For Pete’s sake, a victory over Lafayette would be a nice way to cap a great career
Senior Mountain Hawks linebacker Haffner hopes to go out with an exclamation point
Many attend college to learn stuff in the classroom, while many others go to college for the overall experience and the life lessons that will benefit them later.
Pete Haffner has gotten everything he could out of the classroom earning honor roll status, but in terms of experience and life lessons, no member of the Lehigh University football team got more out of his time on South Mountain than him.
The football field was an extension of the classroom for Haffner. From being a part of a Patriot League championship team as a freshman in 2017 to the pandemic to a school-record 15-game losing streak to a groin injury that kept him out of action to a late-season revival and win streak, Haffner has seen it all.
The one thing he’d still like to see is a victory over Lafayette to close out his career Saturday at Goodman Stadium.
Haffner is a two-year captain, a three-year starter, and two-time Patriot League second-team all-star selection at linebacker, and a relentless force on the Mountain Hawks defense. In four previous games against Lafayette, he is 2-2 with 25 tackles with 1 ½ for loss.
He is coming off a 10-tackle effort against Georgetown in last week’s 23-9 win and if Lehigh is going to end the season with a third straight win, Haffner will undoubtedly play a significant role.
Lehigh has played much more competitive football over the past month and despite the 2-8 record, Haffner believes in his team and has no regrets about coming back for a fifth season.
“Being able to play with these guys for one more season has been a lot of fun,” Haffner said. “I feel like I grew up with a lot of these guys.”
Lehigh started the season 0-8 and didn’t score a touchdown in its first six games. The defense also wasn’t living up to expectations in part because Haffner wasn’t on the field for five games. His leadership and knowledge of the game was as missed as his ability to get to the ball.
“It was difficult to go through and I was disappointed I wasn’t able to play the majority of the season,” he said. “Thankfully, I’ve been able to come back and we’ve been playing well the last couple of weeks. We have some momentum going into this game and the whole season changes if you win this one.”
Lafayette (3-7) has won the last two meetings in college football’s mostplayed rivalry, including a 17-16 win two years ago at Goodman Stadium and a 20-13 victory in Easton back in April to cap an abbreviated spring schedule that took the place of the missed fall 2020 season.
Previously, he experienced two wins against Lafayette and liked that feeling much more.
“This is kind of the rubber match,” Haffner said. “I’m really excited to finish out the season and my career with an exclamation point which would be a win over Lafayette.”
Lehigh coach Tom Gilmore said the leadership of players like Haffer has been invaluable as the team has steadied the ship after eight weeks of stormy seas filled with injuries, inconsistency, and inexperience.
“Justin Gurth [an offensive lineman and another senior captain] missed the first five or six games and when he reappeared you could see the whole unit gel a lot better and the same when Pete came back,” Gilmore said. “You see the difference he has made being back on the field. They’re both great performers, great leaders, and they inspire the people around them to perform at a higher level.”
Haffner once considered trying to play at a higher level of college football. He grew up in State College and didn’t miss a game at Beaver Stadium. He thought about staying home and walking on at Penn State. His other choice was coming to Lehigh.
He said he is happy about his decision and hasn’t had any second thoughts about coming to Bethlehem.
“Going to all of the Penn State games, I didn’t know much about FCS football,” he said. “I’m really grateful for my decision.”
Gilmore and his predecessor, Andy Coen, were happy to get Haffner, who was a two-time all-state selection and a two-time Mid Penn Commonwealth defensive MVP.
While many people have left the program for one reason or another, Haffner dug in.
There are just seven seniors and two fifth-year players on the Lehigh roster who will run out of the locker room one last time on Saturday and all are to be admired Gilmore said.
“They had to go through a coaching transition and then through the pandemic,” Gilmore said. “There were pre-existing conditions that affected us during the transition and then the pandemic came at the worst possible time. Yet, those guys were able to keep it all together and be that mature voice in the locker room. When you have a team comprised of more younger players than veteran players, you need that kind of leadership and these guys deserve a lot of credit for persevering through it all.”
Haffner will always be remembered for his ability as a player but said it was more important to be remembered as a great teammate.
“I don’t want people to think of Pete Haffner as a football player, but rather as a person who made everyone around him better and someone they were able to look up to,” he said. “I looked up to a lot of players in my time here like Sam McCloskey and Zach Duffy who were great leaders and great teammates. I really hope I can be that guy for a lot of these younger players.”
Saturday may mark the end of his playing career, but Haffner hopes it’s not his last involvement with football.
“I want to get into coaching, anywhere they’ll take me,” he said. “I would love to be a college grad assistant. I would like to get into a big-time Division I program and start my career. Football has taught me a lot about myself and I became a much tougher, grittier person after this experience. There’s not a lot of people in this world who can do this. But I believe in myself and in these guys and we’re looking forward to Saturday.”