Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Goes for Winning Streak against Penn on Homecoming
10/3/2006 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 3, 2006
What: Bucknell vs. Penn
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium
When: Saturday, Oct. 7, 1 p.m.
Promotions: Homecoming; Hall of Fame Day
Tickets // Game Notes
Bucknell has alternated wins and losses through five games in 2006, and the Bison look to make their first streak of the season a winning one when Penn comes to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium this Saturday. Bucknell improved to 3-2 with a resounding 48-19 victory at Marist last week. Meanwhile the Quakers, who have been the team to beat in the Ivy League for the better part of a decade, are 2-1 after last week's conference win over Dartmouth.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BISON
• ON THE SIDELINE: Tim Landis is in his fourth season at the helm of the Bucknell grid program. Landis is now 70-74-1 (.486) in his career, which also includes head coaching stints at Davidson (1993-99) and St. Mary's (2000-02), and 17-22 (.436) in three-plus seasons with the Bison. Landis is 0-3 against Penn as a head coach.
• THE OFFENSE: After suffering a shutout against Lafayette on Sept. 9, Bucknell has totaled 89 points in the last three contests, including 48 last week at Marist, to become the Patriot League's top scoring team at 24.0 points per game. Bucknell ranks first in the Patriot League and second nationally in rushing (267.8) and 4th/65th in total offense (322.2). Bucknell's 390-yard, 48-point performance last week came without the benefit of a completed pass.
• UNDER CENTER: With starter Andrew Lair out indefinitely with a broken collarbone and junior backup Terrance Wilson doubtful this week with an injury, freshman QB Marcello Trigg could be next in line to start. Wilson engineered the offense very well last week against Marist. He spread the ball around and helped the Bison put up 28 first-half points, their most since 2003. Trigg entered in the third quarter and led the Bison on three scoring drives, one of which he capped with a 1-yard TD run, his first career score.
• BACKS & RECEIVERS: Bucknell is also a bit depleted at running back, where FB Paul Forcellini and SB Rashod Bumpers have both been lost with ACL injuries. Fortunately, the Bison are deep in the backfield, particularly with the addition to the lineup of exciting freshman SB A.J. Kizekai, who has three touchdowns and 139 yards on his first nine collegiate carries. Last week at Marist the Bison got 192 yards from its three fullbacks. Josh DeStefano ran for a career-high 101 yards on only 10 carries, Corin Erby had 47 of his 50 on a long fourth-quarter TD scamper, and Kevin Mullen had 41 yards on seven carries. WR Alex Odenbach continues to lead the team in receptions with six.
• THE O-LINE: This is Bucknell's most veteran position group, with all five starters and the two top reserves either juniors or seniors with game experience. The regular lineup consists of co-captain Stefan Niemczyk (LG) starting alongside Chad Glasser (LT), Joel Hoffer (C), Jonathan Grainger (RG) and Michael Anthony (RT). Senior Michael Boccella, a starter in eight games last season, also plays at the tackle spots.
• THE DEFENSE: Bucknell's young defense has yielded a league-high 442.8 yards per game thus far, although last week the Bison held Marist to 37 rushing yards and 283 total yards.
• DEFENSIVE FRONT: The team's biggest question mark entering the season, the new-look defensive line, featuring three first-year starters has made some plays in the first five games but is still looking for improvement, particularly against the run, when the Bison are allowing 183.2 yards per game. The heart and soul of the Bucknell defense is the linebacker unit, led by senior co-captain Dorian Petersen, freshman Sam Nana-Sinkam and junior Ryan Slater. That trio ranks 1-2-3 on the team and 2-6-7 in the Patriot League with 50, 43 and 41 hits, respectively, through five games. Freshman DE Josh Eden had two of Bucknell's season-high four sacks last week. DE Todd Rinaldo and DT Brandon Friday had the others.
• DEFENSIVE SECONDARY: Landis and defensive coordinator Jared Backus did some shuffling in the secondary three weeks ago, moving safety Matt Palermo to cornerback and inserting promising freshman safety Brigham Farrand into the starting lineup for the first time. Farrand responded well, tying Petersen for game-high honors with 11 tackles, and he intercepted a pass on the Bucknell 1-yard line and also recovered a fumble against Cornell. Senior DB David Frisbey continues to play very well. He had a team-high nine tackles last week, while DB Stephen Collage intercepted his first pass of the season.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: Bucknell continues to shine in all facets of the special teams (see p. 4 for more on the special teams). P Phil Azarik had another 40+ average last week at Marist, and he leads the Patriot League and ranks 12th nationally with a 41.5 average. K Will Carney is 3-for-4 on field goals and 15-for-15 on PATs this season. Bucknell's kickoff and punt coverage have been excellent thus far. PR Nolan Applegate was able to pick up some decent yardage last week at Marist. He averaged 12.4 yards on seven attempts, including a career-long 17-yard return, and Applegate now ranks third in the league at 9.7 yards per attempt.
