Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Team Wraps Up 2005 Season Saturday vs. Holy Cross
11/17/2005 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 17, 2005
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The Bison put a lid on the 2005 season this Saturday when Patriot League rival Holy Cross visits Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff. Prior to the game, Bucknell will honor its senior class and unveil a monument in honor of legendary coach Bob Odell. On the field, the Bison look to snap a six-game losing streak and finish the year on a positive note. Holy Cross, at one time in the thick of the Patriot League race after a 5-2 start, has lost three in a row, including its home finale to Lafayette (41-21) last week.
TOURING THE HERD
• ON THE SIDELINE: Taking over the Bison after a 2-9 season, head coach Tim Landis posted 6-6 and 7-4 records in his first two years at Bucknell, leading the Bison to a pair of third-place finishes in the Patriot League. Landis is now 67-71-1 (.486) in his career, which also includes head coaching stints at Davidson (1993-99) and St. Mary's (2000-02). Landis is 2-1 in his career against Holy Cross (2-0 at Bucknell and 0-1 at St. Mary's).
• THE OFFENSE: Injuries in the backfield have severely hindered Bucknell's spread option attack. The Bison have started four different quarterbacks and have used five players at the position this season, while standout FB Blamah Sarnor was injured late in the second quarter of the season opener against Georgetown and is sidelined for the season. As Dante Ross has adjusted to the QB position, Bucknell's offense has improved steadily in recent weeks.
• UNDER CENTER: The Bison were jarred by injuries to two of their promising young quarterbacks this season. Sophomore Terrance Wilson started the opener against Georgetown and played well, but he suffered a broken jaw in that game and is likely out for the rest of the season. In week two at Stony Brook, Mahdi Woodard became the first freshman to start at QB for Bucknell since 1992, but he too was sidelined after taking a blow to the head late in the first half. Sophomore Ryan Ahern played the second half at Stony Brook, then became the third Bison starting QB in as many weeks at Cornell. Ahern also started against Marist, but he alternated with senior Dante Ross, who turned in a storybook performance in the win over the Red Foxes. Ross, normally a cornerback and kick returner, ran for 268 yards and three TDs, setting Bucknell and PL records for ground yards by a QB. Ross has started the last six weeks and will do so again Saturday against Holy Cross.
• BACKS & RECEIVERS: Bucknell also had a significant injury in the backfield on opening night, as senior FB Blamah Sarnor missed the second half with a foot injury and remains out. Sophomore Josh DeStefano moved from slotback to fullback, with juniors Kenny Davis and Peter Kaufman starting at the slots. Davis has been limited to only a few series the last three weeks due to an injury, with freshman Kadero Watson entering the starting lineup. Watson had 56 rushing yards and 81 receiving yards, including a TD, against Lafayette three weeks ago and was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week. Freshman WR Daniel Zvara had his best game as a Bison against Lehigh, with four receptions for 107 yards, and he leads the team with 14 catches on the season.
• THE O-LINE: Last week the Bison battled Colgate without two regular starers on the offensive line. Senior center Stephen Watts (stinger) and junior right tackle Michael Boccella (ankle) were both sidelined by injury. Sophomore Jonathan Grainger, just a week after moving from defensive line to offensive line, made his first start at right guard four weeks ago. Senior Eric Becker replaced Boccella at tackle and junior Joel Hoffer made his third start of the year at center last week. Junior left guard Stefan Niemczyk is the only lineman who has started every game this season.
• THE DEFENSE: Bucknell turned in perhaps its best defensive showing of the season last week at Colgate. The Bison held the Raiders without a touchdown until the fourth quarter, but the Raiders ultimately prevailed 16-10. The Bison have 26 takeaways in 10 games, including 18 interceptions by 10 different players.
• DEFENSIVE FRONT: Bucknell has a deep, veteran defensive line, led by All-America DE Sean Conover. Conover had his best game of the season against Villanova, recording four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Fellow senior DE Brandon Bailey replaced injured classmate Andrew Decker in the starting lineup and has four sacks to lead the team. ILBs Ryan Slater and Dorian Petersen have been all over the field this season. The duo ranks 1-2 on the team in tackles with 79 and 78, respectively.
