Bucknell University
Georgetown
Football Posts 22-17 Win at Georgetown
10/25/2014 5:47:00 PM | Football
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a back-and-forth game between Bucknell and Georgetown that featured six lead changes, it appeared as though the last team to score would earn the victory and that turned out to be the case. A 22-yard touchdown pass from R.J. Nitti to Will Carter with 7:03 left in the fourth quarter staked the Bison to a 22-17 lead and the score would remain that way as Bucknell won its second straight Patriot League game to improve to 6-1, 2-0 PL on the season.
The two teams alternated scores all afternoon at Georgetown's (2-6, 0-3 PL) sunny and warm Multi-Purpose Field on Homecoming weekend.
C.J. Williams rushed for 136 yards and Bucknell's first two touchdowns, giving him five 100-yard outings this season. Carter had a game-high six catches for 77 yards and crossed the 1,000 receiving yard mark in his two-year career, while Nitti completed 13 of 24 passes for 171 yards and the game-winning touchdown to Carter.
The largest lead of the game for either team was six points.
The Bison took the early 6-0 lead on their first drive of the game as they covered 97 yards on 17 plays over a span of nearly 10 minutes. The extra point was wide left. Williams scored on a three-yard touchdown run, his 11th rushing attempt on the drive. He finished with a career-high 32 rushing attempts in the game.
Georgetown answered right back when Matthew Buckman took a pass over the middle 67 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest pass play of the year for the Hoyas.
A Nick O'Brien interception set Bucknell up to take the lead again. His pick gave the Bison the ball deep in Hoya territory and Derek Maurer ended up connecting on a 20-yard field goal to make the score 9-7 in favor of Bucknell early in the second quarter.
Georgetown came right back on its next possession with a field goal of its own. The Hoyas benefitted from a long kickoff return and two 15-yard penalties to move down the field and set up a Henry Darmstadter 34-yard field goal.
An eight-yard Williams zig-zag touchdown with 6:06 left in the second quarter put the Bison back on top, 16-10, a lead they took into halftime.
Bucknell's offense struggled early in the second half, totaling 43 yards and punting four times on its first four possessions. In the meantime, Georgetown went back on top with quarterback Kyle Nolan rushing in from five yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter to complete an 81-yard drive.
After a couple punts flipped the field position in favor of Bucknell, the Bison took possession at their own 45-yard line on their second possession of the fourth quarter. Two third-down conversions and 18 rushing yards by Williams moved Bucknell down the field. Nitti then found Carter, who tip-toed along the sideline and found the corner of the end zone to give the Bison a five-point lead. The ensuing two-point conversion was unsuccessful.
Bucknell's defense forced Georgetown to use more than three minutes off the clock on the next drive, which concluded in a punt. The Hoyas then stopped the Bison in the final minute and forced a punt that was blocked. The ball was loose on the ground and a Georgetown player tried to pick it up, but it slipped out of his grip and Bucknell recovered it, clinching the outcome.
The Bison totaled 343 yards of total offense, and the defense held the Hoyas to just 295 yards. Evan Byers led the defense with his 15th career double-figure tackle outing (10).
Bucknell dominated the time of possession 35:36-24:24.
Jo'el Kimpela paced Georgetown with 70 rushing yards, while Nolan completed 11 of 26 passes for one touchdown.
The Bison will play three of their final four games at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, starting with next Saturday's 1 p.m. Homecoming contest against Lafayette. Bucknell will attempt to improve on their best seven-game start to a season since 1997.
