Holy Cross Outlasts Bucknell Football, 21-14

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Holy Cross outlasted the Bucknell football team, 21-14, in their Patriot League opener on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

In a defensive battle punctuated by explosive offensive plays, the Crusaders (2-3, 1-0 PL) flipped a 14-0 deficit into their fifth-straight road victory over the Bison (0-5, 0-1 PL). Bucknell, which was celebrating Homecoming, had Gerrit Van Itallie return an interception for a touchdown and Chad Freshnock, who missed the 2018 season due to injury, find the end zone for the first time since his sophomore campaign.

"Holy Cross deserved to win the football game," said head coach Dave Cecchini. "We didn't do our job. When you play championship games against an opponent who is no better and no worse than us, it comes down to doing the little things right. When it came to offense, defense and special teams, we failed to do that in the second half."

For the Bison, Brandon Sanders broke a school record that had stood since 1964 with 14 receptions; he finished the game with a career-best 122 receiving yards. Freshnock added 78 yards on 14 carries while Logan Bitikofer completed 20 of 29 passes for 185 yards. Van Itallie and Conner Romango each picked off a pass while Nnamdi Unachukwu posted two sacks.

Trailing by a touchdown, Bucknell got the ball back with 8:59 remaining in regulation following a strong defensive stand highlighted by a Joe Schiano sack. Starting at their own 32, the Bison advanced as far as the Holy Cross 18; a highlight of that drive was a 25-yard reception by Dominic Lyles down the home sideline that brought Bucknell to the red zone. But incomplete passes and an untimely personal foul stalled the drive, and the Bison opted to attempt a 40-yard field goal when 4th and 15 came up. That field goal went wide left, and the Crusaders were able to run the remaining 4:27 off the clock by slowly and methodically advancing the ball up the field.

For Holy Cross, Connor Degenhardt threw for 276 yards on 19 for 34 passing and added two rushing touchdowns. Spencer Gilliam (80 yards) and Tenio Ayeni (59 yards) each surpassed 50 receiving yards while Domenic Cozier had a strong game on the ground, gaining 101 yards on 16 rushes.

In the first half, the Bison scored two unanswered touchdowns, both in the second quarter's first five minutes. Their first scoring drive, which began in the first quarter's waning minutes, was sparked by Simeon Page, who blocked and recovered a punt at the Holy Cross 38. Freshnock capped the abbreviated drive, which was extended by Bitikofer's 14-yard rush on a 3rd and 5, with a two-yard touchdown rush up the middle.

After the teams traded truncated drives, the Crusaders covered 23 yards in three-straight Cozier rushes to advance to their 45. Two plays later, Van Itallie stepped in front of a Degenhardt pass and returned it 52 yards up the visiting-team sideline for his first career pick 6.

The Holy Cross offense, which the Bucknell defense stymied for long stretches of the first half, put together a 12-play, 92-yard scoring drive following Van Itallie's pick 6. The Crusaders converted on three-straight 3rd and longs before Degenhardt found a wide-open Derek Mountain for a 33-yard touchdown with 6:52 remaining before the break.

After forcing Bucknell to go three and out on its next possession, Holy Cross got the ball back with 4:28 left to play in the half. The Crusaders proceeded to cover 70 yards in seven plays, with Degenhardt capping the drive with a one-yard touchdown rush. Highlights of that drive included a 27-yard pass from Degenhardt to Asante and three rushes by Cozier that covered at least eight yards.

Degenhardt's touchdown rush sent the teams into the intermission locked in a 14-14 stalemate. The Crusaders held leads in total offense (282-121), first downs (14-7) and time of possession (16:45-13:15) at that point in the contest). They also held the Bison to 1-for-6 on third-down conversions while going 4-for-8 themselves.

Bucknell appeared poised to put points on the board in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Bitikofer led the Bison from their own 19 to Holy Cross's 20, completing three passes for 26 yards; in addition, Freshnock rushed twice for 16 drives, and the Crusaders were assessed two personal-foul penalties. Holy Cross ultimately held fast, forcing Bucknell to attempt a 37-yard field goal; that field goal was blocked by Kevin Bucceroni and recovered by Grant Holloman, giving the Crusaders the ball back at their own 39.

