快播视频

Lafayette football coach John Troxell and Lehigh leader Kevin Cahill seem to know everyone.

Troxell played and coached at Lafayette and then became an assistant at Columbia and spent 16 seasons聽 as the head coach at Franklin & Marshall.

Cahill played at Springfield College and then coached at Springfield, Maine Maritime Academy, University of Tennessee-Martin, Maine and 10 seasons at Yale before coming to the Lehigh Valley.

Both of them have made a lot of connections in coaching over the years either on the field, at clinics or on the recruiting trail.

But they have never really met each other, at least formally.

The second-year Leopards coach and the first-year Mountain Hawks boss will get to meet Saturday at Goodman Stadium prior to the 159th edition of college football’s most-played rivalry. Kickoff at Lehigh’s Goodman Stadium is set for 12 noon.

Considering the relative youth of Troxell and Cahill, this could be the start of a friendly rivalry between the coaches who are just getting started in their respective gigs.

Even though they’ve never met, both have respect for the other.

“I’m impressed by them and I think a lot of the credit has to go to John,” Cahill said of the Leopards. “It’s a shame if he’s not the coach of the year in the Patriot League. I think he should be. He has done a tremendous job turning that program around and they do a great job of putting their players in positions to be successful. That’s not done overnight. You can tell they worked hard in the offseason and he’s starting to get his fingerprints on that program.”

Troxell also believes Cahill is on the right track.

“They have really improved as the season has gone on,” Troxell said. “It’s a challenge in the first season. Change is hard. People expect things to change overnight, but they don’t. When you look at Lehigh, all of those kids are basically freshmen, even the seniors. That’s because when you bring in a new coaching staff, you’re basically learning a system all over again.”

Troxell said the second year of a transition is much easier than year No. 1.

“For our kids, it has been easier this year because it’s that second year and our kids have really bought in,” Troxell said. “I don’t think many people thought we’d be where we’re at. It takes time to build culture and change how your team performs. but I have no doubt Coach Cahill will have them ready and it’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”

Even though he’s new to the Lehigh-Lafayette rivalry, Cahill has 10 games of experience in one of the country’s most storied rivalries, the one between Yale and Harvard. And he’s also seen from both sides how it is when one team is trying to clinch a title and another is trying to play spoiler.

“I’d definitely lean on my experience in that game and know what it’s like emotionally,” he said. “When I look back at the 10 years I spent at Yale, early on they were having better seasons and going for championships and we were trying to spoil it for them. Later, they were trying to spoil our chances. So, I’ve been on both sides and you know what it takes to win a game like this.”

Despite the 2-8 record, Cahill has seen bright spots. His focus has been on the process and not necessarily the results.

He believes better things are ahead after having gone through an entire season.

“We’ve made a lot of steps going forward, but we know there’s a lot of work to do,” Cahill said. “We’ve already started to address some of the issues. I am more excited now than I was a year ago when I got hired because I know where we’re going. I know exactly what we’re doing and what problems we need to fix and what is easily fixed. The future is very bright.”

Lafayette’s future might include an additional game after Thanksgiving. As he has done all season, however, Troxell isn’t looking too far ahead.

“We know how much it means to the schools and the communities and especially the alumni who have all kinds of watch parties across the country,” Troxell said. “We know some of the things that are at stake. We have to block out the outside noise and focus on what the end result might be. We still have to play a football game and we still have to know what we’re doing and play hard.”

Lafayette (8-2, 4-1 Patriot League) at Lehigh (2-8, 1-4)

When/where: 12 p.m. Saturday at Goodman Stadium, Bethlehem

The series: Lafayette leads 81-72-5

Storylines: With a win, the Leopards would secure at least a share of the league title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs by virtue of a win over Holy Cross, which could tie Lafayette at 5-1 in the league. Holy Cross plays host to Georgetown in a noon game. Lehigh is trying to avoid its second 2-win season in a row and end the season on a high note.

Lafayette players to watch: Rushing leader: So. Jamar Curtis (179 att, 1,167 yards, 6.5 ypc, 9 TD); Passing leader: So. Dean DeNobile (141-212-5, 1,596 yards, 15 TD); Receiving leader: So. Elijan Steward (43 rec, 555 yards, 4 TD); Tackling leader: Sr. Billy Shaeffer (73 tackles, 20 TFL, 10 sacks); Interception leader: Jr. Saiku White (2)); Kicking leader: Fr. Jack Simonetta (35-36 PAT, 6-9 FG attempts, 53 points).

Lehigh players to watch: Rushing leader: Fr. Luke Yoder (127 att., 620 yards, 4.9 ypc, 5 TD); Passing leader; So. Brayten Silbor (151-301-11, 1,697 yards, 10 TD); Receiving leader: Sr. Connor Kennedy (40 rec, 429 yards, 3 TD); Tackling leader: Sr. Mike DiNucci (82 tackles, 5 TFL, 1.5 sacks); Interception leader: Sr. Donovan Lassiter (2); Kicking leader: So. Nick Garrido (23-24 PAT, 5-8 FG attempts, 38 points).

What to expect: A typical, hard-nosed, intense battle between the longtime rivals who always treat this game as a season by itself. Both have a lot to play for. Lafayette is eyeing a league title and a playoff berth, but Lehigh has one last shot at showing that they have made progress in Cahill’s first season. Lafayette has had only one hiccup in the league — at home two weeks ago against Colgate. That defeat might have been beneficial because it reminded the Leopards they can’t let down or take anyone lightly. That’s not likely going to be the case here against Lehigh. Cahill talked about last week’s game against Colgate as being embarrassing. The Mountain Hawks, who will likely start senior QB Dante Perri who has lots of experience in this game, want to make amends and get their first home win since 2021. But unless they can sustain drives on offense and find a way to contain the explosive Curtis, the wait for that Goodman Stadium victory will extend to 2024.

Keith Groller’s prediction: Lafayette 30-20