Saturday, March 27
Lewisburg, Pa.
4 p.m.
Bucknell University
1-0 , 1-0
38
vs
13
Lafayette
1-1 , 1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Lafayette
6
0
0
7
13
Bucknell
7
3
14
14
38
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Bucknell Football Rolls Past Lafayette, 38-13, in Season Opener
3/27/2021 7:16:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Powered by strong defensive play, and 179 receiving yards and two touchdown catches from All-Patriot League wide receiver Brandon Sanders, the Bucknell football team toppled Lafayette, 38-13, on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
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Despite taking the field for the first time in 490 days, the Bison (1-0, 1-0 PL South) showed few signs of rust. After allowing the Leopards (1-1, 0-1 PL South) to score on their first drive of the game, they piled up 38 unanswered points. Logan Bitikofer and Tarrin Earle tossed two touchdown passes apiece, with each also throwing for over 140 yards.
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Defensively, Bucknell limited the 2019 Patriot League runners-up to 284 yards of total offense, including only 15 on the ground. Four different Bison intercepted a pass, with freshman Blake Leake returning his first career interception 41 yards for a touchdown to put an exclamation mark on his team's commanding victory late in the fourth quarter.
Sanders's career-high 179 yards came on 12 receptions, two shy of the school record he set against Holy Cross in 2019. He is the sixth Bison to eclipse 170 receiving yards in a single game, joining Tom Mitchell (264 against Temple in 1965), Will Carter (246 against Lehigh in 2014), Lester Erb (202 against Fordham in 1989, 194 against Lafayette in 1989), Carl Probst (201 against The Citadel in 1971) and David Berardinelli (184 against Towson in 1992); Sanders's 179 yards stands seventh in school history and is 57 higher than his previous career-best total set against the Crusaders.
Alex Twiford (52) and Dominic Lyles (51) rounded out Bucknell's top three in receiving yards, each also catching a touchdown pass. Bitikofer completed 14 of 22 passes for 183 yards while Earle went 11 for 13 for 145 yards and added a team-best 25 yards on seven carries. Notably, the Bison offensive line ceded just a single sack over the course of the contest.
Defensively, six players tied for the Bucknell lead with four tackles, with Ryan Brida's all being solo. Seven different Bison registered at least one tackle for a loss, with Simeon Page and Gerrit Van Itallie's coming on sacks. In his first collegiate start, freshman Mike Bright Jr. tied Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Malik Hamm for the game high with 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Beyond Leake, seniors Page, Brandon Benson and Conner Romango each picked off a pass. Bucknell scored on its possessions following Benson and Page's interceptions, both of which came in the third quarter.
Less than two minutes into the game, Lafayette found the end zone. After converting on a 3rd and 2, Cole Northrup found a wide-open Julius Young for a 61-yard touchdown. The Leopards' extra-point bid went wide, keeping the score at 6-0.
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The rest of the half, the Bison didn't allow Lafayette to advance further than its own 41-yard line. They got on the board at the first quarter's 8:30 mark, with Lyles hauling in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Bitikofer. Ethan Torres kicked his first of a career-high five extra points to give Bucknell a 7-6 lead.Â
With the clock winding down in the second quarter, the Bison marched to the red zone. The Leopards came up with a sack on a 3rd and 1 at their own 18-yard line, forcing Bucknell to attempt a field goal. Torres booted a career-long 38 yarder to send the Bison into the locker room with a 10-6 advantage.
Bucknell then scored two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter. Bitikofer connected with Sanders for a diving 35-yard score at the 11:51 mark while a scrambling Earle found a wide-open Twiford for another 35-yard touchdown with 9:01 on the clock. Twiford's score was the first of his collegiate career; the valuable blocking tight end also set a new career-high total in receiving yards during the contest.
Earle connected with Sanders for a highlight-reel touchdown catch 40 seconds into the fourth quarter, extending the Bison's advantage to 31-6. Sanders matched his career-best figure in touchdown receptions, set in 2019 at Lafayette, by hauling in a 12-yard pass while draped by a Leopard defensive back.
Leake's pick 6 came with 6:25 remaining in regulation; Leake stepped in front of a pass and raced 41 yards to the end zone. With Bucknell resting the majority of its starters, Lafayette broke its scoring drought with a nine-yard touchdown that capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with 2:45 left to play.
The Bison led the Leopards in total offense (415-284), rushing yards (87-15), passing yards (328-269), first downs (21-13) and time of possession (34:04-25:56). Notably, Bucknell did not commit a single turnover.
The Bison next hit the road to face Holy Cross on Saturday, April 3 at 1 p.m.
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Despite taking the field for the first time in 490 days, the Bison (1-0, 1-0 PL South) showed few signs of rust. After allowing the Leopards (1-1, 0-1 PL South) to score on their first drive of the game, they piled up 38 unanswered points. Logan Bitikofer and Tarrin Earle tossed two touchdown passes apiece, with each also throwing for over 140 yards.
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Defensively, Bucknell limited the 2019 Patriot League runners-up to 284 yards of total offense, including only 15 on the ground. Four different Bison intercepted a pass, with freshman Blake Leake returning his first career interception 41 yards for a touchdown to put an exclamation mark on his team's commanding victory late in the fourth quarter.
