West Point, NY - August 30, 2024: The Lehigh University Mountain Hawks opened their 2024 football season Friday night at Army West Point with a 42-7 loss in front of 23,760 fans, including over 4,000 ruckus cadets, at Michie Stadium. After Army won the coin toss and deferred, Lehigh took the opening kickoff and moved the ball down the field. However, after 7 plays and 34 yards, highlighted by a 20-yard reception by wide-receiver Mason Humphrey, the Mountain Hawks punted from Army’s 41-yard line. Army’s first possession, after the touchback punt, resulted in a 9-play, 80-yard, drive for the first score of the game. Lehigh wouldn’t be intimidated by Army’s long drive and home crowd as they put together a 9 play, 75-yard, drive of their own. Unlike Army, who used a bruising running game for their first score, and all game long, Lehigh used a combination of rushes and passes to score their only touchdown. Lehigh’s Humphrey caught two key passes for 22 yards on the drive before Luke Yoder ran the ball around the left side for an 18-yard touchdown. After Lehigh’s Nick Garrido added the extra point, the score was tied 7-7. Yoder finished the game with 51 yards on 10 carries while Humphrey finished the game with 5 catches for 61 yards. After it seemed like Humphrey was going to make a big impact in the game, Army made some adjustments and pretty much shut the sophomore receiver down after the first quarter. Army continued with their smash-mouth ground game on their next drive and answered Lehigh’s touchdown with a 13 play, 76 yard, drive for their second touchdown. Army added another rushing touchdown before the half and the teams went into the locker room with Army leading 21-7. The second half saw more of the same Army ground game as they wore down Lehigh with another 21 points, all on the ground. Lehigh failed to convert on key third and fourth down conversions while moving the ball at times. Lehigh put together a drive in the 3rd quarter, a 15 play, 69 yarder, but first year QB Hayden Johnson threw an interception in the back of the end zone to end that drive. On defense for Lehigh, junior defensive back Nick Peltekian made 15 tackles against the Army ball carriers who reached the secondary all game. Army had a whopping 432 yards of total offense, with 375 yards of those coming on 56 carries. Army was 6 for 6 in the red zone. Army’s ground game was deep as they utilized nine different runners, three of which who rushed for 75-plus yards each. Lehigh’s offense managed 282 yards of total offense but did turn the ball over on two interceptions after reaching deep into Army's territory. Lehigh's Matt Michalik, a first-year QB/RB and former Palmerton High School graduate, rushed the ball for 29 yards on 6 carries. Lehigh will open their season at home on September 7th against Wagner College. The below photograph shows Lehigh QB Dante Perri (12) ready to make a throw.
