Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Football Looks to Stay Perfect at Home
11/14/2003 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 14, 2003
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Bucknell closes out its 2003 campaign with a pair of home contests beginning this week with Patriot League power Lehigh. The Bison, who are 3-0 at home this season, are looking to snap a five-game losing streak to the Mountain Hawks. Both teams were in the Patriot League title chase until suffering disappointing losses last week. Lehigh entered last week's game at Colgate in a tie for first with the Raiders at 4-0 in the PL but let a 10-0 lead slip away and fell 17-10 in Hamilton, N.Y. The Bison at 3-1 were just a game out of first place before losing 35-17 at Lafayette.
* WILSON PROBABLE STARTER THIS WEEK: Despite seeing only a handful of snaps in practice last week, junior QB Daris Wilson saw enough improvement in his injured ankle to start the second half against Lafayette last week. He completed 7 of 9 passes for 91 yards and a TD, and barring a setback in practice this week, Wilson is listed as the probable starter for the Lehigh game. Junior QB John Henry Jackson, who had a great game in relief of Wilson in the 53-31 win over Holy Cross, was unavailable last week due to an injury suffered in practice. Jackson should be ready if needed this week.
* TOUGH TEST FOR THE OFFENSE: Bucknell this week faces one of the Patriot League's best and most experienced defenses. Lehigh, which starts six seniors and three juniors, ranks second in the league and in the top-20 nationally in both total defense (302.1) and scoring defense (18.4). The Mountain Hawks have allowed more than 20 points only three times all season, and last year in Bethlehem they pitched a 24-0 shutout against the Bison.
* RECORD WATCH - Ryan Korn: Bucknell freshman K Ryan Korn is just one field goal away from the school single-season record. Korn has a dozen trifectas in 16 attempts this season. Chris Lundberg set the record of 13 during an all-conference season in 2000. Al Yuknus, who owns the Bucknell career record (37), also had 12 field goals in 1981.
* STOP, THIEF!: Bucknell's 19 interceptions this season is one of the top marks in program history. The 1951 team, which posted a perfect 9-0 record, recorded 29 interceptions. No team since then has recorded more than 21 in a season.
Year INT
1951 29
1983 21
1990 21
2000 21
1996 19
2003 19
1971 18
1987 18
* RANSOME NOTES: Bucknell junior LB Kevin Ransome last week eclipsed the 100-tackle mark for the first time in his career. It is the 36th time a Bucknell player has accomplished the feat and the first since Vince Ficca had 102 in 2000. Ransome is currently tied for 22nd on Bucknell's single-season tackle chart with 107.
Player Tackles Season Player Tackles Season
1. Paul Havrilla 161 1984 19. Scott Gilleland 109 1988
2. Mark Wisniewski 154 1985 19. Russ Strohecker 109 1992
3. Pete Davies 149 1984 21. Jeff Miller 108 1981
4. Rob Bird 144 1995 22. Kevin Ransome 107 2003
5. Joe Catalano 137 1980 22. Mike Augsberger 107 1988
6. Scott Somerville 133 1984 24. Dave Hibbard 106 1980
6. Willie Hill 133 1997 25. Glen MacGibbon 105 1981
8. Glen MacGibbon 132 1982 26. Dan Zappa 104 1992
9. Brandon Little 129 1996 26. Todd Jessup 104 1993
10. Joel Kreider 128 1979 26. Shawn Redd 104 1999
11. Andy Henry 124 1988 29. Mark Miller 103 1995
12. Pete Mauritz 118 1980 30. Willie Hill 102 1996
13. Mark Wisniewski 117 1984 30. Vince Ficca 102 2000
13. Russ Strohecker 117 1993 32. Dave Mann 101 1980
15. Ken Durr 114 1981 32. Ron Clark 101 1983
15. Greg Schiano 114 1986 32. Scott Lillis 101 1985
17. Dave Henry 112 1985 32. Ed Burman 101 1995
18. John Spatafore 111 1991 36. John Spatafore 100 1988
* HOME COOKING: Now 3-0 at home this season, Bucknell has a stellar 303-143-13 (.674) record at home, including a 33-13 (.717) mark in games played at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since 1995. Bucknell, which plays its final two games of the season at home, has not lost a non-conference home game since 1996, a 30-21 overtime loss to Pennsylvania. The Bison have won 15 straight against non-Patriot League foes at Mathewson Stadium, but they will have to wait until 2004 to face another non-league opponent in Lewisburg.
* GROUND FORCES: Bucknell's 2,309 rushing yards are third-most in school history, and the most since 1952 (2374). The 1951 Bison team that posted a perfect 9-0 record set the all-time rushing mark with 2,909 yards. The 2003 Bison need to average 300.0 yards over the final two games to eclipse that record.
* ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Bucknell last week played its seventh and final away game of the season, marking the team's busiest road calender since 1997. The Bison were 2-5 away from home in 2003, with wins coming at Delaware State and Fordham.
* DANTE'S INFERNO: While Dante Hall of the Kansas City Chiefs has taken the NFL by storm this season with a flurry of spectacular returns, another Dante with a four-letter last name is making his mark in the Patriot League. Bucknell sophomore DB Dante Ross currently ranks ninth in the nation in kickoff returns with a 28.2 average, and he also ranks ninth in I-AA in punt returns with a 14.2 average. Ross returned a punt 46 yards for a touchdown against Cornell earlier this season, and he nearly took a kickoff back for a score against Holy Cross but was knocked out of bounds at the 10-yard line after a career-long 81-yard sprint. He also had a 49-yard kickoff return last week, and both long runs set up go-ahead touchdowns for the Bison. Ross' 130 KO return yards ranks 5th on Bucknell's single-game list.
* TURNOVERS ARE KEY TO SUCCESS: Through 10 games, one statistic that can clearly be viewed as a difference maker is turnover margin. The Bison rank sixth in the country in takeaways with 30, sixth in turnover margin (+13) and third in interceptions (19). In five victories the Bison have a +15 ratio (21 takeaways, 6 miscues), while in the four losses they are just -2 (9 takeaways, 11 turnovers). Bucknell recorded seven takeaways against Fordham, their most since a 29-22 win over Columbia in 1992.
* CENTURY DUOS: For the first time since 1952, Bucknell earlier this season featured a pair of 100-yard rushers in consecutive games. At Cornell, RB Raphael Darrington ran for 107 yards on only nine carries, while QB Daris Wilson carried 24 times for 106 yards. The previous game against Delaware State, RB Frank Lazio and Wilson both topped the 100-yard rushing plateau. Prior to this season, the double-century feat had been done only twice in the last 23 years at Bucknell. It has now been done 19 times in school history, with the famed "Touchdown Twins" - Burt Talmadge and Brad Myers - accomplishing it eight times.
