Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Fordham
Big Plays Lead Bucknell Football to 38-24 Upset of Fordham in Season Finale
11/17/2007 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 17, 2007
BRONX, N.Y. - Bucknell quarterback Marcello Trigg needed only five pass completions to throw for a career-high 214 yards and two long touchdowns, and senior fullback Corin Erby rushed for 129 yards and a score in his final collegiate game to lead the Bison to a 38-24 upset of 18th-ranked Fordham Saturday afternoon at Jack Coffey Field.
The Rams had already clinched the Patriot League title coming into the game, but Bucknell snapped their six-game winning streak and dropped them to 8-3 overall, 5-1 in the league. The Bison halted their own five-game losing streak and finished the campaign 3-8, 1-5.
One of Trigg's big plays was an 82-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Kizekai, who broke the Bucknell single-season all-purpose yardage record. With 82 receiving yards, 57 rushing yards and 64 kickoff return yards, the sophomore logged 203 all-purpose yards on the day. That gave him 1,908 for the season, breaking Hall of Famer Ken Jenkins' 27-year-old record of 1,884.
Fordham quarterback John Skelton completed 34 of 50 passes for 366 yards, but the Bison intercepted him twice in the second half. Asa Lucas caught 10 passes for 178 yards to lead all receivers. Bucknell held Fordham to only 81 rushing yards - 111 below its season average. Jonte Coven, who came in with 891 rushing yards, led the Rams with 35. Bucknell outgained Fordham 475-447 on the day, compiling 261 rushing yards and 214 through the air en route to a season-high for total offense.
After giving up a go-ahead touchdown with only 11 seconds left in the first half, Bucknell took over the game after halftime, scoring 24 straight points to win its season finale for the fourth time in the last five years.
Fordham's late-second-quarter score gave it a 17-14 halftime lead and the Rams got the ball to start the second half, but the Bucknell defense came up with the first of several big stops to take back the momentum. After forcing a punt, Trigg connected with Cale Cadman on a 56-yard touchdown bomb down the right sideline. Cadman's first career touchdown, and the longest catch of his career, gave Bucknell the lead for good.
Fordham drove to the Bucknell 22 on its next possession, but a low snap foiled a 40-yard field-goal attempt, and Bucknell took over at its own 32. Trigg's 58-yard pass to Shaun Pasternak - one of four plays of 50 yards or longer in the game for the Bison - moved the ball deep into Fordham territory. Three plays later Trigg hit Pasternak again on a fade route from 11 yards out, but the score was called back by a holding penalty, and the Bison had to settle for a 38-yard Will Carney field goal. Still, the points gave them a full touchdown lead at 24-17.
Senior linebacker Ryan Slater intercepted Skelton on the second play of Fordham's next drive, and Bucknell parlayed the game's first turnover into seven points when Kizekai scored on a 3-yard run with 24 seconds left in the third quarter to make it a 31-17 contest.
Early in the fourth quarter Fordham drove inside the Bison 30 when defensive tackle Ryan Walsh tipped a Skelton pass at the line of scrimmage and linebacker Casey Williams intercepted at the Bucknell 13.
Bucknell made two first downs to chew three minutes off the clock before punting, but the defense stopped Fordham on downs near midfield with only 4:37 left. Two plays later Erby exploded through the line and sealed the verdict with a 52-yard touchdown run. The longest rush of his career also put him over the 100-yard mark for the very first time.
Skelton's 4-yard run with 1:13 left brought Fordham within 38-24, but Josh Lovett recovered an onside kick and the Bison ran out the clock to secure its first league victory of the season.
Bucknell stunned the Rams on the second play of the day, when on second-and-2 Trigg froze the defense with a play-action fake and lofted an 82-yard touchdown pass to Kizekai. The score came just 54 seconds into the game and was the fifth-longest passing touchdown in school history.
It had been nine years since Bucknell last completed a touchdown pass of 80 yards or longer. In 1998 Ardie Kissinger caught an 86-yard pass from Jim John.
Fordham scored 10 straight points to take its first lead of the day. Adam Danko hit a 34-yard field goal with 9:07 left in the first quarter to make it 7-3, and the Rams' touchdown came on a broken play. A shotgun snap sailed over the head of Skelton, but he retrieved the ball, rolled right and found Jason Caldwell in the corner of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 9:35 left in the half.
The Bison answered with an 11-play, 69-yard touchdown drive in which it had to fight off a 15-yard illegal block penalty just after they had crossed midfield on Erby's 24-yard run. Kizekai's 21-yard gallop gave them a first down, and wide receiver Pastenak drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone to move the ball to the 1. Trigg dove across from there to put Bucknell back ahead 14-10 with 4:12 to play in the half.
Fordham regained the lead on Quasand Lewis' 1-yard dive with just 11 seconds left before intermission. Lucas had two long pass receptions, including a 38-yarder, to set up the score.
Kizekai became the first player in school history to have both rushing and receiving touchdowns of 80 yards or longer, and he became the first player in school history to lead the team in both rushing and receiving since Jenkins in 1980.
The victory was Bucknell's first over a ranked team since Nov. 13, 2004, when the Bison defeated No. 22 Colgate 42-7.