And Holy Cross would score what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on that drive. The Crusaders rattled off two third-down conversions, the first on a one-yard Degenhardt rush and the second on a 45-yard Degenhardt pass to Gilliam that was found a single yard short of a touchdown after a video review. Degenhardt ultimately capped the drive with his second rushing touchdown, going up the middle for the score.

Two possessions later, Bucknell took over near midfield after a strong defensive stand forced Holy Cross to punt out of its end zone. After Alex Barnard brought the Bison into Crusader territory with a six-yard rush, Bitikofer found Sanders for an eight-yard gain to the 38-yard line; Sanders, who was hit hard, ultimately fumbled the ball, and Corey Stefanik pounced on it to cut short a promising Bucknell drive.

"Brandon had a game that paralleled how our football team played today," Cecchini said. "He showed a lot of great things. He went out there and played his tail off. He made play after play after play. But then he let the team down with the fumble, and he acknowledges that. He took a big hit, and he'll learn from it. He'll continue to get better moving forward. He's definitely going to be a difference maker for our football team."

Holy Cross held advantages in total offense (394-297), time of possession (31:19-28:41) and first downs (20-16). The Bison took an uncharacteristic six penalties, which cost them 55 yards; the Crusaders were also bit with the penalty bug, ceding 82 yards on nine penalties. Holy Cross converted on 8-of-16 third downs compared to Bucknell's 5-of-14.

The Bison defense had its strongest game of the season, posting four sacks for a loss of 18 yards and seven tackles for a loss of 22 yards. Gavin Pringle and Rick Mottram tied Holy Cross's Chris Riley for the game-high with nine tackles; Pringle also matched his career high with a game-best three pass breakups.

"We did get more pressure on the quarterback this game," Cecchini said. "We were able to get a lot of TFLs. There were certainly steps in the right direction and signs of progress. We just have to continue to improve and continue to press forward."

Bucknell next opens a three-game road swing by traveling to defending Patriot League champion Colgate for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Oct. 12.

NOTES

Bucknell's previous school record in single-game receptions was 13, set by Tom Mitchell in a 24-21 victory at Harvard on Oct. 3, 1964. Mitchell is a member of the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame and the grandfather of current Bison Schiano.

Sanders went over 100 receiving yards for the second time this season; he previous posted 115 on nine catches at Temple in the 2019 opener.

Romango's interception was his first while Van Itallie's was his second; Van Itallie's first came against Lafayette in 2018.

Van Itallie's pick 6 was Bucknell's second of the season; Pringle returned an interception 36 yards for a score in the 2019 opener at Temple.

All-American punter Alex Pechin averaged 48.5 yards on six punts. His first of two punts inside the 20 was the 100th of his collegiate career.

Pringle made his first career start against the Crusaders; the cornerback became the first freshman to start on the defensive side of the ball in 2019 and the third overall, joining offensive lineman Zack Tarburton and wide receiver Connor Holmes.

A year ago at Fitton Field, the Bison spoiled Holy Cross's Homecoming with their 19-16 victory; the Crusaders, who Bucknell has faced four times on its Homecoming, returned the favor this year.

The Bison are now 44-47-5 all-time on Homecoming.

Bucknell now holds an 18-16 record in Patriot League openers.

This is only the fourth time the Bison have started 0-5 in program history; they previously started 0-6 in both 1958 and 1988 and 0-5 in 2010.

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Team Stats

Logan Bitikofer

Players Mentioned

Alex Barnard

Logan Bitikofer

Chad Freshnock

Connor Holmes

Dominic Lyles

Rick Mottram

Simeon Page

Alex Pechin

Gavin Pringle

Conner Romango

Brandon Sanders

Joe Schiano

Zack Tarburton

Nnamdi Unachukwu

Gerrit Van Itallie

Players Mentioned

Alex Barnard

Logan Bitikofer

Chad Freshnock

Connor Holmes

Dominic Lyles

Rick Mottram

Simeon Page

Alex Pechin

Gavin Pringle

Conner Romango

Brandon Sanders

Joe Schiano

Zack Tarburton

Nnamdi Unachukwu

Gerrit Van Itallie