Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
#13 Holy Cross
Bucknell Football Upsets PL Champion Holy Cross 23-17 in Season Finale
11/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2009
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - C.J. Hopson rushed a career high 29 times for a career-high 189 yards and Bucknell dominated the time of possession as the Bison football team defeated Patriot League champion No. 13 Holy Cross 23-17 Saturday afternoon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Bucknell, which won its final contest of the season for the sixth time in the last seven years.
Saturday's contest was similar to two years ago when Bucknell went into its final game of the campaign against Fordham, a ranked team that had already clinched the league title, and defeated the Rams 38-24 to snap a five-game losing streak.
Bucknell piled up a season-high 321 rushing yards and 341 yards overall on Saturday. Hopson led the way on the ground, but Ryan Smith (63 yards) and Tyler Smith (58) added 121 yards to the team total. Tyler Smith added the first two rushing touchdowns of his career.
On defense, the Bison limited Holy Cross quarterback Dominic Randolph to 271 yards and just one touchdown, his lowest total of the season. Additionally, the Crusaders 17 points were a season-low figure.
Bucknell never trailed in the contest and led by a season high-tying 14 points after second-quarter touchdown runs by Tyler Smith and Hopson.
The Bison led 17-10 late in the third quarter following a 30-yard field goal by Drew Orth, his fifth of the season. However, Randolph completed 7 of 7 passes on Holy Cross' ensuing drive to set up a game-tying two-yard touchdown run by freshman Eddie Houghton with 11:34 left in regulation.
Hopson was stopped on a third-and-short near midfield after a long kickoff return and it looked like the Bison would have to punt back to the high-powered Crusaders' offense after just three plays. But, a fake punt with the snap going directly to defensive lineman John von Paris earned a first down for Bucknell (4-7, 2-4 PL). von Paris rushed seven yards, but three plays later Hopson threw his only interception of the game.
The Bison defense came up big as Randolph threw three consecutive incompletions from the Bucknell 41-yard line and Holy Cross was forced to punt. Freshman Joseph Francis, who was making his second consecutive start in place of Rob Gerlach, broke up what would have been a long touchdown pass to Freddie Santana on third-and-15. Francis would later also break up a sure touchdown on the second-to-last play of the game.
Bucknell took possession with 5:29 remaining at their own 20-yard line and the score tied at 17-17. A 14-yard pass along the right sideline to Cale Cadman and a 13-yard rush by Hopson brought the Bison to midfield. Hopson then broke through the right side of the line for a 40-yard scramble, putting the Bison inside the 10-yard line with less than two minutes to play. The next play Smith registered the second of his two scores to put Bucknell up 23-17. A bad snap caused Orth to miss the extra point, giving Holy Cross a chance to win the game on its final drive.
Randolph, who had thrown for more than 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns entering the contest, was sacked and threw six incompletions on the drive. He did tally 25 yards rushing and completed a 13-yard pass to Santana on a fourth-and-10 to advance the Crusaders to the Bucknell 24.
Randolph's first try at the end zone from the 24 came with eight second remaining and Francis got his hand on the pass. The Bison defense then continued its excellent play on the final snap after a Holy Cross timeout with two seconds showing on the clock. Randolph was forced out of the pocket by Robert De La Rosa and proceeded to lateral the ball to offensive lineman Chris Poole. Poole then fumbled and Samuel Oyekoya recovered the loose ball with 00:00 on the scoreboard, clinching the win for Bucknell.
Thanks to the back-to-back touchdowns by Hopson and Smith in the first quarter, Bucknell jumped out to its largest lead of the season. The Bison, who have scored first in each of their last three outings, had not led more than 7-0 all season.
Holy Cross brought the score closer when Randolph engineered a three-minute drive near the conclusion of the first half. Randolph completed a 21-yard pass to Nick Cole on third-and-eight on the drive and later plunged over the line for a first down on fourth-and-short. He then found Alex Schneider in the end zone from 13 yards out. Schneider made an acrobatic catch between two Bison defenders for the Crusaders' first score.
On its second drive of the second half Holy Cross got down to the Bucknell five-yard line, but two incompletions by Randolph and then an impressive tackle in the backfield on third down by Sean Rafferty and Casey Williams forced the Crusaders into a short field goal.
Thanks to its 321 yards on the ground, Bucknell dominated the time of possession, 33:51-26:09. The Bison possessed the ball for nearly 19 minutes in the first half.
Tyler Anderson and Ahkiel White paced the Bucknell defense with eight tackles apiece. Anderson added 1.5 sacks and recovered a fumble. Jason Davis, who was one of 19 seniors honored on the field prior to their final games, registered six tackles and three pass breakups.
Randolph finished the game 29-for-48 for Holy Cross. He also added 38 yards on the ground, second on the team to Houghton's 48. Randolph completed passes to 10 different receivers. Hopson attempted just seven passes for Bucknell, completing both to Cadman for a total of 20 yards.
With the win, the Bison defeated Holy Cross for the first time since 2004. They also scored more than 20 points for the first time since the second game of the season, a 26-23 win over Robert Morris at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
