Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Spring Football Game Features Big Plays on Both Sides
4/24/2010 8:00:00 AM | Football
April 24, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - New Bison head football coach Joe Susan and his staff sent their team out in front of a large Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium crowd for the annual spring game on Saturday night, and the fans were treated to a bevy of exciting plays from both sides of the ball. With the roster split evenly into Blue and Orange squads, the Blue team prevailed 20-0 behind a pair of first-half touchdowns from Luke Massaro and Jamil Crews along with two fourth-quarter field goals.
Playing 12 minute quarters with running clock for the first three, the two teams combined to run 93 plays in the game. The Blue squad hit the end zone first midway through the opening period when quarterback Burke Batten executed a nice play-action fake on a 4th-and-2 play, then found tight end Massaro alone down the left sideline for a 35-yard score. The 43-yard drive was set up by the first of two Ahkiel White interceptions.
Perhaps the most impressive drive of the night was a methodical 16-play, 97-yard set that was capped by Crews' 1-yard touchdown run with 3:32 left in the second quarter. Crews carried the ball 11 times on the drive, and a terrific 28-yard catch by Alex Iwaskiw helped them move the ball across midfield.
The defenses looked sharp all night, primarily in the second half when the only scoring came on a 32-yard field goal by Bill Prendeville and another 32-yarder by Drew Orth. The latter came with just five seconds left in the game, and it followed an impressive two-minute drill engineered by quarterback C.J. Hopson.
Hopson and Batten spent time playing for both teams. Hopson combined to go 10-for-22 for 142 yards and two interceptions, while Batten went 11-for-22 for 149 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. David Noshay went 4-for-6 for 47 yards.
While Massaro and Frank DeNick led all receivers with four catches apiece, it was freshman Brandon Pinnock producing a team-high 81 receiving yards, 44 coming on a spectacular catch along the left sideline. Pinnock and a defender both jumped high for the long pass, and Pinnock snagged the tipped ball as he crashed to the turf.
Crews led the rushing corps with 62 yards on 18 carries. Robert Owoyele carried six times for 39 yards, including a 34-yard sprint in the first quarter.
"The spring went pretty well," said Susan after the game. "I think the guys like to be challenged, and they responded to every challenge we gave them. We did more hitting this spring than I have done anywhere else I have been."
Defensively, the Blue team intercepted four passes, two by White and one each by Bryce Robertson and Travis Nissley. The Orange side forced one turnover, a T.J. Kelly fumble recovery late in the game.
Jamal Briggs of the Orange team led all players with seven tackles, while Patrick Joyce and Beau Traber had five each. Terrance FitzSimmons had three tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Nissley led the Blue team with five stops, one coming in the backfield. Josh Eden, a former All-Patriot League defensive end who rejoined the team this spring after completing a two-year Mormon mission, had a sack for a nine-yard loss.
"The defense has more maturity and experience, and it should be ahead of the offense at this stage," said Susan.
Spring practice is now over, and the team will embark on its offseason conditioning programs before returning to the field for the start of preseason camp in August.
