Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Preseason Camp Report #4
8/19/2004 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 19, 2004
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BISON LOOK SHARP IN FIRST PRESEASON SCRIMMAGE
LEWISBURG, Pa. -- As the Bison football team hit the two-week countdown prior to its season-opener at Villanova, head coach Tim Landis was enthusiastic following his squad's first intrasquad scrimmage of the preseason. The workout consisted of 80 plays, and Bucknell's first-team offense and defense both looked sharp.
"We will have to go back and break down the film, but I thought it was a very productive workout. I was impressed by the crispness for a first-time scrimmage," said Landis just after the session. "There were some big plays on offense and some big hits on defense. I thought the offense did a good job taking care of the ball, and there were very few penalties."
Landis also raved about the play of many of the rookies, who received plenty of reps during the scrimmage. "It was great to see some of those guys get out there and make plays," Landis said. "After two weeks of practice, I think the guys had some fun out there."
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE PRODUCES THREE LONG DRIVES
Bucknell's first-team offense conducted three full-field drives, twice starting from its own 30-yard line and once from the 20, and drove into the red zone each time. With Daris Wilson and John Henry Jackson alternating at quarterback, the Bison drove to the 15-yard line before settling for a Ryan Korn 33-yard field goal on its first possession. Sophomore slotback Peter Kaufman ran 18 yards on the very first play, and Jackson's 11-yard pass to Mike Cangelosi moved them into scoring position. A holding penalty nullified a Jackson 16-yard touchdown run, however, and stalled the drive.
Junior fullback Blamah Sarnor was the story on the first-team offense's second possession. His runs of 25 and 36 yards set the offense up at the 2-yard line, and Wilson scampered in from there to complete a four-play, 70-yard scoring drive. On the ensuing drive, senior slotback Frank Lazio had a nifty 22-yard run and Jackson hit Kaufman for a 19-yard pass to move the offense to the 15-yard line. Freshman Roosevelt Davis caught a swing pass and appeared headed for the end zone, but as he reached for the left pylon he lost control of the ball and fumbled through the end zone for a touchback. It was one of only two turnovers on the day for the offense, the other coming on a fumbled snap.
OFFENSIVE RESERVES ALSO GET CHANCE TO SHINE
While the first-team offense was productive, the second and third-teamers had plenty of good moments, as well. Starting from its own 35 against the first-team defense, the scout offense drove as far as the 3-yard line before settling for Korn's second of two field goals, a 29-yarder. A nifty 15-yard scramble on 3rd-and-12 by freshman QB Terrance Wilson kept the drive alive, and Davis had a nice 12-yard run for a first down.
Later, against a team of reserve defenders, the offensive backups put two touchdowns on the board, both coming on acrobatic touchdown catches by players who were moved to wide receiver from other positions just this week. First it was sophomore Josh Kaehler, formerly a QB, reaching back to tip a pass to himself for a 19-yard TD reception from Terrance Wilson. Then on the next series, Andrew Guadagno, who just moved over from the defensive side of the ball, caught a 35-yard TD pass between two defenders on a nice pass from Cole Ciesnolevicz. Guadagno also made a diving catch on an out pass from Ryan Ahern earlier in the scrimmage.
DEFENSE MAKES MARK WITH NUMEROUS BRUISING HITS
The Bison first-team defense allowed just a field goal in a performance marked by several hard hits. Senior linebacker Kevin Ransome delivered a punishing blow on the third play of the day, and senior defensive tackle Corey Mayo was in the backfield a number of times early in the session.
Senior linebacker Jeffrey Montagna, junior defensive end Andrew Decker, senior free safety Virgil Rush, freshman linebacker Ryan Slater, freshman defensive tackle Brandon Friday and sophomore linebacker Dorian Petersen also made noteworthy defensive plays throughout the day.
Montagna sacked Terrance Wilson for a 9-yard loss on 3rd-and-goal from the 3-yard line, forcing a field-goal attempt. Mayo had tackles for losses of 7 and 5 yards, and Petersen had a stop for a 7-yard loss. Junior defensive tackle Chris Praylo recovered a fumble on a muffed snap.
ONE MORE INTRASQUAD SCRIMMAGE TO COME NEXT THURSDAY
In keeping with a weekly game routine leading up to the Thursday-night season-opener at Villanova in two weeks, the Bison will conduct another intrasquad scrimmage next Thursday evening.
Tim Landis indicated that scrimmage may feature more first-team offense vs. first-team defense in order to get Bucknell more "fastball" looks. That is always a tricky dilemma for the Bison coaching staff. One one hand Landis wants his defense to go up against the offense's fastest players, but conversely it is not very practical for his defense to practice against the spread option offense, a system it will not see all season.
FIRST LEWISBURG TOUCHDOWN CLUB LUNCHEON SLATED FOR SEPT. 7
The first meeting of the Lewisburg Touchdown Club will be Tuesday, Sept. 7 at the Lewisburg Hotel. Following a buffet lunch, Tim Landis will review the Villanova game and introduce his players of the week as well as the local high school player and coach of the week. Call 570-577-1771 for more information.
BISON BRIEFS -- MORE FROM THURSDAY'S SCRIMMAGE
Third-string QB Cole Ciesnolevicz engineered a terrific scoring drive of eight plays, covering 70 yards ... Ciesnolevicz had runs of 9, 7 and 12 yards on the series and finished it with the 35-yard scoring strike to Andrew Guadagno ... freshman DB John Thompson had excellent coverage on a long aerial attempt late in the scrimmage ... freshmen defenders Brandon Friday and Doug Mackenzie teamed for a loud hit on a screen pass, resulting in a no-gain ... senior FB Anthony Lovelace received extra reps when sophomore Rich Bennett went out with a sprained ankle on the first play of the day ... Lovelace had several tough runs, including a 10-yard gain, and also received praise from the coaches for his blocking ... Bucknell's young offensive linemen also protected well ... in a goal-line offense setup at the end of the scrimmage, QB Daris Wilson made two terrific bootleg fakes, one resulting in a 6-yard TD pass to FB Blamah Sarnor, the other in an easy 9-yard scoring run ... freshman LB Bryan Czop had a tackle for a 3-yard loss during the goal-line drill ... QB Ryan Ahern hit WR Ian Nutt for a 3-yard TD pass during the same drill.
