Saturday, October 20
Lewisburg, Pa.
12 p.m.
Bucknell University
1-7 , 1-2
27
vs
29
Lafayette
2-5 , 1-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lafayette
7
0
13
9
29
Bucknell
7
7
7
6
27
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Football Edged by Lafayette on Homecoming, 29-27
10/20/2018 2:58:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell football team dropped a tight 29-27 decision to Lafayette on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
The Leopards (2-5, 1-2 Patriot League) scored 22 of the second half's 35 points to hand the Bison (1-7, 1-2 Patriot League) a heart-breaking loss on Homecoming. While Logan Bitikofer found Justin Bethea for a 40-yard touchdown with 4:25 remaining in regulation, his pass on the two-point conversion that would have tied the game fell incomplete, leading to the 29-27 final score.
For Bucknell, Bitikofer threw for a season-best 267 yards and three touchdowns while Andrew Owers became the first Bison to catch multiple touchdown passes since September 2016. Sterling Deary accounted for Bucknell's other touchdown, returning his first career interception 41 yards to the house with 5:55 left to play in the third quarter.
Bitikofer found Owers for a pair of touchdowns in the first half, staking the Bison a 14-7 lead at the break. Owers's first touchdown, a 14-yard grab at the 9:27 mark, came on Bucknell's first drive. It was set up by a 34-yard catch by Brandon Sanders on 3rd and 5; Sanders's reception took the Bison from their 22 to the Leopards' 44. Two plays and a penalty later, Bitikofer hit Owers in stride on a slant route for the score.
Lafayette answered on its next drive, bolstered by a 47-yard kickoff return by J.J. Younger to the Bucknell 36. The Bison appeared poised to keep the Leopards out of the end zone, with Bryan Marine stuffing C.J. Amill at the goal line on 3rd and goal. But Lafayette went for it on 4th and inches, and Selwyn Simpson broke the plane, making it a 7-7 game with 4:23 on the clock.
The Leopards had an opportunity to take the lead early in the second half, with O'Malley orchestrating a 12-play, 56-yard drive to the Bison 24. But, after O'Malley's pass to Chris Granjean fell incomplete on 3rd and 9, Lafayette called out the field goal unit; Jeffrey Kordenbrock's 41-yard bid ultimately sailed left of the goalposts.
Bucknell regained the lead on its next possession, with Bitikofer orchestrating a six-play, 76-yard scoring drive to make it 14-7. Bitikofer found Alex Twiford for a 14-yard gain on the first play; then, on 3rd and 6 at the Bison 42, he found Butler along the sideline for a 26-yard gain. Butler jumped to catch the ball and then held onto it despite being hammered out of bounds by Trent Crossan. Two plays later, Bitikofer found Owers alone in the secondary for a 28-yard touchdown.
Bucknell got the ball right back following Owers's touchdown, with Fisayo Oluleye tipping O'Malley's first pass to Gerrit Van Itallie. Van Itallie's first career interception, which came a game after he was crowned the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week, set Bucknell up at the Lafayette 23. But Andrew Chuma sacked Bitikofer for a loss of 13 yards on the first play of that possession, and the Leopards forced the Bison to turn the ball over on downs three plays later.
During the first half, Bitikofer completed 11 of 13 passes for 169 yards, just 24 shy of his career high set during Bucknell's 19-16 victory at Holy Cross. His total was bolstered by three completions of at least 20 yards that came on third down. Owers (50) and Sanders (45) both eclipsed 40 receiving yards at the break, helping the Bison build a 172-156 lead in total offense despite being held to just three rushing yards.
The Leopards evened the score at 14-14 with 9:08 on the clock in the third quarter. Mike Dunn accounted for 48 of Lafayette's 61 yards during its scoring drive, including a 16-yard gain to the Bison 13 and a 13-yard touchdown run on back-to-back plays.
Deary's 41-yard pick 6 gave Bucknell a 21-14 advantage less than four minutes later, but the Leopards quickly trimmed that edge to 21-20 thanks to a five-play, 66-yard scoring drive highlighted by Zadok Scott's 45-yard reception. O'Malley capped that drive with a five-yard quarterback keeper score; a failed extra point kept the Bison on top.