BISON FOOTBALL NOTES & NOTABLES
• With a victory over Penn, Bucknell would ...
• ... snap a three-game losing streak to the Quakers and improve to 6-26 all-time in a series that dates back to 1895.
• ... defeat Penn at home for the first time since 1997.
• ... improve to 4-2 in a season, which would be its best start since 2001.
• ... improve to 3-1 at home and 4-1 in non-conference play.
• ... post back-to-back wins for the first time since finishing the 2004 season with a four-game winning streak.
• LAST WEEK: Bucknell's option attack was in full gear, as the Bison racked up 390 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in a 48-19 rout of Marist on Saturday, snapping a seven-game road losing streak. Bucknell sprinted to a 28-0 second-quarter lead and never looked back. (see p. 15 for recap and boxscore).
• END ZONE BONANZA: Bucknell piled up 48 points against Marist last week, the team's highest total since a 53-31 victory over Holy Cross on Nov. 1, 2003. It was the team's largest offensive output on the road since way back on Oct. 10, 1964, when Bucknell routed Ohio Wesleyan 72-0 en route to a 7-2 season and the Lambert Cup.
• ALL ON THE GROUND: Bucknell piled up 390 total yards last week against Marist, every one of them coming on the ground. The Bison attempted four passes, not including a fifth that resulted in a key defensive pass interference call that led to a touchdown. Bucknell hardly needed to throw the ball, though, with the option attack gobbling up 8.7 yards per carry.
• MORE ROOKIE HONORS: If it's not clear just how much of an impact the class of 2010 is making this season, just check out the list of Patriot League Rookie of the Week honorees for 2006. Through five weeks, Bucknell has claimed the honor four times ... and by four different players. RB A.J. Kizekai became the latest to win the honor on Monday, following his two-touchdown performance against Marist. Previously, RB Rashod Bumpers won for his 126-yard rushing effort against Duquesne in the season opener; Brigham Farrand was honored after finishing with 11 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in his first career start against Cornell; and Sam Nana-Sinkam won after posting 11 tackles in a loss to No. 7 Richmond.
• KIZEKAI MAKES QUITE A SPLASH: RB A.J. Kizekai is certainly off to quite a start to his collegiate career. A nagging injury kept him out for a large chunk of preseason camp, setting back his progress a bit, but he made his collegiate debut in the fourth quarter at No. 7 Richmond and scored a 36-yard touchdown on his very first carry. He came off the bench again last week at Marist and scored a pair of 35-yard TD runs in the second quarter to help stake the Bison to a 28-0 lead. In just five quarters, he now has 9 carries for 139 yards and three TDs. He is already tied for the team lead in touchdowns and fourth in rushing yards on only those nine touches.
• IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED: WR Daniel Zvara capped Bucknell's first drive of last week's game with a 51-yard touchdown on a reverse handoff. It was his third career rushing play. The previous two netted a total of minus-8 yards.
• WINNING THE FIELD POSITION BATTLE: A major factor in last week's victory was Bucknell's dominance of the field position battle, which was something that worked against them the previous week in a loss to No. 7 Richmond. Against Marist, Bucknell's average starting position was at its own 45-yard line, while Marist's was at its own 22. P Phil Azarik and DB David Frisbey both had a lot to do with that. Azarik had another fine afternoon, averaging 40.7 yards on six punts, with two dropped inside the 20. Frisbey, Bucknell's kick cover man extraordinnaire, made five special teams tackles and downed a bouncing punt at the 1-yard line.
• MISTAKE FREE: Bucknell did not commit a turnover last week for the first time in a span of 32 games. The last turnover-free outing was on Oct. 4, 2003, when the Bison knocked off then-14th-ranked Fordham 31-10 in the Bronx.
• MORE FROM LAST WEEK: Bucknell improved to 2-0 all-time against Marist ... it was the Bison's first-ever game in Poughkeepsie ... FB Josh DeStefano posted a career-high 101 rushing yards ... it was his second career 100-yard rushing effort; he had an even 100 against Fordham in 2004 ... junior RB Corin Erby scored his first career touchdown on a 47-yard breakaway in the fourth quarter ... freshman QB Marcello Trigg, subbing for injured starter Terrance Wilson, pocketed his first touchdown on a 1-yard run ... DB Stephen Collage notched his first interception of the season ... freshman DL Josh Eden collected the first two sacks of his career.
