Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Georgetown
Bucknell Football Stretches Home Winning Streak to Four, Defeats Georgetown 14-6
10/3/2009 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 3, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - C.J. Hopson rushed for 101 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns and the Bucknell football team accumulated 172 of its 262 yards of total offense after halftime as the Bison posted a 14-6 victory over Georgetown Saturday afternoon at a sunny and warm Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The win was the fourth consecutive home win for Bucknell, marking its longest streak since 2001.
The win helped Bucknell (3-2, 1-0 PL) to its second consecutive victory over the Hoyas in a Patriot League opener. The Bison are now part of a four-way tie for first place in the league standings with Colgate, Holy Cross and Lafayette, who are all 1-0.
The Bison defense was strong throughout, limiting Georgetown (0-5, 0-3 PL) to two field goals and 219 yards, including just 58 in the second half. It marked the third time in the last three years Bucknell has held an opponent under 300 yards of total offense. The Bison also registered a season-high five sacks by five different players, while they totaled seven tackles for loss, including a pair by Robert De La Rosa.
Casey Williams, who returned to the lineup after a three-game absence with a knee injury, registered his second career sack and tied his career high with 10 tackles.
Bucknell was scoreless over the first 42 minutes of play before finally getting on the board late in the third quarter. A 29-yard halfback option pass from Justin Pulgrano to Cale Cadman set up a two-yard touchdown run by Hopson three plays later. It was the second career completion for Pulgrano, who threw for a 37-yard touchdown against Lafayette last year.
The Bison used another long pass play to Cadman to set up their second score. Hopson found Cadman for 12 yards along the right sideline on a 4th-and-8 play from the Georgetown 24-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Again, three plays later Hopson ran it in from four yards out, rounding out the scoring.
Georgetown did threaten, advancing to the Bucknell 39-yard line, but two straight false start penalties pushed them back and they punted on a 4th-and-17 play with less than five minutes to play.
The Hoyas did force a Bison punt and took possession at their own 20-yard line with less than a minute to play, but Jamal Briggs intercepted an Isaiah Kempf pass on the second play of the drive, effectively ending the game. It was the second interception of the day for the Bison and their ninth of the season, with all nine coming in the three home contests.
Georgetown provided the only offense in the first half, connecting on field goals on back-to-back drives. Jose-Pablo Buerba made a 41-yard field goal late in the first quarter, equaling the longest by a Patriot League kicker this year. After a Marcello Trigg fumble gave the Hoyas the ball at the 20-yard line Buerba was in range to connect on a 27-yard attempt early in the second quarter.
Hopson, who came on in place of Trigg in the second quarter, registered his second 100-yard rushing game of the season, following his 136-yard performance against Duquesne in the season opener. Hopson also completed 4 of 6 passes for a team-high 38 yards.
Isaiah Kempf led the Georgetown offense, completing 14 of 27 passes for 136 yards. He found Jeremiah Kayal six times for 42 yards, mainly on screen plays.
Thanks to its strong defense, Bucknell held an opponent under double figures in points for the first time since a September 2007 38-7 victory over Marist. The last team to score fewer than the six points the Bison gave up Saturday was Fordham in 2006, which managed only three points in a 13-3 Bucknell win. Eight times in Tim Landis' seven years as head coach Bucknell has held an opponent under 10 points.
Despite playing only the first quarter, Trigg went over the 4,000-yard mark for total offense. He recorded 19 yards passing and -6 yards on the ground, upping his career total offense figure to 4,011.
With the win, Bucknell became the first team in the series with Georgetown to win a home game since 2003.
Bucknell, which wrapped up its two-game homestand 2-0, will conclude the non-league portion of its schedule next Saturday at Penn. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Franklin Field.