Lafayette quickly regained possession of the ball, with Crossan intercepting a Bitikofer pass at his team's 40-yard line and returning it 28 yards to the Bucknell 32 in the final minutes of the second half. The Leopards capitalized on the turnover at the fourth quarter's 13:40 mark on an acrobatic 10-yard touchdown catch by Quinn Revere; Rick Mottram picked off O'Malley's pass to thwart Lafayette's bid for a two-point conversion, keeping the score at 26-21.
After forcing the Bison to go three and out, a penalty during the punt gave the Leopards the ball on the 50-yard line. Lafayette took advantage of its favorable field position, with Kordenbrock booting a 33-yard field goal with 7:11 remaining in regulation. That field goal proved to be the difference in the game following Bitikofer's touchdown pass to Bethea and subsequent failed two-point conversion.
Bucknell took possession with 3:26 remaining in regulation. With Tarrin Earle in at quarterback for Bitikofer, who was injured during the two-point conversion, the Bison marched from their 24 to Lafayette's 49. During that sequence, Earle found Jared Cooper for a nine-yard gain and Bethea for a 15-yard gain. But the Leopards sacked Earle on back-to-back plays for a combined loss of 26 yards to force the Bison to turn the ball over on downs at their 25, ending the game.
Bitikofer became the first Bison to throw three touchdown passes since R.J. Nitti tossed four in a 35-24 victory at Lafayette on Oct. 31, 2015. Before Owers, the last Bison to catch two touchdown passes was Will Carter in a 23-17 triple overtime loss to VMI on Sept. 24, 2016.
Bethea led all players with a career-best 111 receiving yards on four catches while Sanders (66) and Owers (50) also recorded at least 50. Bethea became the first Bison since 2016 to accumulate at least 100 receiving yards; the last Bison to do so was Carter, with 120, in a 20-13 loss at Lehigh on Nov. 5, 2016. Bethea's touchdown catch was also the first of his career.
Defensively, Brandon Benson tied Lafayette's Michael Root for the game high with nine tackles. Mottram recorded a career-best three tackles for a loss in his first career start while Sam Chitty posted Bucknell's lone sack.
For Lafayette, O'Malley threw for 155 yards on 17 of 25 passing. Four Leopards rushed for at least 20 yards while Scott (57) and Nick Pearson (52) surpassed 50 receiving yards.
The Leopards held advantages in first downs (19-15), total offense (338-292) and time of possession (35:32-24:28). They effectively snuffed out the Bison's ground game, holding them to -2 yards. They were bolstered by six tackles for a combined loss of 47 yards, including the game-ending sacks.
After enjoying their bye week, the Bison resume Patriot League play at rival Lehigh on Saturday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m.
The Leopards (2-5, 1-2 Patriot League) scored 22 of the second half's 35 points to hand the Bison (1-7, 1-2 Patriot League) a heart-breaking loss on Homecoming. While Logan Bitikofer found Justin Bethea for a 40-yard touchdown with 4:25 remaining in regulation, his pass on the two-point conversion that would have tied the game fell incomplete, leading to the 29-27 final score.
For Bucknell, Bitikofer threw for a season-best 267 yards and three touchdowns while Andrew Owers became the first Bison to catch multiple touchdown passes since September 2016. Sterling Deary accounted for Bucknell's other touchdown, returning his first career interception 41 yards to the house with 5:55 left to play in the third quarter.
Bitikofer found Owers for a pair of touchdowns in the first half, staking the Bison a 14-7 lead at the break. Owers's first touchdown, a 14-yard grab at the 9:27 mark, came on Bucknell's first drive. It was set up by a 34-yard catch by Brandon Sanders on 3rd and 5; Sanders's reception took the Bison from their 22 to the Leopards' 44. Two plays and a penalty later, Bitikofer hit Owers in stride on a slant route for the score.