• GETTING REVENGE: The Bison are looking to avenge a 53-7 drubbing at the hands of Penn a year ago. It would not be an unprecedented feat, however. Amazingly, in each of the last four games in which Bucknell allowed 50 or more points, the Bison bounced back to defeat that same opponent the very next season.
Team Scoring 50+ Score Year Following Year Result Penn 53-7 2006 ??? Colgate 50-6 2003 Bucknell wins 42-7 in 2004 Lafayette 56-14 1994 Bucknell wins 30-11 in 1995 Lehigh 52-6 1989 Bucknell wins 30-27 in 1990 Lafayette 52-35 1988 Bucknell wins 54-33 in 1989
• JUMPING RIGHT IN: RB A.J. Kizekai two weeks ago became the second Bison back this season to score a touchdown on his first career carry. In the season opener against Duquesne, RB Rashod Bumpers scored on a 51-yard run in the first quarter. Also in that game, QB Andrew Lair ran for a 38-yard TD on just his second career rushing attempt, and FB Paul Forcellini had a 13-yard TD run on only his fourth career attempt.
• WE'RE NO. 2: After rushing for 390 yards last week against Marist, Bucknell vaulted from the No. 8 to the No. 2 spot on the national rushing chart.
I-AA Rushing Offense Team Avg. 1. Southern Illinois 277.0 2. Bucknell 267.8 3. Central Connecticut State 260.0 4. New Hampshire 249.3 5. Wofford 248.0
• LEAGUE LEADERS: Bucknell leads the Patriot League in a number of statistical categories: scoring offense (24.0), rushing offense (267.8), fewest penalty yards (43.0) and kickoff coverage (12.8). Individually, Phil Azarik leads the league in punting (41.5); Will Carney leads in points by kicking (24) and PAT percentage (1.000); and Dorian Petersen leads in forced fumbles (2).
• TRULY "SPECIAL" TEAMS: Through four games Bucknell's special teams have been excellent across the board. Some highlights:
• Kickoff Coverage -- Bucknell ranks third in the nation in kickoff coverage, allowing only 12.75 yards per attempt. The Bison have not allowed a return longer than 20 yards this season.
I-AA Kickoff Return Defense Team Ret. Avg. 1. Stony Brook 11 10.82 2. South Carolina State 18 12.28 3. Bucknell 20 12.75 4. Alabama State 12 12.92 5. Maine 16 14.06
• Punting -- Sophomore P Phil Azarik has been outstanding thus far. He ranks 12th in the nation with a 41.5 average on 28 attempts, and as a team the Bison rank 30th in net punting at 34.3. While there are still at least six games to play, it is worth noting that the Bucknell single-season punting record is 40.9 by Rich Miller in 1996.
• Placekicking -- Sophomore K Will Carney is off to a strong start. He made both field goal attempts against Cornell three weeks ago (40, 24) and is 3-for-4 on the season. Carney is 7-for-10 in his career, including 3-for-3 from 40 yards or better. He is also 15-for-15 on extra points this season.
• CONOVER SIGNED TO TITANS PRACTICE SQUAD: Former Bucknell All-America defensive end Sean Conover, a 2006 graduate, was signed to the Tennessee Titans' practice squad last month. Conover was initially signed as an undrafted free agent by the Titans in May, and he saw significant playing time in all four of the team's preseason games. In those four games he totalled seven tackles, including a sack, against Green Bay last week. He was one of the Titans' final roster cuts as the team had to get to the NFL-mandated 53-player limit, but he was then one of seven players re-signed to the practice squad.
• BIRTHDAY BOYS: The postgame spread will require plenty of cake, because four Bison will be celebrating birthdays on Saturday. LB Damian Chatman turns 18, QB Leonard Wilson is 19 and DB Chris Barr and DL Stephen Cooney both turn 20.
• JOINING THE HALL: Seven new inductees in the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame will be honored at halftime on Saturday. Among them are former football wide receiver Ron Kinsey `66 and president emeritus Gary Sojka. Others are Mark Brotherton `83 (soccer), Mike Geraghty `84 (track), Lisa Gibbons `95 (soccer), Patrick King `92 (basketball) and Tricia Way `94 (field hockey/lacrosse).
• IN THE CLASSROOM: The Bison boasted a league-high 24 members of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll last season. In the spring 2006 semester, the Bucknell football players combined for a solid 3.0 grade-point average, the sixth straight semester the team has earned a 3.0 or better.
• LOOKING AHEAD: Next week Bucknell resumes Patriot League play for good, traveling to Washington, D.C., to take on Georgetown. The Bison are looking to avenge a crushing 19-16 overtime loss to the Hoyas in last season's opener.
