Being a Bethlehem native who plays football at Lehigh University has its pluses and minuses.
The plus is that family and friends can come to all of the home games with ease and cheer you on. The minus is that the same family and friends will ask lots of questions about why things are going bad.
Trevor Harris, a Liberty High graduate with three more years of eligibility with the Mountain Hawks after transferring from the U.S. Naval Academy Prep School, gets asked a lot about what’s wrong with a team that’s 0-8 and on a school-record 15-game losing streak.
“I can’t escape it,” he said. “Anywhere I go, especially if I visit my parents and my parents’ friends, everybody’s asking about it. I’ve never been through anything like this before. You have to stay confident and right now it’s easier than ever to be confident.”
That’s because despite the record, Lehigh has played well in its last two games, a 35-28 loss to Fordham and a 31-12 defeat to Holy Cross that was a 14-12 game entering the fourth quarter.
This Saturday at 1 p.m. the Mountain Hawks travel to a Bucknell team (1-7, 0-4 Patriot League) that has struggled nearly as much as they have.
There’s a sense around the team that this is the week for a breakthrough.
Each week, coach Tom Gilmore has talked about improvement, and while it has not yet been reflected in the final scores, Harris can see it.
“We’re as close as we’ve ever been,” Harris said. “We know there’s a lot of outside noise and being 0-8, it’s just us in this situation. We’ve just got to stick together. As a competitor, you hate to lose. Each week we put in all the effort it takes to be successful. We really think this is our week.”
If Lehigh gets its first win, Harris will undoubtedly play a significant role on the defensive line. He has 19 tackles in seven games, including a team-high five stops for loss and three sacks. He also has a pass breakup and three quarterback hurries.
Harris missed one game and about 11/2 weeks of practice due to a battle with pneumonia. He got back on the field as soon as possible.
“We had our bye week right after I had it, so it gave me a chance to get back on my feet and come back strong,” Harris said.
Gilmore has been pleased with Harris’ progress.
“He had that illness that kept him out a game and he had some injuries that limited some of his playing time, but he has been healthy the last few weeks and he’s done a really good job against the run and the pass,” Gilmore said. “He’s one of those steady guys up front that we expect to perform at a high level. As he’s gotten more experience and gained confidence, he’s really making a lot of plays.”
Against Holy Cross, Lehigh allowed its fewest yards of the season and had season-highs for tackles for loss, sacks and takeaways.
Harris wants more as the Mountain Hawks want to finish the season on a high note and figure to have a chance against their remaining opponents, with Georgetown (2-5) and Lafayette (3-5) following Bucknell on the schedule.
Lehigh held Bucknell to just six points in the spring when the Bison came to Goodman Stadium, a 6-0 Lehigh loss.
“We want to try to hold them to nothing this time, and create more turnovers,” Harris said.
Harris, who was the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference South defensive player of the year at Liberty as a senior in 2018, and earned all-league, all-area, and all-state honors, is looking for a turnaround this season and for the long haul. Lehigh’s projected starting lineup on Saturday features five freshman or sophomore starters on defense and five more on offense.
Other than fifth-year player Nate Morris at inside linebacker, there are no seniors listed on the defense’s two-deep chart.
“It’s going to be nice to see the young guys step up,” Harris said. “When we’re older and winning a Patriot League championship, all of these current freshmen and sophomores are going to be able to say we were the ones who turned it around. And we can also talk about what we came through. It’s going to be special.”
Keith Groller can be reached at 610-820-6740 or at kgroller@mcall.com