Andrew Owers is dancing in the end zone! 🕺
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) October 20, 2018
The #BandOfBison jumps out to an early lead on his 14-yard touchdown catch! #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/YJMnsEgF2Y
Lafayette answered on its next drive, bolstered by a 47-yard kickoff return by J.J. Younger to the Bucknell 36. The Bison appeared poised to keep the Leopards out of the end zone, with Bryan Marine stuffing C.J. Amill at the goal line on 3rd and goal. But Lafayette went for it on 4th and inches, and Selwyn Simpson broke the plane, making it a 7-7 game with 4:23 on the clock.
The Leopards had an opportunity to take the lead early in the second half, with O'Malley orchestrating a 12-play, 56-yard drive to the Bison 24. But, after O'Malley's pass to Chris Granjean fell incomplete on 3rd and 9, Lafayette called out the field goal unit; Jeffrey Kordenbrock's 41-yard bid ultimately sailed left of the goalposts.
Bucknell regained the lead on its next possession, with Bitikofer orchestrating a six-play, 76-yard scoring drive to make it 14-7. Bitikofer found Alex Twiford for a 14-yard gain on the first play; then, on 3rd and 6 at the Bison 42, he found Butler along the sideline for a 26-yard gain. Butler jumped to catch the ball and then held onto it despite being hammered out of bounds by Trent Crossan. Two plays later, Bitikofer found Owers alone in the secondary for a 28-yard touchdown.
Bucknell got the ball right back following Owers's touchdown, with Fisayo Oluleye tipping O'Malley's first pass to Gerrit Van Itallie. Van Itallie's first career interception, which came a game after he was crowned the Patriot League Special Teams Player of the Week, set Bucknell up at the Lafayette 23. But Andrew Chuma sacked Bitikofer for a loss of 13 yards on the first play of that possession, and the Leopards forced the Bison to turn the ball over on downs three plays later.
During the first half, Bitikofer completed 11 of 13 passes for 169 yards, just 24 shy of his career high set during Bucknell's 19-16 victory at Holy Cross. His total was bolstered by three completions of at least 20 yards that came on third down. Owers (50) and Sanders (45) both eclipsed 40 receiving yards at the break, helping the Bison build a 172-156 lead in total offense despite being held to just three rushing yards.
The Leopards evened the score at 14-14 with 9:08 on the clock in the third quarter. Mike Dunn accounted for 48 of Lafayette's 61 yards during its scoring drive, including a 16-yard gain to the Bison 13 and a 13-yard touchdown run on back-to-back plays.
Deary's 41-yard pick 6 gave Bucknell a 21-14 advantage less than four minutes later, but the Leopards quickly trimmed that edge to 21-20 thanks to a five-play, 66-yard scoring drive highlighted by Zadok Scott's 45-yard reception. O'Malley capped that drive with a five-yard quarterback keeper score; a failed extra point kept the Bison on top.
Sterling Deary, with reservations for 6⃣.
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) October 20, 2018
Deary picks off his first career pass and returns it 41 yards to the 🏠. #BandOfBison #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/TtQAc5Eem7
Lafayette quickly regained possession of the ball, with Crossan intercepting a Bitikofer pass at his team's 40-yard line and returning it 28 yards to the Bucknell 32 in the final minutes of the second half. The Leopards capitalized on the turnover at the fourth quarter's 13:40 mark on an acrobatic 10-yard touchdown catch by Quinn Revere; Rick Mottram picked off O'Malley's pass to thwart Lafayette's bid for a two-point conversion, keeping the score at 26-21.
After forcing the Bison to go three and out, a penalty during the punt gave the Leopards the ball on the 50-yard line. Lafayette took advantage of its favorable field position, with Kordenbrock booting a 33-yard field goal with 7:11 remaining in regulation. That field goal proved to be the difference in the game following Bitikofer's touchdown pass to Bethea and subsequent failed two-point conversion.
JUSTIN BETHEA! 😱
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) October 20, 2018
Bethea's first career touchdown, a 40-yard catch, is a beauty. #BandOfBison #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/V4xNB82rk7
Bucknell took possession with 3:26 remaining in regulation. With Tarrin Earle in at quarterback for Bitikofer, who was injured during the two-point conversion, the Bison marched from their 24 to Lafayette's 49. During that sequence, Earle found Jared Cooper for a nine-yard gain and Bethea for a 15-yard gain. But the Leopards sacked Earle on back-to-back plays for a combined loss of 26 yards to force the Bison to turn the ball over on downs at their 25, ending the game.
