Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Bucknell Football Falls to Holy Cross, 45-21
10/27/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 27, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Dominic Randolph competed 30 of 43 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns, leading red-hot Holy Cross to a 45-21 victory over Bucknell Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Crusaders won their fourth straight game, topping the 40-point barrier in each, and improved to 6-2 overall, 3-0 in the Patriot League. Bucknell, which received two touchdowns from sophomore A.J. Kizekai, including a career-long 80-yard run, fell to 2-6, 0-3.
Terrance Gass led the Holy Cross ground game with 125 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, and he also caught three passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. Ryan Maher also had one touchdown receiving and another on the ground.
Marcello Trigg completed 5 of 13 passes for 119 yards and touchdown for the Bison, who barely had a chance to get their offense going. They possessed the ball for only 18:23 and ran 40 plays, compared to 92 plays for Holy Cross.
Holy Cross came into the game ranked third in the nation in total offense and fifth in scoring offense, and the visitors needed little time to show it wasn't a fluke, racking up 408 first-half yards en route to a 35-7 halftime lead.
The Crusaders took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards for a touchdown on Ryan Maher's 18-yard run. After recovering a Bucknell fumble, they scored again just three minutes later on Mike Kielt's 1-yard dive. All told, Holy Cross scored touchdowns on its first five possessions of the day, with a missed 34-yard field goal ending the streak.
Trailing 21-0 after Gass turned a screen pass into a 47-yard touchdown, the Bison got on the board at the 2:02 mark of the first quarter when Trigg hit Kizekai on a 16-yard pass in the back of the end zone. A 45-yard reception by Cale Cadman on the first play of the drive moved Bucknell into scoring position.
Bucknell's defense appeared to have its first stop of the day on the next series, when safety Tyler McFarlane broke up Randolph's third-down pass, but the Bison were flagged for a late hit on the quarterback, giving Holy Cross an automatic first down. Seven plays later, Randolph lobbed a 16-yard scoring pass to Thomas Harrison, quelling Bucknell's momentum and giving Holy Cross a 28-7 lead.
The Bison scored quickly just after halftime. Starting at the 35 after the kickoff went out of bounds, Trigg completed back-to-back 23-yard passes to Corin Erby and Shaun Pasternak, and two plays later Trigg called his own number on an option play and scored from 11 yards out.
Holy Cross answered right back with a 7-play, 52-yard scoring drive, capped by Maher's 5-yard reception. The Crusaders tacked on a 22-yard Matt Partain field goal with 3:35 left in the third quarter to go up 45-14.
Kizekai provided one last jolt of excitement with 7:53 left in the fourth quarter. Just after Ryan Slater's interception in the end zone, Kizekai took an option pitch 80 yards down the right sideline. It was the seventh-longest rushing touchdown in school history, and the longest since Rich Lemon's 83-yard scoring run against Cornell in 1994.
Kizekai came into the game ranked eighth nationally in all-purpose yards (184.3), and he tacked on another 180 in this one. He had a 41-yard kickoff return in the first half and finished with 78 return yards on three tries, to go along with the 86 rushing yards and 16 receiving yards.
Holy Cross' time of possession advantage was buoyed by an 11-for-19 showing on third down and 2-for-2 success on fourth down. The Crusaders made 32 first downs to only 10 for Bucknell, and they finished with a 590-284 edge in total yards.
Casey Williams finished with a career-high 10 tackles, tying Brigham Farrand for team-high honors. Josh Eden and Slater added nine each.
Bucknell is back in action next Saturday at Lafayette at 1 p.m., while Holy Cross visits Fordham at 1 p.m. in a battle of Patriot League unbeatens.
