

Lehigh players, coaches and fans got to rush Fisher Field to celebrate for the first time in eight years Saturday after a 31-15 victory.

The Mountain Hawks' victory was sealed in the last minutes of the fourth quarter when sophomore cornerback John Kennedy returned an interception 94 yards for a touchdown.

The Hawks and Leopards played in front of a sold out crowd of 15,908 in the 144th meeting of college football's oldest rivalry.

Lehigh went into halftime up 17-12 and never relinquished the lead.

Lehigh sophomore quarterback J.B. Clark was named the most valuable player of the game after completing 12 out of 22 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns.

Clark, playing in the first Lehigh-Lafayette game of his career, is the first Lehigh sophomore quarterback to win the MVP award since Hall of Famer Marty Horn won the award in 1983.

Lehigh finishes the season with a 5-6 record overall and 4-2 league record. Lafayette finishes 7-4 overall, 3-3 in league play.

Senior defensive end Brian Jackson led the Hawks with three and a half sacks as the defense tallied a season high of eight.

Jackson said it was important for the seniors to leave a mark.

"Personally, there were two ways the seniors and I could have ended our careers," Jackson said. "We could create our own legacy, or go out knowing that we haven't beaten that team down the road in four years.

"It really showed through our play that we were hungry, and we wanted to finish our careers on top," Jackson said.

Senior All-American linebacker Tim Diamond had 11 tackles for the Hawks. Junior linebacker Al Pierce and senior co-captain and safety Brendan VanAckeren each had nine tackles.

The Lehigh defense held the Leopards to 197 yards in the air.

During the first drive of the game, junior linebacker Heath Brickner intercepted a pass, leading to a 40-yard field goal by senior kicker Jason Leo, which put the Hawks up 3-0.

After a short Leopards punt, senior wide receiver Mike Fitzgerald put the Hawks up 10-0 with a 29-yard touchdown catch.

Fitzgerald led all Lehigh receivers with 101 yards on the afternoon.

The Leopards scored a touchdown on a 62-yard jet sweep by senior wide receiver Shaun Adair to make the score 10-7.

Lafayette got within one point with a safety as Clark was not ready for a snap and the ball went into the back of the end zone. Then, a 34-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Davis Rodriguez gave the Leopards a 12-10 lead.

Senior wide receiver Nick Johnson had a 14-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter to put the Hawks back on top.

In the second half, the Leopards switched to junior quarterback Rob Curley, last year's Lehigh-Lafayette game MVP.

The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair until Rodriguez hit a 22-yard field goal to put Lafayette within three.

After a 36-yard catch by senior wide receiver Sekou Yansane on a third-down conversion, senior fullback Adam Watson finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run that put the Hawks up 24-15 with 7:11 on the clock.

Lafayette threatened again, driving inside the Hawks' ten-yard line with under five minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Kennedy's defensive touchdown put the Leopard offense to rest and extended the Lehigh lead to 16 points.

Lehigh's two interceptions in the game brings their total to 18 interceptions on the season, which is the most in the Patriot League.

The win snaps a four-game losing streak against Lafayette, and is the first victory at Fisher Stadium since 2000.

Jackson said the victory was a result of multiple Lehigh players coming up big and making crucial plays on both sides of the ball.

"To me there wasn't a biggest play of the game," Jackson said. "Crucial plays that stand out to me were the punt that pinned them on the 1-yard line, Sekou's amazing catch that set up Watson's touchdown and holding their offense to three points in the second half.

"There wasn't a play that decided the game, but a combination of great efforts," Jackson said.

Yansane said the Lehigh win was an exciting end to the season and his career.

"Any time you can come out of a huge rivalry game like this with a win, it feels really good," Yansane said. "It's especially nice for us seniors to end our careers like this."