Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Lehigh
Football Falls to Lehigh in PL Opener, 21-10
10/10/2015 3:43:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Freshman Dom Bragalone, a native of nearby South Williamsport, rushed for a game-high 107 yards and Lehigh totaled 229 yards on the ground as the Mountain Hawks defeated Bucknell 21-10 on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. It was the Patriot League opener for both the Bison (3-2, 0-1 PL) and the Mountain Hawks (3-3, 1-0 PL).
Lehigh QB Nick Shafnisky was 23-for-33 for 203 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 68 yards and a couple of scores.
R.J. Nitti completed his first eight passes for Bucknell, but finished 15-for-27 overall for 178 yards and a touchdown.
“Our passing game worked well early,” commented Bison head coach Joe Susan. “But when we were playing from behind and had to pass they got pressure on us. We weren't able to generate much in terms of a run game. Their linebackers played really well.”
The Bison scored first, and the game was still in doubt well into the fourth quarter, but Bucknell managed just a field goal over the final three quarters of play.
Bucknell scored its touchdown on its second drive of the game when Nitti completed a pair of long passes to freshman Alan Butler, who made his first career start at wide receiver. A 28-yard strike brought the Bison to midfield and a long 44-yarder that resulted in the touchdown were the key plays on the four-play drive that covered 80 yards. The touchdown pass was the longest pass play of the year for Bucknell, and it featured Butler fighting off his defender for the reception.
The Bison could not get much more offense the rest of the half, combining for just 44 yards on its final three drives of the stanza.
Lehigh, which was 13 of 18 on third downs in the contest, answered Bucknell's touchdown with a long score of its own. Shafnisky ran 39 yards down the left sideline for the first of his two scores to cap an eight-play, 73-yard drive.
Shafnisky capped an eight-play, 77-yard drive on Lehigh's next possession with a three-yard scramble through the middle of the line to make it 14-7 early in the second quarter.
The score remained that way until John Burdick connected on a 20-yard field goal on Bucknell's first possession of the second half. The Bison had moved down the field well and had a chance to even the score with a first-and-goal inside the five, but two running plays and one pass play were unsuccessful.
Bucknell totaled just 14 yards of total offense on its final four possessions after the Burdick field goal.
Lehigh virtually sealed the game when it took possession with 12:20 left in the fourth quarter holding a 21-10 lead. The Mountains Hawks went on a 17-play drive that ate up 8:54 off the clock and forced the Bison to use all three of their timeouts. Lehigh ended up turning the ball over on downs thanks to a big fourth-down sack by Jimmy King, but the game clock showed just 3:45 to play.
Lehigh's final score came with 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter when Shafnisky found Drew Paulsen on a 16-yard touchdown pass to complete a 14-play, 71-yard drive.
The Mountain Hawks' three touchdown drives were an average of 10 plays and 74 yards. Lehigh had the ball for more than 19 minutes in the second half after the first half time of possession was nearly equal.
The Bison defense was on the field for 82 plays. Mark Pyles led the way with 13 tackles, while Nick O'Brien (11), Ben Richard (11) and Connor Golden (10) also reached double figures. King and Doug Whitlock each had 1.5 sacks. Playing in his first game of the year, O'Brien recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, while Colin Jonov had a 51-yard interception return in the second quarter. Neither turnover led to points.
Matt DelMauro got his first start of the season at running back for Bucknell and rushed 17 times for 68 yards. Freshman Omar Garcia got six carries and ran for 21 yards. Fellow freshman Andrew Owers had six catches for 65 yards, while Butler finished nine yards shy of his first career 100-yard receiving game.
The Bison will play their final non-league game of 2015 next Saturday, Oct. 17, when they travel to Army West Point for a noon contest at Michie Stadium. The game will air live on CBS Sports Network.
