Lehigh is still playing Saturday, but against Bucknell
Lehigh football coach Tom Gilmore described this unique Patriot League spring football season as a crazy roller coaster ride.
And that ride added a few twists and turns on Wednesday.
Less than 24 hours after Gilmore and the Mountain Hawks found out that Saturday’s much-anticipated 156th meeting with rival Lafayette was postponed due to a positive COVID-19 case, he learned that his team will still be playing on Saturday, but against Bucknell.
Meanwhile, the Lehigh-Lafayette game has been rescheduled for April 10 in Easton at 12:35 p.m.
Of more immediate concern is the Mountain Hawks will host the Bison led by former Lehigh All-American wide receiver and offensive coordinator Dave Cecchini on Saturday at noon. Bucknell’s scheduled cross-divisional game at Holy Cross has been canceled.
The Bucknell-Lehigh game has importance in the Patriot League’s championship chase since both are in the PL’s South Division along with Lafayette.
The Bison has already defeated the Leopards and can clinch the division title and a berth in the league’s first spring football championship game on April 17 by beating Lehigh.
The Mountain Hawks can win the division and advance to the league title game by beating both Bucknell and Lafayette.
All of that talk aside, Gilmore is just happy his team has a game to play for the first time since March 13 when it lost to Holy Cross 20-3. A scheduled game at Colgate on March 27 was canceled and a makeup game at Holy Cross was also wiped out before the Patriot League announced a revised schedule last week.
The latest change was prompted by a positive case within the top tier of the Lafayette program.
“It’s crazy, but it’s typical for what we’ve been going through during the pandemic,” Gilmore said. “You’ve got to be ready for some kind of a change almost every day.”
Gilmore said the constant schedule changes have been hard for his players, but they have adjusted better than you’d expect.
“They’ve gone with the flow,” Gilmore said. “Going on the practice field [Tuesday] we caught wind that the Lafayette game was in jeopardy, but we didn’t know for sure at that point. So we went out and practiced and it was during practice that I was sent a message through the trainers that the game was postponed. So, it’s been a roller coaster for all of us but in particular the players.”
Gilmore said it would have especially tough for his team had a game not been scheduled this weekend.
“It would have been three weeks in a row without a game,” he said. “If you’re a player, that’s really difficult. It’s hard for any player, but especially the seniors who are working really hard and sacrificing a lot of things just to play. They’re sacrificing their social and family lives and have had these games yanked away at the last minute. When they found out they weren’t playing Lafayette after practice, they were down about it. But they’ll be charged up to learn they’re still playing a game on Saturday.”
It has also been a difficult challenge for the coaching staff.
For the longest time, the Mountain Hawks were preparing for Lafayette. Instead, they get a Bucknell team that beat the Leopards 38-13 last Saturday.
“This has put a great burden on the coaches,” Gilmore said. “All of a sudden, we’re facing a different team with different schemes. To have to make an adjustment at mid-week is a little bit of a hassle. But the other team is in the same situation, so it’s not like either side has a major advantage. You’d like a full week of preparation, but at the same time just the chance to compete makes it worth it.”
Considering the numerous postponements and schedule changes, some might wonder if this attempt at a spring football season has been worth it.
Gilmore insists that it is still worth it since the program would normally be going through spring practice at this time of year anyway.
“I definitely think it is,” he said. “When you look at being able to compete again after being away for a year-anda-half, just for these players to get back on the field and enjoy playing in games again makes it worthwhile. The seniors who are graduating are getting their last chance. If they don’t play this spring, they don’t get that final chance and for them it’s the chance of a lifetime. If they don’t play, they’re not going to get it back ever again.”
For the numerous underclassmen on the roster, it’s also important.
“They’re getting spring practice with competition at the end of each week,” Gilmore said. “So, it’s really the best of both worlds. It’s like a super spring ball.”
Gilmore said Lehigh wants to win these games, but ultimately player development might be more important.
“We have a lot of young players in our program and the game experience they’re getting is invaluable,” he said. “So, to me, this spring schedule remains valuable and we’re enjoying it. But when you get these postponements and cancellations, people ask the question about ‘Is it worth it?’ It has been a roller coaster ride and your emotions go up and down with each change. But to me, yes, it’s still worth it.”