The Bison football team continued conference play on Saturday, Nov. 6 in a home match-up against the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. What was a scoreless game in the first quarter quickly went downhill for the Bison, as they were defeated 38-6. The Bison fell to 1-8 on the season and 0-5 in Patriot League play. 

As aforementioned, the score remained 0-0 at the close of the first quarter, as neither team was able to capitalize on a combined five punts. The second quarter was much more action-filled. The Orange and Blue were first to get on the board, with a field goal by sophomore kicker Ryan Schatzel ’24 at just under five minutes into the quarter. Lehigh responded in the final minute with a one-yard touchdown run into the end zone, edging out the Bison 7-3. The Mountain Hawk offense continued to threaten the Bison defense, and scored two more touchdowns in a five-minute span. The Bison closed out the scoring in the first half with another field goal by Schatzel, leading the Orange and Blue into halftime trailing by a score of 21-6. 

The Bison continued to fight into the second half of play, only allowing the Mountain Hawks to convert a field goal in the third quarter, which strengthened their lead to 24-6. It was in the fourth quarter that the Bison acknowledged defeat, as the Mountain Hawks went on to score an additional two touchdowns to close out the match. The game ended 38-6 in favor of Lehigh, who earned their first victory of the season. 

While the Bison did not anticipate this result, there were still many key performances, especially from Schatzel who became the first kicker since 2017 to kick a field goal of 45-yards. Nick Semptimphelter ’24 and Ethan Grady ’25 also split time at quarterback. Brent Jackson ’23 leading the Bison defense with nine tackles at safety.

“It was a tough game for the team against an opponent who was a lot better than their record showed, but [he] liked the energy and fight from the team,” Schatzel said. He adds that there are “a lot of positives to reflect from this game, regardless of the outcome, and hope to build on those and finish the season strong.”

The Bison’s next match-up is set against Army at West Point on Saturday, Nov. 13. The game kicks off at 12 p.m. and will be streamed on CBS Sports Network.