Bucknell University
Colgate
Bucknell Football Drops 52-28 Decision to Colgate
10/25/2008 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 25, 2008
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - Nate Eachus rushed for 214 yards on 36 carries and three touchdowns to lead Colgate to a 52-28 victory over Bucknell Saturday afternoon in a steady rain at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Homecoming. Shaun Pasternak caught eight passes for 150 yards and Brigham Farrand registered a career-high 18 tackles for the Bison.
Bucknell (4-3, 1-1 PL), which had three touchdown drives in the first half that were each less than 45 seconds in length, trailed just 24-21 in the waning minutes of the first half, but turnovers on its final possession of the second quarter and its first of the third quarter helped Colgate (6-2, 2-0 PL) jump out to a 38-21 advantage. The Raiders scored 35 consecutive points at one juncture as they came back from a 21-17 deficit to lead 52-21.
Eight of the game's 11 scores occurred in a wild first half that featured six lead changes and ended with Colgate leading 31-21.
A Jacob Stein 40-yard field goal opened the scoring and put the Raiders up 3-0, but for the second consecutive game Bucknell scored on its second play from scrimmage. A 53-yard kickoff return by A.J. Kizekai, who had a career-high 178 kickoff return yards, the second-most in program history, got Bucknell started right. Marcello Trigg found Pasternak for 24 yards on the first play and then Kevin Mullen broke open through the middle for a 17-yard touchdown run, his first of the season.
It took less than 90 seconds for Colgate to answer. Quarterback Greg Sullivan found Pat Simonds for a 28-yard gain and then Eachus rushed for 14 and nine yards to put the Raiders back on top, 10-7.
Another big play from Kizekai helped Bucknell take the lead once again as he rushed for a season-best 58-yard gain before Chris Epko brought him down at the 8-yard line. Trigg, who was 11 of 25 for 168 yards, then found Alex Lair for the first of his two touchdown passes. The two-play drive took just 36 seconds.
Bucknell, which was hampered by its two touchdowns, then forced its only turnover of the day when Ahkiel White intercepted a Sullivan pass at midfield. However, the Bison were unable to capitalize and punted for the first time in the game.
An 18-yard rush up the middle by Jordan McCord gave Colgate its third lead of the half and capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive that took 4:55 off the clock. It was the longest touchdown drive of the first half by either team.
After punts by both teams, Trigg found Pasternak on a 3rd-and-10 play for a 59-yard touchdown pass. It was the longest reception of Pasternak's career and his seventh TD catch of the season, placing him just three shy of equaling the program record. Pasternak also registered his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season as he became the first Bison to accomplish that feat in nearly 20 years.
That Trigg to Pasternak touchdown was the final score for Bucknell until the final minutes when Andrew Lair sneaked into the end zone from one yard out. In between, Colgate tallied five straight touchdowns in a span of 23 minutes with Eachus, who rushed for more than 240 yards last week in place of All-American Jordan Scott, accounting for two.
Bucknell was driving in the final minutes of the first half with a chance to take the lead into halftime, but a Trigg pass bounced off Kizekai's hands and into the arms of Wayne Moten. Colgate proceeded to cover 58 yards in six plays and 1:14 before Sullivan found Doug Rosnick from 14 yards out with five seconds left before haltime.
Overall, Colgate managed to record 522 yards, its second consecutive game with at least 500 yards, while Bucknell registered just 296, 117 of which came on Kizekai's run and Pasternak's touchdown reception. The Raiders, who tallied their most points in the series and the second-most against a Tim Landis-coached Bison team, also accumulated 28 first downs to Bucknell's 12.
With his 250 all-purpose yards, including a team-high 72 rushing, Kizekai moved into fourth place on Bucknell's career list with 3,729. He moved past Hassen Abdellah.
Playing without leading tackler Sam Nana-Sinkam, Farrand, who started at safety for the first time this season, helped fill the void as he tallied 18 tackles. He had posted 21 this season entering the game. Greg Jones added a career-high 15 tackles as the Bison totaled 91 tackles in the contest compared to 43 for Colgate.
Sullivan completed 7 of 12 passes for 101 yards and rushed 12 times for 79 yards as he helped the Raiders to their season-high point total.
The 52 points Colgate totaled was the highest score for an opponent at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since 1994 when Lafayette registered 56.
Bucknell, which is 3-0 on the road, will visit Holy Cross next Saturday, Nov. 1. Kickoff for the contest is 12:30 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.
