Playing host to league-leading Lehigh with its slim conference championship hopes in the balance, Georgetown held a 7-6 lead until the final minutes of the third quarter. But the Mountain Hawks (8-2, 4-0 Patriot League) scored the game’s final 18 points, winning 24-7 to clinch the Patriot League title and hand the Hoyas (3-7, 2-3 Patriot League) their sixth consecutive defeat.
“The kids battled. Looking at the score in the fourth quarter, obviously it was a nail in the coffin, so to speak, but they battled right to the end,” Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Kelly said. “We got beat by the Patriot League champs. We were toe-to-toe with them right to the end and just couldn’t finish them off.”
Lehigh outclassed Georgetown in nearly every noteworthy statistical category, compiling more than twice as many total yards (441 to 214) and gaining twice as many first downs (22 to 11). But despite the Mountain Hawks’ superior ability to move the ball downfield, it was the Hoyas who held a 7-6 halftime lead.
A first-quarter field goal gave Lehigh a 3-0 advantage, and the visitors were in position to score again early in the second quarter until Georgetown junior safety David Quintero intercepted Lehigh junior quarterback Chris Lum at the Hoyas’ 23-yard line.
Lehigh converted another field goal on its next possession, but as halftime neared, Lum’s second interception led to the Blue and Gray’s only score. Senior linebacker Paul Sant’Ambrogio picked off Lum at the Georgetown 42-yard line with 2:11 remaining, and sophomore quarterback Isaiah Kempf and the Hoya offense took advantage of the short field. Kempf and sophomore receiver Max Waizenegger connected three times – the third reception a 31-yarder on fourth-and-three – to move inside the Lehigh 10-yard line. Freshman running back Dalen Claytor finished the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run – the first of his collegiate career – and the extra point put Georgetown in front with 1:06 left in the half.
Lehigh looked to respond with a score of its own and advanced into Georgetown territory, but a Hail Mary into the end zone was intercepted by junior defensive back Kyle Miller.
“[The three interceptions] kept us in the game,” Kelly said. “That’s why we were winning at halftime, 7-6. They were driving the ball, they had some yards, but they weren’t putting points on the board.”
idway through the third quarter, Kempf engineered a 15-play, 51-yard drive that gave Brett Weiss an opportunity to extend Georgetown’s lead, but the junior kicker’s 46-yard field goal attempt fell short and to the left.
The missed kick proved to be the turning point in the game, as Lehigh needed only five plays to score a touchdown on the ensuing possession. Lum completed all three passing attempts on the drive for 66 yards, and sophomore backup quarterback Michael Colvin punched it in from three yards out for a 13-7 Lehigh lead.
Senior running back Jay Campbell’s 11-yard touchdown scamper made it a two-score game with four and a half minutes to go, and after Lehigh recovered a Georgetown fumble on the following kickoff, a 31-yard field goal ensured Lehigh’s first outright conference championship since 2001.
Campbell finished the game with 118 yards on 18 carries for Lehigh, while Lum completed 24-of-47 passing attempts for 297 yards. Despite his three interceptions, the junior signal caller was a thorn in Georgetown’s side all afternoon and staked his claim to the label of best quarterback in the Patriot League.
“He’s an excellent quarterback,” Kelly said of Lum. “If you look at the league champs every year, it’s the team that has the best quarterback.”
Kempf threw for 155 yards on 18-for-36 passing, with the bulk of his completions coming on check-down passes to running backs. The short passing attack was Georgetown’s only way to consistently gain yardage, as once again the rushing game went nowhere for the Hoyas. Georgetown gained only 48 yards on 23 runs, and senior running back Philip Oladeji was the leading rusher with three carries for 17 yards.
The loss wraps up the Hoyas’ conference schedule, and their 2-3 mark in league play is their best since joining the Patriot League in 2001. A victory over Lehigh Saturday and another Lehigh loss next week would have given Georgetown a share of the league title.
“It’s progress, but it’s frustrating that we didn’t get a win today,” Kelly said. “Today was a day that if we [had] beat Lehigh, we [would have] had a chance at the [championship]. It’s good that at least at this point, in week 10, we’re still in the hunt.”
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