Bucknell University
Lafayette
Bucknell Holds Off Lafayette 17-16
10/13/2001 8:00:00 AM | Football
EASTON, Pa. - Jim Horan's acrobatic 33-yard touchdown catch with 11:08 remaining in the fourth quarter paved the way for Bucknell's come-from-behind 17-16 victory over Lafayette Saturday before 4,521 at Fisher Field.
The victory was the fourth straight for Bucknell (4-1, 2-0 Patriot League), but it did not come nearly as easily its two previous wins when the Bison outscored St. Mary's and Towson by a combined margin of 73 points.
Lafayette (1-4, 0-2 Patriot League) took a 13-10 lead into the fourth, but quarterback Marko Glavic fumbled at his own 28-yard line with 11:40 remaining to set up the Bucknell score. Two plays after the miscue, Bison quarterback Todd Wenrich lofted a pass along the right sideline, and Horan out-jumped two defenders for the ball at the 11-yard line before tip-toeing into the end zone.
Lafayette made it 17-16 on Martin Brecht's 36-yard field goal and drove into Bucknell territory on its next possession, but linebacker Stefan Pluviose intercepted a Glavic pass at the 33 with 10 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Bucknell thought it had stopped the Leopards on 4th-and-8 earlier in the series, but a pass interference penalty kept the drive alive.
Lafayette amassed 386 total yards to Bucknell's 238, but the Bison defense came through in the clutch. Bucknell forced six turnovers (three interceptions, three fumbles) and held the Leopards to field goals three times in the red zone. Bucknell's defense has 16 takeaways in the last three weeks.
Jabu Powell's 8-yard touchdown run with 25 seconds left in the opening quarter gave the Bison a 7-3 lead. After Brecht's second of three field goals cut it to 7-6 in the waning seconds of the opening half, Bucknell's Chris Lundberg answered with a season-long 42-yard boot to make it 10-6 late in the third quarter.
Lafayette took its first lead of the day on the final play of the third quarter when Chad Ritchie scored from 1 yard out. That was the first touchdown allowed by Bucknell's first string defense since the third quarter against Columbia, a span of 12 quarters.
Wenrich was 16-of-26 for 152 yards and one touchdown. Glavic was 21-of-35 for 269 yards but was intercepted three times with no touchdowns.
Despite scoring his team-leading sixth touchdown of the year, Powell was held to 49 yards on 15 carries, and he exited the game in the fourth quarter with a rib injury. The Bison backfield was dealt another blow when Jason Marrow, in only his second game back after a hamstring ailment, hobbled off the field in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
The Bison host Georgetown on Homecoming next Saturday at 1 p.m.
