Liberty alum hope to make impact for Lafayette, Lehigh
Both Lafayette College coach John Troxell and Lehigh’s Tom Gilmore know how good Lehigh Valley-area high school football is and would love to get more of the local products on their campuses.
Troxell, in fact, came up with a great line at his weekly press function the other day when he said: “We’re going to try to do everything we can to make this Lafayette Valley.”
It’s easier said than done, however, as the abundance of programs in close proximity to the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton market makes it a highly competitive recruiting battlefield for schools to pluck the area’s most talented kids.
At the moment, neither Lafayette nor Lehigh have a lot of local products in their programs, although some could be coming in the next recruiting class.
That’s why the play of two Liberty High products could be significant in turning heads and reminding Lehigh Valley kids that there are two Division I programs right here in their own backyards trying to turn the corner.
Last week in a 30-20 loss to Georgetown, freshman tight end Dallas Holmes caught a pair of passes for 32 yards including a 2-yard TD pass from Rent Montie in the fourth quarter. Holmes is a 2020 Liberty grad.
Meanwhile, Trevor Harris, a 2019 Hurricanes graduate, is looking to make his return to Lehigh’s defensive line this week after missing three games with an injury.
Both didn’t initially plan to stay in the Lehigh Valley, but both Troxell and Gilmore are happy to have them.
“Dallas was a kid I actually tried to recruit three times starting with when I was at F&M and I tried to get him out of high school,” Troxell said. “I loved him as a player and loved him even more as a person. But went to Wyoming Seminary Prep School and I tried to recruit him again out of there. My understanding was he was offered a full ride to Maine but that didn’t happen, so he ended up trying to walk on at Pitt.”
But things didn’t work out for Holmes with the Panthers and
he attended a camp at Kent State where he was trying to attract new suitors.
“Our staff was out there and we knew who he was,” Troxell said. “We asked him to come to our camp the next week and watched him perform and we offered. I think Dallas has tremendous upside and can be a great football player. If he works hard and we can put him in good situations, I think people are going to wonder how the heck did Lafayette get an athlete like this?”
Troxell said he expected Holmes to make a significant contribution during training camp, but Holmes tore his PCL and he was hurt through most of the first half of the season.
“We’re now trying to get him going and back involved with the offense,” Troxell said. “He’s big, athletic and physical. He’s everything you want in that spot.”
Troxell said that Holmes is also an excellent student who is taking a full and challenging class schedule.
“He’s a great student and everything you’d want in a kid here at Lafayette College,” Troxell said.
Look for him to potentially get more opportunities for the Leopards as they begin the season’s stretch run at Colgate Saturday. Lafayette (2-6) will also play at Fordham on Nov. 12 before returning home to play Lehigh on Nov. 19 in the 158th edition of college football’s most-played rivalry where Holmes could go head-to-head against his former Hurricanes teammate Harris.
Harris, a junior, who started his career at the U.S. Naval Academy had settled into being one of Lehigh’s most reliable defensive linemen.
He had 21 tackles, including five for loss, half a sack, and a quarterback hurry in the team’s first five games.
“Having Trevor back is big for us because he’s one of those guys who literally come to work every day with a positive attitude,” Gilmore said. “That work ethic allows him to have great output and that’s why he is continually improving. Even off the field and in the weight room, he’s one of the hardest workers. So you see the improvements from a physical, mental, and performance standpoint. It’s really neat as a coach when you see a guy progress like that. You love seeing guys who want it and work for it the way he has.”
Lehigh (1-7) is coming off its bye week after a disappointing 19-17 loss to previously winless Bucknell on Oct. 22 and is playing No. 6 ranked Holy Cross at Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts. It will be Gilmore’s first trip back to Holy Cross as Lehigh’s coach. He was the Crusaders coach for 14 seasons from 2007-14.
Here’s a look at the Lafayette and Lehigh matchups:
Lafayette (2 -6 , 1 -2 Patriot) at Colgate (3 -5 , 2 -1 ) When/where:
1 p.m. Saturday at
Andy Kerr Stadium, Hamilton, New York.
TV/streaming: ESPN+
The storylines: Lafayette has lost three straight with the last defeat — 30-20 to Georgetown at home — being the most disappointing of the season. But the Leopards still hope to finish the first year of John Troxell’s tenure strong and hope a solid stretch run begins at Colgate, which is under secondyear coach Stan Dakosty, the son of the Marian Catholic coaching legend and District 11 Hall of Famer. The Raiders are coming off back-to-back wins over Bucknell and Georgetown.
Players to watch: Colgate is averaging 170 yards per game rushing and is led by dual-threat quarterback Michael Brescia who has thrown for 952 yards and a touchdown and has run for 11 TDs on 577 yards. Junior running backs Max Hurleman and Jaedon Henry each have run for more than 300 yards. Tyler Flick leads the Colgate defense with 70 tackles, including 6.5 for loss. Lafayette may use both Rent Montie and Ah-Shaun Davis at quarterback. No matter who is in there, he’ll be looking for receivers Elijah Steward, Julius Young, and Chris Carasia who all have 20 catches or more. Marco Olivas (74 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries) continues to lead the defense.
What to expect: Lafayette will need its defense to control the game and set up the offense with takeaways. The offensive line has surrendered 32 sacks and the ground game is producing just 78 yards per game, putting pressure on the quarterbacks. For Lafayette to win, they will need to avoid tough down-and-distance situations.
Keith Groller’s prediction: Colgate 24-14
Lehigh (1 -7, 1 -2 ) at Holy Cross (8-0,4-0) When/where:
12 p.m. Saturday at Fitton Field, Worcester, Massachusetts.
TV/streaming: ESPN+
Radio: Fox Sports Radio, 94.7 FM, 1230 AM, and lvfoxsports.com The storylines: The Mountain Hawks have lost six straight, but are coming off a bye week that allowed the team to get some key players back from injury and hit the rest button after a disappointing loss to Bucknell. Lehigh was able to play well after its bye week in 2021 and won its last three games, but this stretch run begins with a daunting challenge at Holy Cross where the nationally-ranked Crusaders boast the league’s top rushing offense and scoring defense.
Players to watch: Holy Cross junior QB Matthew Sluka leads the team in passing (1,730 yards, 19 TDs) and rushing (623 yards, 7 TDs). Jalen Coker has 38 receptions for 788 yards and 10 TDs. Crusaders linebacker Liam Anderson has 8.5 tackles for loss. With freshman Brayten Silbor out for the year after suffering a major injury to his non-throwing arm against Bucknell, Dante Perri has the QB job to himself. He has thrown for 1,246 yards and 7 TDs, but has been picked off eight times. Freshman Geoffrey Jamiel leads Lehigh with 37 caches for 391 yards.
What to expect: Holy Cross has had its share of impressive wins — 37-31 at Buffalo, 30-21 at Harvard, and 57-0 over Bucknell. But the Crusaders were nearly upset by both Lafayette and Fordham in the past two weeks, winning the two games by a combined four points. They are vulnerable, but Lehigh will have to play its best game, especially on offense, to have a chance at what would be its biggest win of the Tom Gilmore era.
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