Lafayette College lost a tough one last Saturday at Fisher Stadium. The Leopards turned the ball over three times and could never quite dig out of a 28-7 hole and fell to Princeton 38-28.
But Lafayette coach John Troxell, his staff, and the entire program kept the defeat in perspective.
Star running back Kente Edwards, who had racked up three consecutive 100-yard rushing performances, was limited to five carries for 26 yards and didn’t play in the second half.
Edwards, a North Hunterdon (N.J.) product, took a shot on one of his carries and was at less than 100%, but it was his emotional state that Troxell was more worried about. Edwards lost his father, Earl, on Saturday while the game was going on. The player had visited him in the morning and knew what was coming.
“You could tell he wasn’t himself,” Troxell said. “It was better to hold him out. He has spent a lot of time with his father through the summer and even after the season had started. He visited him during the week.”
Troxell said a loss in the Lafayette family put things in perspective.
“It’s the third year in a row for us going through something like this,” Troxell said. “Two years ago, Chris Carasia lost his dad, and then last year Thomas Grippo lost his dad to cancer. And now Kente has lost his.
“It makes you look at what we do. This should be fun, and it’s not the end of the world when you lose a game. There are real-life problems out there. We talk to the kids all the time about the adversity they have all faced in their lives. Every kid has some kind of personal stuff going on. Sometimes you think a kid is being a jerk, but sometimes they are just having a really bad day because they have something going on in their lives.”
Troxell said he and his staff want to be as supportive as possible.
“We’ll do whatever we can to help him.” Troxell said. “We wanted Kente to spend time with his family and take care of himself. We’ll embrace him when he comes back and get him through it and make sure he knows that he is loved here. I’m sure he’s worried about his mom. He has brothers and sisters, too. It’s a lot for a young man.”
As of Tuesday, Troxell wasn’t sure if Edwards would be available for Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. league home contest against Fordham.
If he wasn’t ready, Lafayette has a few capable running backs to replace him in Ethan Weber and Jakyre Henry.
“Weber will run hard and is very capable with great size and Henry is coming around and playing better, so we’ll be OK,” Troxell said. “We really want to get back as a team and get the bitter taste out of our mouths from last week.
“It’s a league game and there’s no doubt you will see an increase in intensity for this one,” Troxell said. “For Fordham, too. They’re coming off a huge win over Holy Cross and they will come in with a lot confidence, but our kids will be excited to get back at it.
“When we’re coming off a loss, you lean on each other more. Football is about overcoming adversity. Everybody has it at some point or at least 99% of the teams do. It’s how do you handle it? During the preseason, we had each guy get up in front of the team and talk about the hardest thing they’ve ever had to overcome or endure. Everybody has dealt with adversity somewhere. So when you’re down in a game at halftime, the kids can feel that they’ve overcome a lot more adversity than this. So, I hope our kids will be ready to overcome that loss from last week.”
Cahill reunion
Even before he left the news conference last Saturday after his team beat Penn to improve to 5-0, Lehigh coach Kevin Cahill was asked about seeing his old friends from Yale this week. Cahill spent 10 seasons with Yale and helped the program win three Ivy League titles. In his last five seasons in New Haven, Conn., he was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator.
“Yale is going to be very good,” Cahill said. “I’m very familiar with them and I am excited to see what they are and who they are. I have some really close friends on that staff, people who are really dear to me. So, it will be good to see them but at the same time, they’re trying to win the football game and so are we.”
Yale quarterback Dante Reno is the son of the team’s head coach, Tony Reno.
“I’ve known Dante since he was a little kid and just growing up,” Cahill said. “It’ll be interesting to play against him. It’s a little personal when you have that kind of thing.”
Yale (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) at No. 8/9 Lehigh (5-0, 2-0)
When/where: 12 noon Saturday at Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem
The storylines: The obvious one is Cahill going against the program where he spent 10 years. There’s obviously an extra sense of emotion attached to such a reunion. Lehigh assistants Mark McMaster and Bobby Bozym coached on Yale’s offensive staff with Cahill and followed him to the Lehigh Valley. But more importantly for the Mountain Hawks, this figures to be one of their toughest tests of the regular season. Yale is coming off a 28-10 win over Holy Cross in its season opener and a 41-24 win over Cornell in its Ivy opener. The Bulldogs are seeking their first 3-0 start since their 2019 Ivy League championship season. Last year, Yale went 7-3. All three losses were in the league. Lehigh is getting it done up front on both sides of the ball. The Mountain Hawks rank fourth nationally in rushing offense and third in FCS football in rushing defense. Penn managed just 29 yards on the ground last week.
Players to watch: Yale’s Reno is completing 66% of his passes for 305 yards and two touchdowns over two games. Josh Pitsenberger has rushed for 269 yards and six TDs and linebacker Inumidun Ayo-Durojaiye was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week after making 17 tackles in the win over Cornell. Lehigh is getting big production from junior running back Luke Yoder. He has had 174 and 173 yards rushing in the past two games. Lehigh senior receiver Geoffrey Jamiel has had back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, including 132 yards against Penn when he scored two touchdowns including a 20-yard run on a fake field goal.
Keith Groller’s pick: Lehigh 34-31
Fordham (1-4, 1-1) at Lafayette (3-2, 1-0)
When/where: 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Fisher Stadium, Easton
The storylines: It’s a league game, which always carries higher stakes and Lafayette wants to bounce back after the loss to Princeton while Fordham wants to keep the momentum going after beating Holy Cross. The Leopards must take better care of the ball after three costly turnovers against Princeton led to a 12-minute advantage in time of possession for the Tigers. Lafayette has beaten Fordham each of the past two years, notching a 28-23 victory in the Bronx last year.
Players to watch: Junior QB Gunnar Smith leads the Rams offense after transferring from Highland Community College. He is completing 54.9% of his passes for 1,164 yards and eight TDs. Sophomore wide receiver Jack Freeburg has 18 catches for 232 yards and a pair of TDs. Linebacker James Conway, a graduate student, has 75 tackles, including two sacks, and has made an interception. He is the Patriot League’s career tackles leader and is coming off making 19 stops vs. Holy Cross. Lafayette’s offensive line remains one of the strongest parts of the team and it features Nazareth graduate Sean Kinney at center and Easton product Sean Wilson at left tackle.
Keith Groller’s pick: Lafayette 28-24
