Bucknell University Athletics
No Admission Charge for Saturday's Bucknell-Richmond Football Game
9/18/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 18, 2007
WHAT: Bucknell (1-2) vs Richmond (1-1)
WHERE: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007, 1 p.m.
RADIO: Eagle 107 and SportsJuice.com
STREAMING VIDEO: SportsJuice.com
PROMOTIONS: Community Day (FREE ADMISSION!), Performance by Hawthorne Caballeros Drum & Bugle Corps
COMPLETE PRESS NOTES
With a Victory over Richmond, Bucknell Would ...
-- ... even its record at 2-2.
-- ... defeat Richmond for the first time.
-- ... win at home for the first time this season.
-- ... drop the Spiders under .500 for the first time since early in the 2005 season.
About the Game
Bucknell has a tall order at hand if it is to stop a two-game losing streak this week. Richmond, one of the top teams from one of the nation's top FCS conferences, makes its very first trip to Lewisburg on Saturday afternoon. The Spiders are coming off a bye week, and prior to that they annihilated conference rival Northeastern 49-14 behind a 246-yard, four-touchdown performance from running back Tim Hightower, who later earned national player of the week plaudits from The Sports Network. Richmond, which won't play its first home game until next week against New Hampshire, dropped a 41-17 decision at Vanderbilt in its season opener. The Spiders were picked to finish fourth in the Colonial Athletic Conference's tough South Division, behind James Madison, Delaware and Towson and ahead of Villanova and William & Mary. Richmond faces a Bucknell team that has suffered back-to-back losses to Stony Brook and Cornell after a season-opening victory at Duquesne. The Bison would like to get their vaunted rushing attack back on track after being held to 152 yards in last week's 38-14 setback at Cornell. Defensively, Bucknell has yielded 882 yards in the last two weeks and now faces a Richmond squad that piled up 642 total yards (443 rushing) in its last outing against Northeastern.
Free Admission!
As part of Community Day festivities, there will be free admission for Saturday's Bucknell-Richmond game at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The well-known Hawthorne Caballeros Drum & Bugle Corps will provide musical entertainment throughout the day.
Bucknell vs. Richmond Series Notes
-- This is only the third meeting between Bucknell and Richmond, and the first in Lewisburg.
-- Richmond won 10-7 in the 2000 season opener and 48-21 last season.
-- Despite the losses to Richmond, Bucknell bounced back to have winning seasons both years.
-- In games immediately following Richmond, the Bison are 2-0 with a combined victory margin of 86-34.
Bucknell vs. Richmond Last Season
Last Sept. 23 at UR Stadium, Tim Hightower rushed for 95 yards and Josh Vaughan ran for 88 and two touchdowns to lead No. 7 Richmond past Bucknell 48-21. The Bison stopped Richmond on its first two possessions of the day, then Rashod Bumpers' 27-yard catch set up a go-ahead touchdown. Richmond struck back in a flash, as Eric Ward connected with Matt Hale on a 65-yard TD on the very next play from scrimmage. Vaughan gave Richmond a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter, and two field goals by Andrew Howard made it 20-7 at the half. The Spiders stretched the lead to 41-7 before A.J. Kizekai scored on a 36-yard run on his first collegiate carry. Terrance Wilson closed out the scoring with a 4-yard run in the closing seconds. Richmond outgained the Bison 493-238 and limited them to 11 first downs.
Week 3 Recap
Luke Siwula scored three rushing touchdowns and Nathan Ford completed 31 of 45 passes for 288 yards to lead Cornell to a 38-14 victory over Bucknell Saturday night at Schoellkopf Field. The Bison were held to 240 total yards, 152 on the ground, while Cornell executed its short passing attack to the tune of 453 total yards. The Big Red produced 29 first downs to 15 for Bucknell and held nearly an eight-minute advantage in time of possession. RB A.J. Kizekai led the Bison with 50 rushing yards, while QB Marcello Trigg completed 6 of 16 passes for 53 yards under considerable pressure. Siwula carried 21 times for 81 yards for Cornell, while Ford scored twice on quarterback sneaks. Bucknell's touchdowns came on a 3-yard run from RB Corin Erby and a 35-yard pass from QB Terrance Wilson to RB Josh Lee.
Inside the Cornell Boxscore
-- Sophomore DB Jason Davis recorded a career-high 11 tackles.
-- Freshman DB Ahkiel White enjoyed his best day thus far, totaling nine tackles and his first collegiate interception. The pick was also Bucknell's first of the season.
