Bucknell University
0-5 , 0-2
Holy Cross
6-0 , 2-0
Football Falls to No. 9/10 Holy Cross on the Road at EBW Classic
10/8/2022 7:19:00 PM | Football
WORCESTER, Mass. – The Bucknell football team took on three-time defending Patriot League Champion Holy Cross in the second-ever EBW Classic, which was hosted at the home of the Worcester Red Sox, Polar Park. No. 9/10 Holy Cross won 57-0 to remain undefeated on the season at 6-0 (2-0 PL).
The Crusaders opened up a 21-point lead in the first quarter and added 16 more by halftime to carry a 37-0 lead into the locker rooms. Holy Cross would tack on 20 more in the second half.
Holy Cross piled up 511 total yards of offense, including 314 yards rushing. Quarterback Matthew Sluka tossed three touchdowns and ran for one more. He also led the Crusaders on the ground with 72 yards.
Bucknell fumbled twice and threw one interception while also turning it over twice on downs. The Bison had one takeaway themselves as Chris Sims picked off Holy Cross quarterback Joe Pesansky in the fourth quarter and returned it 17 yards. It was the first interception of Sims' career. Senior Brent Jackson posted a game-high nine tackles, and Gavin Pringle supplied a pair of pass breakups.
Bison quarterback Nick Semptimphelter was 7 of 15 passing for 60 yards.
Danny Meuser had one of the better days for the Bison, rushing for a season-high 73 yards on 14 carries for an average of 5.2. Freshman quarterback Alex Brown ran twice for 19 yards.
Sluka opened the scoring on Holy Cross' first possession, plunging into the end zone from one yard out following a six-play, 56-yard drive. The Crusaders added a special teams touchdown minutes later after blocking a Bison punt and returning it eight yards.
Holy Cross made it 21-0 with under two minutes remaining in the opening quarter as Sluka led the team on another six-play drive that concluded with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Dominik Thomas.
The Crusaders opened the second quarter with another touchdown pass, this one of 32 yards, to Jalen Coker. Coker led all players with five catches for 88 yards in the game. Holy Cross added another one-yard touchdown run in the second as well as a 19-yard field goal by Derek Ng as time expired.
Holy Cross drove 75 yards on eight plays on its opening drive of the second half and punched one in from a yard out to go up by 44.
The Bison were moving the ball on their first possession of the third and picked up a pair of first downs thanks to an eight-yard pass to Christian Spugnardi, a seven-yard pass to Adam Barakat, and 23 yards on five consecutive runs. The Bison were stopped trying to convert on 4th-and-1 at the Holy Cross 36, however, and handed the ball back to the Crusaders. Holy Cross threw for a 40-yard touchdown on the following drive.
The Crusaders added one last touchdown on a three-yard rush up the middle with under a minute gone in the fourth quarter. The Bison moved to 0-5 on the season and 0-2 in Patriot League play with the loss.
Bucknell is back on the road next weekend to face Yale in New Haven, Conn.
Team Stats
BU 0, HC 7
HC - Sluka,Matthew 1 yd run (Ng,Derek kick), 6 plays, 56 yards, TOP 02:18
BU 0, HC 14
HC - Haskins,Devin 8 yd punt return (Ng,Derek kick)
BU 0, HC 21
HC - Thomas,Dominik 14 yd pass from Sluka,Matthew (Ng,Derek kick) 6 plays, 70 yards, TOP 03:36
BU 0, HC 28
HC - Coker,Jalen 32 yd pass from Sluka,Matthew (Ng,Derek kick) 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 02:37
BU 0, HC 34
HC - Fuller,Jordan 1 yd run (), 9 plays, 27 yards, TOP 05:30
BU 0, HC 37
HC - Ng,Derek 19 yd field goal 14 plays, 93 yards, TOP 03:10
BU 0, HC 44
HC - Fuller,Jordan 1 yd run (Ng,Derek kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:04
BU 0, HC 50
HC - Gilliam,Spencer 40 yd pass from Sluka,Matthew () 3 plays, 64 yards, TOP 01:42
BU 0, HC 57
HC - Forrest,Jordan 3 yd run (Norris,Jack kick), 8 plays, 40 yards, TOP 02:49
