Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Football Holds Successful Spring Game on Rainy Friday Night
4/12/2019 10:05:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell football team held a successful Spring Game on a rainy Friday night at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
"I'm very happy with how it went," said first-year head coach Dave Cecchini. "We were able to get about 45 to 50 snaps in, which was what we were aiming for. It was a great competition between the offense and defense. We got to play in the rain, which was a first for the spring. It was odd to go all the way to the Spring Game without having rain so it was nice to have our players have to deal with this kind of adverse environment."
The defense earned bragging rights, winning two of the three scored situational periods that were contested. The defense opened the Spring Game by capitalizing on the wettest conditions of the night to take the move-the-ball scrimmage, 3-0. After the offense pulled out a victory in the red-zone scrimmage, the defense closed out the night with an 8-4 decision in the 4th-down scrimmage.
In the move-the-ball scrimmage, the defense netted its three points by forcing three punts. Roger Mellado got the defense on the board, making a sack to bring up third and long early into the session. Conner Romango also made an athletic play to nearly pick off a pass on the fifth snap of the first series.
For the offense, Tarrin Earle threw for three first downs while Brandon Sanders hauled in a 19-yard pass from John Chiarolanzio and a 17-yard throw from Logan Bitikofer.
"The defense stepped up early and made plays," Cecchini said. "When it was raining hard, it favored the defense, and they took advantage. The offense missed a couple of opportunities to score, but they made some good plays in the conditions."
The offense rebounded, getting exactly the 20 points it needed to win the red-zone scrimmage. The defense came out strong in that session, holding the offense to a pair of field goals on the first two drives; most notably, Sam Hildebrand came up with a big stop on third and goal from the two-yard line during the second drive. After Bitikofer found converted quarterback Renn Lints for a six-yard touchdown, Chiarolanzio hit Blais Herman in stride for a 20-yard score on the fourth drive's first play. Needing the extra point to pull out the win, Ethan Torres split the uprights; during the red-zone scrimmage, he booted field goals of 31 and 19 yards and two extra points.
The offense rode the momentum from its final-play win into the 4th-down scrimmage, converting on four of its first five tries. Earle set the tone early, racing for a 62-yard touchdown on a 4th and 2. But the defense came roaring back, stopping the offense on seven-straight chances to pull out its 8-4 victory. During that run, Clay Myers made a sack, Joe Fex stopped Marquis Carter inches short of a first down and Simeon Page returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.
"The offense came back to win the second challenge and then was doing a great job in the fourth-down session," Cecchini said. "The defense had a huge gut check, stepped up and won the period. It was great to see the give-and-take between the two units tonight. Overall, we have some things to work on, but I'm pleased with where we're at so far."
The Bison will wrap up their spring schedule with a 7 p.m. practice on Tuesday, April 16. They kick off their 2019 campaign on August 31 by taking on Temple at Lincoln Financial Field.
