Aaron Crossley scored Lehigh University’s only touchdown Dec. 6 when the Mountain Hawks lost 14-7 to visiting Villanova University in a Football Championship Series second-round game before a crowd of 8,848 at Goodman Stadium.
The game was scoreless at halftime.
Crossley changed that.
The Wyoming Area graduate ran 5 yards off right tackle on third-and-goal to cap a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive after Lehigh received the second-half kickoff.
Crossley finished with 12 yards on five carries with a longest gain of six yards. He also caught his first two passes of the season for 36 yards, including a 33-yarder.
Joseph Marranca, another Wyoming Area graduate, started at tight end. He also made a tackle.
Lehigh forced a three-and-out to open the game, then moved 85 yards in 14 plays. It gave Crossley an early shot at a score when it shifted out of field goal formation on fourth-and-goal from the 2, but he was stopped for a loss.
Villanova, the 12th seed, scored the game-winning touchdown with less than three minutes remaining.
Lehigh, the fifth seed, came up short despite a 175-27 advantage in rushing yards and a 339-235 lead in total offense.
Crossley finished his sophomore season as the team’s fifth-leading rusher with 140 yards and three touchdowns on 45 carries.
Marranca was a Patriot League all-star tight end and tied for fifth on the team in receptions with 11 for 96 yards.
The Mountain Hawks finished the season with a 12-1 record.
