Bucknell University Athletics
Senior Free Safety Kevin Eiben Receives Yet Another All-American Honor
1/9/2001 7:00:00 AM | Football
Jan. 9, 2001
LEWISBURG, Pa. --- Bucknell University senior free safety Kevin Eiben (Delta, British Columbia/Vancouver College) has been selected to Don Hansen's Football Gazette 2000 All-American Second Team. In addition, he received honorable mention honors as a return specialist.
Senior linebacker Vince Ficca (Princeton Junction, N.J./Lawrenceville School), junior running back Jabu Powell (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips), and sophomore place-kicker Chris Lundberg (Phoenix, Ariz./Thunderbird) also received honorable mention status for the Bison.
For Eiben the honor is another in a string of accolades he has received since the season ended. The free safety has already been tabbed an American Football Coaches Association All-American, a second team Associated Press All-American, a first team All-Patriot League selection, a first team ECAC All-Star, the Patriot League's Scholar-Athlete, and the team's MVP.
The 6'0," 205-pound senior, who was presented with the Lewisburg Touchdown Club Award (MVP) after a record-setting year for the Orange and Blue, led the Patriot League and ranked seventh in the nation with eight interceptions (0.73/g). Eiben piled up 150 return yards on his interceptions to set a Bucknell single-season record, and tied another when he picked off four passes against Duquesne early in the season. That accomplishment also earned him a place in the Patriot League record book and an appearance on ESPN's Thursday Night Football "Hidden Video" segment. He finished second on the team with 78 tackles (44 unassisted) and led the squad with 10 pass breakups.
In addition, Eiben had an outstanding season as the league's top punt returner. He returned 30 punts for 366 yards, an average of 12.2 yards per return, to rank 15th in Division I-AA. In the process he set Bucknell single- season and career punt return marks with 366 and 626 yards, respectively, and set a Bison career record with 51 punt returns. He had his best punt return performance when he returned seven punts for 126 yards at Towson, setting a Patriot League single-game mark.
Eiben was also honored for his academic achievements when he was selected to the Verizon Academic All-District 2 First Team.
Ficca, who typified the phrase, "leading by example" and was a first team All-Patriot League selection and a second team ECAC All-Star. The feisty inside linebacker led the team and the Patriot League with 102 tackles and was selected by his teammates as one of the tri-captains for the season. He led the team in tackles in eight of the 11 games, and tallied double-figure marks five times, including a season-high 14 stops in Bucknell's 38-15 win over Cornell on September 16.
After transferring to Bucknell from Boston University prior to the 1998 season, Ficca became a steady fixture in the linebacker corps for the Orange and Blue. He started 27 of the 30 games he played at Bucknell, and concluded his career with 257 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss of yardage, four interceptions, and five quarterback sacks.
Ficca was tabbed the Patriot League's and Rivals.com's Defensive Player of the Week following the Richmond game. He paced Bucknell's defensive effort with a game-high 12 tackles and also blocked a punt in the 10-7 setback to the nationally-ranked Spiders.
Powell earned second team All-Patriot League honors for the second year in a row after becoming the first Bucknell running back to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark since Chris Peer did so in 1997. He began the year with a flourish, topping the 200-yard mark in two of the first four games and compiling 780 yards through the season's first five contests. But a serious injury in the Lafayette game slowed his season and nearly ended his career.
On the first series of the game against the Leopards, he got sandwiched behind the line of scrimmage and lost feeling in his extremities. In an examination early the following week, it was discovered that he has a condition called spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the channel that protects the spinal cord. He sat out the next two games, but after an extensive re-examination at the renowned Cleveland Medical Clinic and conferring with his family, Powell made the decision to resume playing.
He finished the season with 1,102 yards on 248 carries, the sixth-best rushing season in school history. His 122.4-yard per game average ranked second in the league and 18th in Div. I-AA, and he tied for the league lead in scoring at 9.3 points per contest (14 TDs). The 5'8" 180-pound tailback also led the league and ranked 13th in the nation in all-purpose yardage per game at 160.11.
Powell set Patriot League and Bucknell single-game marks when he rushed for 282 yards against Cornell on September 16, and then set an additional Bucknell record (200-yd games in a season) when he topped the 200-yard plateau for the second time against Duquesne two weeks later.
With a season yet to play in the Orange and Blue, Powell ranks fifth on the school's all-time rushing list with 2,246 yards. That total places him 16th on the league's all-time chart. In the category of all-purpose yardage, he ranks third on Bucknell's career list with 3,581 yards and tied for 13th on the Patriot League chart.
Lundberg, an All-Patriot League Second Team selection, shared the place-kicking duties as a freshman, but entering the 2000 season he took control of the job and wound up having one of the best years ever by a Bison kicker. In fact, after a slow start in which he missed his first two attempts at Richmond, Lundberg rebounded to set a school record with 13 field goals this season. On two occasions he connected on three field goal attempts in a single game, and five times during the year he made at least two field goals in a game.
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Lundberg connected on a career-long 47-yarder in the Orange and Blue's Homecoming win over Fordham. He finished second in the league and tied for 17th nationally with an average of 1.18 field goals per game. Lundberg connected on 13-of-17 attempts during the year, and in fairness to him, the snaps were poor on two of his four misses.
With 62 points (39 on FGs and 23 on PATs), he ranked second on the team and sixth in the league in scoring (5.6) this fall. That total also ranks tied for second on the Bucknell single-season kick-scoring list. After two seasons of play, Lundberg has 15 field goals and a total of 95 points.