Bitikofer became the first Bison to throw three touchdown passes since R.J. Nitti tossed four in a 35-24 victory at Lafayette on Oct. 31, 2015. Before Owers, the last Bison to catch two touchdown passes was Will Carter in a 23-17 triple overtime loss to VMI on Sept. 24, 2016.
Make that ✌️ touchdown catches for Andrew Owers!
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) October 20, 2018
The #BandOfBison is back in the lead! #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/2QnT3Q0SpT
Bethea led all players with a career-best 111 receiving yards on four catches while Sanders (66) and Owers (50) also recorded at least 50. Bethea became the first Bison since 2016 to accumulate at least 100 receiving yards; the last Bison to do so was Carter, with 120, in a 20-13 loss at Lehigh on Nov. 5, 2016. Bethea's touchdown catch was also the first of his career.
Defensively, Brandon Benson tied Lafayette's Michael Root for the game high with nine tackles. Mottram recorded a career-best three tackles for a loss in his first career start while Sam Chitty posted Bucknell's lone sack.
For Lafayette, O'Malley threw for 155 yards on 17 of 25 passing. Four Leopards rushed for at least 20 yards while Scott (57) and Nick Pearson (52) surpassed 50 receiving yards.
The Leopards held advantages in first downs (19-15), total offense (338-292) and time of possession (35:32-24:28). They effectively snuffed out the Bison's ground game, holding them to -2 yards. They were bolstered by six tackles for a combined loss of 47 yards, including the game-ending sacks.
After enjoying their bye week, the Bison resume Patriot League play at rival Lehigh on Saturday, Nov. 3. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m.
Team Stats
LAFAYETT
BUCKNELL
Total Yards
338
292
Pass Yards
200
294
Rushing Yards
138
-2
Penalty Yards
24
46
1st Downs
19
15
3rd Downs
5
6
4th Downs
1
0
TOP
35:32
24:28
1st Quarter
LAFAYETT 0, BUCKNELL 7
BUCKNELL - Owers, Andrew 14 yd pass from Bitikofer, L. (Torres, Ethan kick) 6 plays, 83 yards, TOP 2:24
LAFAYETT 7, BUCKNELL 7
LAFAYETT - Simpson, Selwyn 1 yd run (Kordenbrock, J. kick), 8 plays, 36 yards, TOP 4:54
2nd Quarter
LAFAYETT 7, BUCKNELL 14
BUCKNELL - Owers, Andrew 28 yd pass from Bitikofer, L. (Torres, Ethan kick) 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:34
3rd Quarter
LAFAYETT 14, BUCKNELL 14
LAFAYETT - Dunn, Mike 13 yd run (Kordenbrock, J. kick), 8 plays, 61 yards, TOP 4:16
LAFAYETT 14, BUCKNELL 21
BUCKNELL - Deary, Sterling 41 yd interception (Torres, Ethan kick)
LAFAYETT 20, BUCKNELL 21
LAFAYETT - O'Malley, Sean 5 yd run (Kordenbrock, J. kickfailed), 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 2:45
4th Quarter
LAFAYETT 26, BUCKNELL 21
LAFAYETT - Revere, Quinn 10 yd pass from O'Malley, Sean (O'Malley, Sean passintercepted) 6 plays, 32 yards, TOP 2:34
LAFAYETT 29, BUCKNELL 21
LAFAYETT - Kordenbrock, J. 33 yd field goal 7 plays, 35 yards, TOP 4:12
LAFAYETT 29, BUCKNELL 27
BUCKNELL - Bethea, Justin 40 yd pass from Bitikofer, L. (Bitikofer, L. passfailed) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:46
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
19
TD
3
YDS
267
INT
1
CMP
3
TD
0
YDS
27
INT
0
Players Mentioned
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LB
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RB
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CB
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CB
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LB
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CB
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TE/FB
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WR
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TE
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S
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