Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Defense Looks Strong in 39-13 Spring Football Game Victory
4/30/2005 8:00:00 AM | Football
April 30, 2005
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell Blue team parlayed two defensive touchdowns into a 39-13 victory over the Orange-clad offensive unit in Saturday's annual spring football game at damp Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
The offense versus defense format featured a special scoring system in which the offense could score points in traditional ways - six for a touchdown, three for a field goal and one or two for a conversion - while the defense was awarded a point for a stop, two for a three-and-out stop, three for a turnover and six for a touchdown.
Leading just 13-10 at the half, the defense produced four second-half turnovers, including a 39-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by defensive lineman Brandon Bailey and a 51-yard fumble return TD by linebacker James Lachman. Cornerback David Frisbey's fumble recovery opened the second-half scoring, giving the defense a 16-10 lead, and Bailey's score on the next series made it 23-10.
Later in the third quarter linebacker Matt Palermo intercepted a pass to make it 29-10, and after Ryan Korn's 39-yard field goal, his second trey of the day, Lachman picked an option pitch out of mid-air and went untouched into the end zone for a commanding 36-13 lead.
Three straight stops to open the game gave the defense a 5-0 lead, but two straight scoring drives put the Orange team in front for the first time. Fullback Josh DeStefano, Bucknell's top rookie performer this past fall, scored on a 19-yard TD run with 12 seconds left in the first quarter. Korn made it a 10-5 lead for the offense with a 31-yard field goal on the next possession.
But the defense closed the half with four straight three-and-outs to take a 13-10 halftime lead.
DeStefano took nearly every snap at fullback with Blamah Sarnor sidelined with a hamstring injury. DeStefano topped the 100-yard rushing mark, highlighted by a 31-yard run in the second half. Slotback Kenny Davis had a 33-yard scamper early in the contest, setting up Korn's first field goal, while Peter Kaufman and Cameron O'Reilly also contributed from the slot position.
Bison rookies Terrance Wilson and Ryan Ahern alternated at quarterback, but an energetic performance from the defense left them little room to operate. Sean Conover, Michael Hardman, Craig Kostelic and Brandon Friday all had sacks, while linebackers Palermo, Lachman, Ryan Slater and Peter Salvatore were in on numerous tackles. Safeties Stephen College and John Thomson also had standout performances.
"It's been a lot of fun watching these guys improve throughout this spring," said head coach Tim Landis. "Today the coaching staff got a chance to see a lot of guys under game conditions, and there were some outstanding performances on both sides of the ball. I thought there was a lot of spirit and energy out there."
Prior to the contest outside the stadium, there was a special tree-planting ceremony in honor of Mark Oppong, the Bucknell freshman defensive lineman who tragically passed away after a brief illness earlier this spring. At halftime, most of the incoming freshman class was introduced to the crowd.
Bucknell has one practice remaining in spring camp, that coming on Monday afternoon. The team will begin preparing for its 2005 season opener on Sept. 3 against Patriot League rival Georgetown at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