-- Sophomore DL Josh Eden had a strong game, totaling six tackles, a half-sack, a tackle for loss and two batted down passes.
-- Sophomore K Will Carney missed his first field goal of the season, a 46-yard attempt in the second quarter. It would have been a career long but slipped just wide to the right. Carney is now 2-for-3 on the season.
-- Sophomore RB A.J. Kizekai was Bucknell's leading ground-gainer with 50 rushing yards on nine carries.
-- Sophomore QB Marcello Trigg had a season-long 22-yard run on Bucknell's opening possession.
-- Coming into the game, Bucknell wide receivers had only two catches on the season. Against Cornell, the wideouts accounted for five of the eight catches -- two each from Daniel Zvara and Josh Lovett and one from Cale Cadman.
-- The home team won for the eighth straight time in the Bucknell-Cornell series.
-- Cornell now leads the series 36-11. Since 1979, the series is tied 10-10.
-- The Big Red's 38 points were their most against Bucknell since a 41-0 victory in 1915.
- Bucknell lost the turnover battle (-2) for the first time this season.
Kizekai in the National Rankings
Sophomore RB A.J. Kizekai ranks in the top 20 nationally in two statistical categories. He now ranks third in the FCS in all-purpose yardage at 223.7 per game (he led the nation prior to last week) and 18th in kickoff return average at 29.4 yards per attempt.
National Leaders Avg. All-Purpose Yards 1. Jayson Foster, Georgia Southern 259.0 2. Bryan Eteuati, Weber State 253.0 3. A.J. Kizekai, Bucknell 223.7 4. Chad Simpson, Morgan State 222.3 5. Mike Malone, Western Carolina 221.7
Kizekai Tops the Charts
Through three games A.J. Kizekai leads Bucknell in five statistical categories: rushing yards (130), receptions (6), receiving yards (129), all-purpose yards (671) and kickoff return yards (412).
Magic Touch
Sophomore RB Josh Lee has caught two passes this season, both going for touchdowns. He had a 26-yard TD reception in the season-opening win at Duquesne and a 35-yard scoring grab against Cornell last week. Those are the only two touchdowns of his career. Including those two plays and his 14 carries for 69 yards, Lee is averaging better than eight yards per touch this season.
Fullbacks Carry the Scoring Load
Bucknell has five rushing touchdowns thus far, all coming from the fullback position. Corin Erby had two touchdowns against Duquesne and one against Cornell, while Kevin Mullen and Ryan Smith had one each in the Stony Brook game.
Passing Game Struggles After Good Start
Bucknell's spread option attack did major damage with the pass in the season opening victory at Duquesne, but the Bison have struggled there in the last two games. Against Duquesne, QB Marcello Trigg completed 8 of 14 for 156 yards, including two long touchdown passes to A.J. Kizekai and Josh Lee. Since then, the Bison have completed only 12 of 33 for 162 yards.
JV Recap
The Bucknell junior varsity team improved to 1-1 on the season with a 26-19 victory over La Salle on Sunday afternoon. QB Ben Bouffard completed 7 of 14 passes for 123 yards, including two touchdown passes to WR Alex Odenbach. Freshman RB Shantz Medley gave the Bison an 18-13 lead with a 49-yard touchdown gallop with 5:00 left in the third quarter. With 4:46 to play, freshman DB Marlon Woods made the play of the day when he returned an interception 57 yards for a score, and A.J. Pompliano ran in a 2-point conversion to make it 26-13. La Salle added a late touchdown, but Woods blocked the PAT and the Bison recovered an onside kick. Freshman DL Kyle Boline's sack on fourth down eventually clinched the win. Medley rushed for 87 yards on 14 carries. Freshman LB Tyler Anderson led the defense with nine tackles.
Notes & Notables
Sean Conover, a 2006 Bucknell graduate who was the 2004 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, is in his second year with the Tennessee Titans ... another Bucknell football alum who made national headlines last year was Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano `88, who was named national coach of the year after leading the Scarlet Knights to an 11-2 record and a 37-10 victory over Kansas State in the Texas Bowl ... number changes since the media guide was published: DB Zane Woodard from 34 to 36, LB Robert Firman from 35 to 56, RB Alex Iwaskiw given 85, K/P Charles Hickes given 96 ... position changes since the media guide was published: Marlon Woods from RB to DB, C.J. Passeri from WR to DB, Rob Gerlach from RB to DB.
Next Up
The Bison are back home next week to take on Marist at 6 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Bucknell is 2-0 all-time against the Red Foxes, including a 48-19 rout in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., last season. Marist is 0-3 heading into this week's game at Columbia.
