A Sibling Rivalry

Tensions were running high in the first week of December as the mighty Mountain Hawks of Lehigh University prepared to face down the pugnacious Purple Paladins of Furman University on the (not so) cold December tundra that is Paladin Stadium. But this gridiron showdown was to be so much more than a football game. For this was not just the Divsion 1-AA quarterfinals . . . this was a matchup that pitted brother vs. sister. Mason vs. Dixon. Dave, the Lehigh Alumnus vs. Kara, the Furman Alumnus. It would rock the foundations of the DeWitt household and when the dust cleared . . . it was Kara's Purple Paladins who emerged victorious in front of 16,000 Purple Paladin people. Click here to skip the hype and go straight to the game's writeup.


This pic was taken in happier days, before the rift that would divide a family. Here the siblings pose in front of the Sunday touring car that was a present from Kara to Dave.



Dave telling his bookie that the Paladins will get stomped; KJ's expression of scorn in the foreground says it all.



A conflicted father was forced to admit that although he "loves Kara and David equally, in public [he] generally denies knowing David since it was his alma mater that came up on the losing end."



Many thought that Kara's over-the-top victory celebration caused the situation to deteriorate further.



Max the Frat Dog could not be reached for comment. Despite being a Cornell alum, Max had been a Lehigh fan and has reportedly turned to drink to numb the pain of the Mountain Hawks' loss



Jason's old college roommate could, in fact, be reached for comment. However, said comment was utterly incoherent.



Jason has been quoted by various sources as saying that he bears no allegiance to either sibling because they both said he somehow reminds them of "Beaker" from the Muppets.



"What the hell is a Paladin anyway?"


Dec 8, 2001

By JEFFREY COLLINS
Associated Press Writer

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Toreico O'Neal ran for 128 yards and Hindley Brigham had 105 as Furman beat Lehigh 34-17 on Saturday in the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinals.

Lamar Rembert added 66 yards rushing as the Paladins (11-2) rotated among three backs to replace the injured Louis Ivory, the most valuable player in Division I-AA in 2000.

Furman gained 332 yards rushing and held Lehigh (11-1) to 308 total yards. The Paladins had nine sacks, second highest total in school history.

The Paladins advanced to a semifinal matchup with Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern.

Furman trailed 7-3 with 4:21 to go in the first quarter when Brian Bratton took the kickoff 65 yards. On the next play, O'Neal ran 35 yards for a touchdown to give Furman a 10-7 lead.

In the second quarter, Furman scored on a 49-yard pass from Billy Napier to Bear Rinehart on a third-and-16. The Paladins then took a 24-7 right before halftime on a 2-yard run by Eric Emerson.

Comfortably ahead, the Paladins spent much of the rest of the game pounding the ball at the Mountain Hawks.

Lehigh's only second-half threat came late in the third quarter when the Mountain Hawks got inside the 20. But Furman's Will Bouton had one of his four sacks, then stopped Jermaine Pugh for 2-yard loss on third down, forcing a 29-yard field goal by Brian Kelley that made it 24-10.

Backup quarterback Luke Ciannello came in late in the fourth quarter and went 7-for-10 for 70 yards on a drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Darin Henry.

Both teams were missing their main offensive threat. Furman's Ivory, who has run for 1,662 yards this season, has a sprained knee, and Lehigh's Josh Snyder, who has caught 77 passes for 1,280 yards, is out with an ankle injury

But Furman had a much easier time replacing its star. Napier helped out his running backs, going 7-for-13 for 134 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

Lehigh's Brant Hall was 13-for-23 for 142 yards and ran for 43 more, but many of those yards came on scrambles as his receivers couldn't get open.

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