Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

By Gary Hirschberg Disappointed with the Engineer ' s 6-5 finish the prior season, skeptics and critics held high expectations for the 1977 football squad. The 1977 season opener was against the University of Connecticut. Most re- garded the game as a " warm-up " and the Engineers rolled to a surprisingly easy 49-0 win. Quarterback Mike Rieker hit a split end named Steve Kreider for a 57- yard TD bomb. The aerial was a har- binger of the 1 1 touchdown passes which would exceed 50 yards during the course of the season. The second game was away at Berea, Ohio, home of Division III powerhouse Baldwin-Wallace College. A gruelling nine-hour bus ride combined with artifi- cial turf, a night game under lights and an inspired Baldwin-Wallace team, resulted in a 28-16 rout of the Engineers. Returning home to Taylor Stadium the Engineers were in a must-win situation against the University of Pennsylvania. Another loss in the young season and hopes for winning season would be in jeopardy. Using the big play, a Rieker-Kreider bomb and a punt returned for a touchdown, the Engineers registered a hard-fought, well-deserved 19-7 victory. Penn went on to tie for third in the Ivy League. Flying to Davidson, North Carolina to face a young Davidson College squad, the Engineers unleashed a potent offense and waltzed away with a 43-7 win. En- gineer John Morrissey chalked up two TD ' s against his former teammates. The fifth week of the season the En- gineers had a new opponent: The Uni- versity of Rhode Island, members of the Yankee Conference. The Rams matched up physically and boasted an Ail- American candidate at full back. But the Engineers were equal to the challenge. They brought an important 42-16 victory back to Bethlehem. The last leg of the three consecutive visiting games was at rival Rutgers Uni- versity. This meeting marked the 74th and last time the Engineers met the Scar- let Knights on the gridiron. The Knights stunned the Engineers 20-0 and sent them home with a 4-2 log. The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) invaded Taylor Stadium during Up- perclassmen Parents Weekend; the En- gineer ' s second Division I opponent in two weeks. Although undermanned, the Engineers stormed back from a 6-0 deficit to lead 20-6 midway through the second quarter. At the halfway mark of the third quarter, the Keydets caught Lehigh at 20-20 but a 38-yard field goal by Kenny Wood and a last minute interception return by safety Carl Reese insured the 30-20 upset win. Freshmen Parents witnessed the clash between the Engineers and the Bisons from Bucknell University. Trailing 6-3 in the second quarter, the Engineer offense went into action. When the dust settled the gridders had chalked up 692 yards, a new school record for total yardage in one game. Mike Rieker broke Kim McQuilken ' s old passing mark with 383 yards through the air. The final score: a 47-13 victory. The Gettysburg game also marked the end of a long tradition of 45 games. Be- cause the Bullets had scaled down their program the contest was rather like David vs. Goliath. All the Engineer back-ups gained some valuable playing experience in the 47-0 win. An Engineer victory over C. W. Post in Taylor Stadium was the key to making the playoffs. In 1976 the Engineers squeaked by the Pioneers 17-10 after trailing 10-0. The 1977 version of the Long Island college had posted an as- tounding five consecutive shutout games. A win for the Pioneers would give them an outside shot at a playoff berth. The Engineers played sloppily but some late heroics by the defense and some C.W. Post turnovers turned a tight game into a 36-10 rout. The 113th meeting between the Lafayette Leopards and the Lehigh En- gineers extended the most-played college 64