Lehigh defense armed to spoil Mitchell's reprise

Before Mike Mitchell took his first snap last weekend, the Penn football team was confident that its new quarterback could handle the pressure.

But Mitchell still had something to prove.

Fifty-two points later, the Penn sidelines felt they were correct in annointing Mitchell the starter. After all, it was the most points the Quakers had scored in a season opener since 1984.

Not too bad for a Penn squad that graduated 16 starters.

Last Saturday's game was against a mediocre Lafayette squad.

But this weekend, when Penn takes on Lehigh in its home opener at Franklin Field, Mitchell and his offense will be out to prove that the Lafayette game was not a fluke.

There will be one thing standing in Mitchell's way -- Lehigh's defense.

Penn coach Al Bagnoli knows that the Quakers' offense will be hard pressed to find the gaps it found last weekend against a tight Lehigh defense that has lead the Engineers to 26 straight wins. That streak is the longest in all of Division I-A and I-AA, currently.

"Obviously, we won't have our way like we did against Lafayette," Bagnoli said.

Having its way won't be easy for Penn against Lehigh, the No. 4 ranked team in both the ESPN/USA Today and Sports Network polls. The Engineers have lost only one regular season game in the past four years and have mounted undefeated regular seasons in 1998, 2000 and 2001.

"They are going to present some problems," Bagnoli said.

So far this season, Lehigh has only allowed its opponents an average of 16.7 points per game.

The Engineers' rushing defense is currently ranked No. 1 in league, allowing an average of 84 yards per game.

Cause for concern? Mitchell thinks so.

"I'm worried about the whole defense," Mitchell said. "You don't see many weak spots at all. Their D-line, backers, corners -- they're all good."

The Engineers' total defense has used its athleticism to limit its opponents to a paltry 252 yards per game, good enough for second-best in the Patriot League.

"They are a very, very fast defense," Bagnoli said. "In this game, speed is vital. Very few teams have been able to run the ball with any consistency against [Lehigh]."

With a rookie running back like Stephen Faulk in the lineup, Penn may face difficulty running the ball up the field.

It was Lehigh's defense that pulled through last weekend when the Engineers were down 24-7 against Princeton heading into the fourth quarter. Facing its first loss in well over two years, the Lehigh defense stepped in to take control of the game.

Senior strong safety Matt Salvaterra -- who has started every game in his career at Lehigh -- picked off a David Splithoff pass with 8:52 remaining in the contest. He ran it 26 yards to the endzone for the touchdown, bringing the Engineers within two.

In Lehigh's league opener against Georgetown on Sept. 7, the Engineers held the Hoyas scoreless, finishing the day with a blowout 69-0 win.

If the Quakers hope to escape a similar fate, the key will be keeping the Lehigh defense on its toes.

"We can't get one-dimensional," Bagnoli said. "If we go out their and throw the ball 60 times, I think we're going to be in trouble. We have to establish some sort of run."

Mitchell agreed.

"We're going to run as best we can and whichever plays are working, we'll use," he said. "If they shut down the run, obviously we're gonna have to go to the air a little more. We're just going to have to see what happens."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.