Bucknell University
Holy Cross
Football Posts 21-20 Comeback Victory at Holy Cross
10/8/2016 5:37:00 PM | Football
WORCESTER, Mass. – Joey DeFloria rushed 28 times for 149 yards and a touchdown, Chad Freshnock ran for a pair of second-half touchdowns and Will Carter broke Bucknell's career records for receptions and receiving yards as the Bison football team posted a 21-20 comeback victory at Holy Cross Saturday afternoon at Fitton Field.
Bucknell (2-3, 1-0 PL) overcame a 17-0 first-half deficit and outgained Holy Cross (2-4, 1-1 PL) 363-162 as it snapped a three-game losing streak. The Crusaders, who entered the game averaging more than 31 points and 440 yards, did not score in the second half and managed just 28 yards of offense after halftime.
DeFloria recorded his third 100-yard rushing game of the season, while Matt Muh was 18-for-25 for 202 yards in his third career start.
Bret Berg led the Bison defense with 10 tackles, while Ben Richard (2), Abdullah Anderson (1) and Doug Whitlock (1) posted sacks.
Holy Cross, which was playing without All-Patriot League quarterback Peter Pujals, used two quarterbacks in his place. Starter Geoff Wade was 2-for-7 for 37 yards, while reserve Blaise Bell was 11-for-23 for 81 yards and a touchdown. Bell also ran six times for 16 yards.
Bucknell trailed 20-7 at halftime and dominated the second half. The Bison outgained Holy Cross 281-28 after intermission and possessed the ball for nearly 21 minutes. DeFloria had 129 of his rushing yards in the second half. He is now up to a team-high 585 rushing yards on the season.
The key sequence in the game came in the second half when the Bison scored on two of three possessions late in the third quarter and early in the fourth and forced two Holy Cross three-and-outs in between. The Crusaders punted eight times in the game, all on three-and-outs.
The first of those touchdowns was a Freshnock 3-yard run that made it 20-14 late in the third quarter. Setting up the touchdown was a third-down, 44-yard scamper by DeFloria followed by a 24-yard completion to Andrew Owers immediately preceding the touchdown. Owers acrobatically stayed in bounds and made a dive for the end zone, but came up just a couple yards short.
Bucknell had a scoring chance on its next drive, but John Burdick's 43-yard field goal attempt was blocked. The Bison advanced the ball 70 yards on 10 plays on the drive, including a 38-yard grab by Carter down the left sideline that was initially ruled an incompletion, but changed after an official review of the replay.
After another three-and-out for Holy Cross, Bucknell covered 71 yards on four plays culminating in a Freshnock nine-yard touchdown run to give the Bison the lead with 6:37 remaining. DeFloria started the drive off with a 43-yard run and Justin Bethea made a diving 16-yard catch as well.
Freshnock's second career touchdown gave the Bison the lead for good as Holy Cross kicker Zane Wasp missed a potential go-ahead 42-yard field goal on the Crusaders' next possession, and the Bucknell defense held Holy Cross without a completion on its final offensive possession in the closing minute of the game.
Holy Cross did not total much offense in the game, but special teams was key as Jake Wieczorek had six punt returns for 116 yards and four kickoff returns for 68 yards. He also had a pair of touchdown receptions and a team-high 61 yards receiving. He finished with 245 all-purpose yards.
The Crusaders built their 17-0 lead in the first half. Their first score came on a 24-yard touchdown pass from WR Brendan Flaherty to Wieczorek in the first quarter. Holy Cross added another touchdown early in the second quarter when Bell found Wieczorek on a four-yard touchdown pass, while Wasp connected on a 23-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.
Bucknell got on the board late in the second quarter when DeFloria recorded his sixth rushing touchdown of the season. The drive started with an 18-yard reception by DeFloria and also featured a defensive pass interference penalty and an unsportsmanlike penalty, both on Holy Cross.
Bucknell's win marked the second straight time the Bison have defeated Holy Cross at Fitton Field. The Bison last won back-to-back contests at Fitton Field in 1996 and 1998.
Bucknell has now won its Patriot League opener in two of the last three seasons.
With his five catches for 69 yards, Carter now ranks first on Bucknell's career lists with 175 receptions for 2,391 yards. He surpassed Tom Mitchell's 51-year-old program records in both categories.
The Bison, who are in the midst of playing four of five games at home, will return to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium next week to open a two-game homestand vs. Colgate. The Raiders lost to Lehigh 45-31 on Saturday and are 1-4, 0-1 PL this season.
