Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Marist
Defense Leads Football to 26-10 Season-Opening Win at Marist
9/3/2016 9:56:00 PM | Football
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Bucknell's defense forced six turnovers and totaled six sacks, Joey DeFloria rushed for a career-high 145 yards in his first career start at running back and Jack Horan had a 71-yard touchdown reception in his first career game as a wide receiver as the Bucknell football team opened the 2016 season with a 26-10 victory at Marist Saturday evening at Tenney Stadium.
Five of Bucknell's six takeaways occurred in the first half when it built a 20-3 lead. The Bison's five first-half takeaways were recorded by five different players as Doug Whitlock had a fumble recovery and Nick O'Brien, Joe Lauro, Bret Berg and Connor Golden recorded interceptions. Bryan Marine added a strip of a Marist (0-1) receiver near the goal line to save a sure touchdown in the second half. The six forced turnovers were the most for Bucknell since a 2011 win at Lafayette played in a steady snow.
DeFloria was impressive in his first career start with 145 yards on 27 carries. He also ran for two first-half touchdowns.
“The offensive line did an outstanding job,” noted Bucknell head coach Joe Susan. “It is good to have Joey DeFloria back healthy. Chad Freshnock (51 yards on 12 carries) also came in and ran with power to gain some important yards. It is always nice to have more than one running back.”
Linebacker Ben Richard led the Bison defense with 13 tackles, four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Ben Schumacher also had two sacks and three tackles for loss, while Abdullah Anderson posted 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss.
A fast-paced, no-huddle Marist offense came out strong in the first quarter, registering a 37-yard field goal by Mike Maccarone on its first drive, but it was all Bucknell the rest of the first half as the Bison scored 20 unanswered points prior to halftime. The Red Foxes had five turnovers and one punt on their final six possessions of the first half, and Bucknell scored 13 of its first-half points following turnovers.
The Bison took the lead for good when DeFloria broke through the middle of the line and scampered into the end zone from 32 yards out for his first career rushing touchdown. It was the second possession of the game for Bucknell, which rushed for 176 yards compared to 78 for Marist.
Bucknell extended its lead to 14-3 early in the second quarter when R.J. Nitti connected with former quarterback Horan on a career-long 71-yard touchdown pass. Nitti found a wide open Horan down the right sideline and Horan ran the final 40 yards untouched.
DeFloria made it 20-3 with a four-yard run up the middle midway through the second quarter. He ran four times on the drive for 24 yards and finished the first half with 97 yards on 15 carries.
The Red Foxes were limited to just 101 yards of total offense in the first half after their opening scoring drive.
Marist closed the gap to 20-10 in the second half and was still within 23-10 midway through the fourth quarter when Marine pulled the ball away from Lawrence Dickens just as Dickens approached the end zone.
Alex Pechin added two field goals (24 and 46 yards) to account for Bucknell's six second-half points. The 46-yarder with 1:10 left on the clock was a career-long boot.
Nitti finished 11-for-26 passing for 172 yards and one touchdown. The senior moved up to fifth on the program's career completions list and is now tied for second on the school's career touchdown passes list with 31.
Marist quarterback Mike White was 20-for-36 for 251 yards, but threw four interceptions. Marcellus Calhoun led the Red Foxes with 60 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Bucknell dominated the time of possession 34:55-25:05, including possessing the ball 18:43 in the second half. The teams combined for 18 penalties for 155 yards.
Thanks to its +5 advantage in turnovers, Bucknell's average field position start was its own 43-yard line, while Marist's average field position was its own 25-yard line.
Bucknell improved to 91-39-1 all-time in season openers and is now 11-1 all-time against Marist. The Red Foxes have never scored 20 points against the Bison and their second-half touchdown was their first against Bucknell since 2013.
The Bison will continue their two-game road swing to start the season next Saturday, Sept. 10, at Duquesne.