Sanders's career-high 179 yards came on 12 receptions, two shy of the school record he set against Holy Cross in 2019. He is the sixth Bison to eclipse 170 receiving yards in a single game, joining Tom Mitchell (264 against Temple in 1965), Will Carter (246 against Lehigh in 2014), Lester Erb (202 against Fordham in 1989, 194 against Lafayette in 1989), Carl Probst (201 against The Citadel in 1971) and David Berardinelli (184 against Towson in 1992); Sanders's 179 yards stands seventh in school history and is 57 higher than his previous career-best total set against the Crusaders.
Alex Twiford (52) and Dominic Lyles (51) rounded out Bucknell's top three in receiving yards, each also catching a touchdown pass. Bitikofer completed 14 of 22 passes for 183 yards while Earle went 11 for 13 for 145 yards and added a team-best 25 yards on seven carries. Notably, the Bison offensive line ceded just a single sack over the course of the contest.
Defensively, six players tied for the Bucknell lead with four tackles, with Ryan Brida's all being solo. Seven different Bison registered at least one tackle for a loss, with Simeon Page and Gerrit Van Itallie's coming on sacks. In his first collegiate start, freshman Mike Bright Jr. tied Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Malik Hamm for the game high with 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Beyond Leake, seniors Page, Brandon Benson and Conner Romango each picked off a pass. Bucknell scored on its possessions following Benson and Page's interceptions, both of which came in the third quarter.
Less than two minutes into the game, Lafayette found the end zone. After converting on a 3rd and 2, Cole Northrup found a wide-open Julius Young for a 61-yard touchdown. The Leopards' extra-point bid went wide, keeping the score at 6-0.
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The rest of the half, the Bison didn't allow Lafayette to advance further than its own 41-yard line. They got on the board at the first quarter's 8:30 mark, with Lyles hauling in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Bitikofer. Ethan Torres kicked his first of a career-high five extra points to give Bucknell a 7-6 lead.Â
With the clock winding down in the second quarter, the Bison marched to the red zone. The Leopards came up with a sack on a 3rd and 1 at their own 18-yard line, forcing Bucknell to attempt a field goal. Torres booted a career-long 38 yarder to send the Bison into the locker room with a 10-6 advantage.
Bucknell then scored two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter. Bitikofer connected with Sanders for a diving 35-yard score at the 11:51 mark while a scrambling Earle found a wide-open Twiford for another 35-yard touchdown with 9:01 on the clock. Twiford's score was the first of his collegiate career; the valuable blocking tight end also set a new career-high total in receiving yards during the contest.
Earle connected with Sanders for a highlight-reel touchdown catch 40 seconds into the fourth quarter, extending the Bison's advantage to 31-6. Sanders matched his career-best figure in touchdown receptions, set in 2019 at Lafayette, by hauling in a 12-yard pass while draped by a Leopard defensive back.
Leake's pick 6 came with 6:25 remaining in regulation; Leake stepped in front of a pass and raced 41 yards to the end zone. With Bucknell resting the majority of its starters, Lafayette broke its scoring drought with a nine-yard touchdown that capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with 2:45 left to play.
The Bison led the Leopards in total offense (415-284), rushing yards (87-15), passing yards (328-269), first downs (21-13) and time of possession (34:04-25:56). Notably, Bucknell did not commit a single turnover.
The Bison next hit the road to face Holy Cross on Saturday, April 3 at 1 p.m.
Team Stats
LAFAYETT
BUCKNELL
Total Yards
284
415
Pass Yards
269
328
Rushing Yards
15
87
Penalty Yards
30
74
1st Downs
13
21
3rd Downs
4
8
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
25:56
34:04
1st Quarter
LAFAYETT 6, BUCKNELL 0
LAFAYETT - Young, Julius 61 yd pass from Northrup, Cole (Kordenbrock, J. kickfailed) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:47
LAFAYETT 6, BUCKNELL 7
BUCKNELL - Lyles, Dominic 27 yd pass from Bitikofer, L. (Torres, Ethan kick) 3 plays, 50 yards, TOP 1:08
2nd Quarter
LAFAYETT 6, BUCKNELL 10
BUCKNELL - Torres, Ethan 38 yd field goal 11 plays, 54 yards, TOP 4:35
3rd Quarter
LAFAYETT 6, BUCKNELL 17
BUCKNELL - Sanders, B. 35 yd pass from Bitikofer, L. (Torres, Ethan kick) 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:04
LAFAYETT 6, BUCKNELL 24
BUCKNELL - Twiford, Alex 35 yd pass from Earle, Tarrin (Torres, Ethan kick) 3 plays, 40 yards, TOP 2:06
4th Quarter
LAFAYETT 6, BUCKNELL 31
BUCKNELL - Sanders, B. 12 yd pass from Earle, Tarrin (Torres, Ethan kick) 7 plays, 57 yards, TOP 4:06
LAFAYETT 6, BUCKNELL 38
BUCKNELL - Leake, Blake 41 yd interception (Torres, Ethan kick)
LAFAYETT 13, BUCKNELL 38
LAFAYETT - Whelan, Logan 9 yd pass from O'Malley, Sean (Kordenbrock, J. kick) 9 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:33
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
14
TD
2
YDS
183
INT
0
CMP
11
TD
2
YDS
145
INT
0
Players Mentioned
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WR
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P/K
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TE
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