• DEFENSIVE SECONDARY: Ross had been the cornerstone of the secondary, but he has not played at all on defense in the last five games after making the permanent switch to quarterback. Instead, freshman CB Devon Lutz has taken over the starting role. Sophomore FS Stephen Collage had a career-high 15 tackles at Cornell and ranks third on the squad with 66 on the year. Junior CB David Frisbey is also having a solid season and is tied for the team lead with three interceptions.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: Ross has become one of the Patriot League's premier return men and is the reigning PL Special Teams Player of the Year. He is averaging 10.3 yards per punt return and 22.8 yards per kickoff return this season, despite the fact that opponents have been reluctant to kick to him. Freshman P Phil Azarik returned two weeks ago after missing six games with mono. Freshman K Will Carney has taken over the kicking duties and is 5-for-7 on field goals, including a 42-yarder against Villanova and a 43-yarder against Lehigh. Bucknell has blocked six kicks this season, including David Frisbey's field goal block last week against Colgate.
BISON FOOTBALL NOTES & NOTABLES
• WRAPPING THINGS UP: Bucknell concludes its 2005 season this week. The last time Bucknell and Holy Cross played in a season finale was 1989 (a 35-6 Crusader victory). The Bison have won their last two season-enders, defeating Georgetown 45-16 in 2003 and Duquesne 30-20 last season. This week Bucknell hopes to avoid its first-ever 10-loss season.
• SENIOR SALUTE: The Bucknell football program this week will pay tribute to 16 seniors who will be competing for the final time. Prior to the game the team will honor DL Brandon Bailey, OL Eric Becker, K Ryan Bower, DL Jacob Burney, DL Sean Conover, RB Kenny Davis, DL Andrew Decker, LB James Lachman, DL Jeff Orazi, DL Chris Praylo, QB/DB Dante Ross, RB Blamah Sarnor, OL Craig Swanson and OL Stephen Watts. Also recognized will be two seniors whose playing careers were cut short by injury -- Mike Treston and Zach Richards -- but who have remained with the program as student assistants.
• REMEMBERING COACH ODELL: Bob Odell, who coached at Bucknell from 1958-64 and led the Bison to Lambert Cup titles in 1960 and 1964, will also be honored prior to the Holy Cross game. A special monument will be unveiled in the closed end of Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, recognizing the accomplishments of one of Bucknell's all-time great coaches. Odell was inducted into the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Bucknell head football coach position is named in his honor.
• A FRIENDLY FACE RETURNS: A major factor in Holy Cross' turnaround this season has been the addition of Dave Kotulski as defensive coordinator. Kotulski served in the same capacity at Bucknell from 1995-2002, and he was named acting head coach in 2002 while Tom Gadd was ill. He was known at Bucknell for his stellar defenses and coached 32 All-Patriot League defensive players, five All-Americans and two PL Defensive Players of the Year in eight seasons.
• TRIO NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM: Three Bucknell student-athletes -- OL Mike Boccella, K Ryan Bower and DB David Frisbey -- were named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District team last week. Boccella, a junior, is an American history major with an education minor and has a 3.66 cumulative grade-point average. Bower, a senior, is an electrical engineering major with a physics minor and has a stellar 3.88 GPA. Frisbey, a junior, carries a 3.54 GPA and is majoring in management (finance) with a minor in Spanish.
• LAST WEEK: Bucknell turned in arguably its best defensive performance of the season last week against Colgate, but the Raiders rallied from a 10-3 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Bison 16-10. Bucknell went ahead on the game's very first play from scrimmage on a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown by LB Dorian Petersen. The Bison led 7-3 after a turnover-filled first half (Bucknell lost four fumbles and Colgate had three turnovers in the first half), and they led 10-3 after Will Carney's 32-yard field goal late in the third quarter. But QB Mike Saraceno tied it at 10-10 with a 27-yard TD run on 4th-and-2 with 13:03 to play, and Saraceno hit Kenny Parker on a 7-yard TD pass with 7:13 left that put Colgate ahead to stay.
• MORE FROM COLGATE: Bucknell forced four turnovers, but committed five of its own ... QB Dante Ross led Bucknell with 98 rushing yards on 27 carries ... he was 6-for-14 passing for 32 yards ... the Bison limited the Raiders to 14 first downs, 303 total yards and a 2-for-5 showing in the red zone ... LB Ryan Slater made a team-high nine tackles, while Petersen had seven tackles to go with his first career TD ... Petersen recorded his 200th career tackle ... DB David Frisbey intercepted his third pass of the season and also blocked a field goal on the last play of the first half ... LB Matt Palermo forced a fumble and recovered two fumbles ... FB Kevin Mullen made his first career start ... RB Peter Kaufman had a 36-yard run, the team's third-longest of the season.
• MILESTONE WATCH: Dante Ross needs 43 all-purpose yards for 3,000 in his career ... Ross needs 162 all-purpose yards for the No. 5 spot on Bucknell's single-season list ... Ross needs 235 rushing yards for 1,000 this season and 197 rushing yards for the No. 10 spot on Bucknell's season chart ... Sean Conover needs half a sack to move into fifth place on the school's career list.
• SWITCHING SIDES: Due to injuries on the offensive side of the ball, the Bucknell coaching staff has been forced to juggle a number of defensive players on offense this season. In fact, four players who opened the season at a defensive position have scored offensive touchdowns in 2005. Dante Ross has received the most press for his switch from cornerback to quarterback, and he has rushed for seven touchdowns and thrown for three this season. Sean Conover, the reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, has played some at tight end in recent weeks and caught a touchdown pass against Lafayette. Freshman Kevin Mullen moved from linebacker to fullback after Blamah Sarnor was injured early in the season, and Mullen scored his first collegiate TD on a 24-yard run two weeks ago against Fordham. Sophomore DL Ryan Walsh ran for a touchdown against Stony Brook in week two. Walsh is still a starter on defense, but he occasionally comes in on the team's goal line package on offense.
• ZVARA TRYING TO CATCH HISTORY: Only one Bucknell freshman has ever led the team in receptions in a season, but rookie WR Daniel Zvara has a chance to become the second. With one game to play, Zvara leads the team with 14 catches, one more than RB Josh DeStefano and five more than RB Peter Kaufman. The only other Bison freshman to post the most catches was Mike Guerrini (44) in 1987.
• PICKS GALORE: Bucknell has 18 interceptions in 10 games this season. The Bison rank T-4th in Division I-AA in that category, trailing only Wagner (21), Davidson (19) and Eastern Illinois (19). Youngstown State and Eastern Kentucky also have 18. The team record for interceptions in a season is 29 by the undefeated 1951 squad. Bucknell this season has more interceptions than passing touchdowns allowed (14).
• AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS: Dante Ross ranks sixth among all active Division I-AA players in career kickoff return average (26.4). He also ranks seventh in punt return yards (730) and 11th in punt return average (10.6). Also, Ross' 268-yard performance against Marist is the fourth-best rushing total in the nation this season, behind only the 356-yard effort by Portland State's Joe Rubin against Northern Colorado, the 310 yards by Murray State's Stevie Chaney against Austin Peay, and the 272 yards posted by Pierre Rembert of Illinois State against Missouri State.
• AMONG THE PATRIOT LEAGUE LEADERS: QB Dante Ross ranks fifth in the Patriot League in rushing at 76.5 yards per game, despite not playing offense until the third week of the season. Ross also ranks fourth in the PL in total yards (141.9), second in all-purpose yards (130.2) and ninth in scoring (4.2). LB Ryan Slater is seventh in the PL in tackles (79), while LB Dorian Petersen is ninth (78). DL Brandon Bailey is tied for fifth in sacks (4) and eighth in tackles for loss (8). Petersen and DB David Frisbey are tied for third in passes defended (10). Petersen, Frisbey and LB Matt Palermo are tied for third in interceptions with three each, one off the league lead.
• ONE MORE POSITION FOR THE RESUME: Just in case he hadn't played enough positions this season, Dante Ross has also made a handful of appearances as a punter in recent weeks, marking the first time since high school that he had done that in a game. So in 2005 Ross has now run the ball, thrown a pass, caught a pass, intercepted a pass, returned a punt, returned a kickoff, made a tackle, blocked a field goal, forced a fumble and punted.
• YOUTH IS SERVED: Bucknell's two-deep features 23 first or second-year players this week. Of the 34 freshmen on the Bison roster, 20 have seen varsity action this season.
