Bucknell University
Fordham
Football Falls to No. 18 Fordham at Home Saturday
11/5/2022 5:01:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Damian Harris climbed the ladder to pull down a 12-yard touchdown pass from Nick Semptimphelter that cut No. 18 Fordham's lead to 31-17 with 13:26 to play in the fourth quarter, but the Rams rattled off 28 unanswered points over the remainder of the game to defeat the Bucknell football team 59-17 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
It was the second time the Rams scored a flurry of touchdowns in a short period of time, as the nation's top offense hung 24 on the board in the final five minutes of the first half after Bucknell led 3-0 early.
"It was just a really bi-polar performance. We showed up, and each particular quarter there was one side of the ball that was executing on all cylinders but the other one wasn't. We got it close. We had a 14-point game heading into the fourth quarter, and we just weren't able to make those plays necessary to stop it from getting away from us there at the end," said head coach Dave Cecchini.
Fordham's Tim DeMorat passed for five of Fordham's eight touchdowns and 346 yards after tossing two interceptions in the first half. The Rams also scored on an interception returned for a touchdown, a Taj Barnes 13-yard touchdown rush and a six-yard touchdown pass from Grant Wilson to Jack Kaiser. The Rams finished the game with 546 yards of total offense.
Bucknell ended up with 330 yards of offense after posting just 58 in the first half. Semptimphelter threw for 154 yards on 12 of 25 passing, and freshman quarterback Alex Brown added 52 more through the air on five completions. Sophomore running back Rushawn Baker led the team in rushing with 70 yards on 15 carries and scored his sixth rushing touchdown of the season.
The Bison defense, which held Fordham off the board until 8:32 remained in the first half, finished with four sacks and two interceptions. Senior safety Brent Jackson and junior defensive lineman Tyler Alston each came down with takeaways, and Jackson posted 10 tackles and three pass breakups. Senior cornerback Gavin Pringle registered four pass breakups, and junior linebacker Blake Leake finished with a game-high 13 tackles.
The defense came out strong in the first quarter, stopping the Rams on their first four possessions with a stop on fourth down, a punt and back-to-back picks. Bucknell turned it over with an interception thrown on its first offensive snap and punted on its next two drives, but the Bison made their way onto the scoreboard with a Matt Schearer 31-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
"We know an offensive as explosive as this, we're not expecting a shutout, we're not expecting to grind a team that scores 50-something a game, but at the end of the first quarter we were playing about as well as anybody has played them all year," said Cecchini.
Schearer's field goal came at the end of a 9-play, 30-yard drive that started at the Fordham 44-yard line following Alston's interception and included a 9-yard reception by Charlie Kreinbucher and an 8-yard completion to Harris.
The Bison tried a surprise onside kick immediately after the field goal, and while the Bison recovered, they were called for an offsides penalty. It was one of several special teams blunders that cost the Bison throughout the game.
The Rams responded immediately on their first drive of the second quarter, which was also a theme in the contest. A 14-play, 57-yard drive that chewed nearly seven minutes of game clock culminated with a 24-yard field goal as Fordham even the game at 3-3.
Fordham went on to throw touchdown passes on its next three drives as the Bison struggled to move the ball, starting two of their final three drives of the half within their own 10-yard line.
The Rams' three touchdowns in the last 4:30 of the half gave them a 24-3 lead heading into the locker rooms.
The Bison offense looked far better to start the third quarter, scoring on their opening drive with Baker's 13-yard touchdown rush that was set up by a 37-yard completion to Coleman Bennett on the sideline down to the Fordham 18. The Rams came right back and capped a 75-yard drive with a DeMorat 23-yard touchdown pass to Mekai Felton. Bucknell managed to stop Fordham on its next two drives to conclude the third quarter.
Bucknell opened the fourth quarter with an 8-play, 68-yard drive. Semptimphelter hit tight end Christian Spugnardi with an 11-yard pass to the Fordham 1-yard line and then threw a fade route to Harris in the far corner of the end zone, and the junior wide receiver came down with it for his first career touchdown to make it a two-score deficit.
4Q, 13:26 | Fordham 31, Bucknell 17
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) November 5, 2022
Damian Harris gets TALL for the Bison TOUCHDOWN! @ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV #PLTop3
Watch: https://t.co/KkSHvYAFh3 pic.twitter.com/rh2LwvMeS9
It was the last time the Bison would put points on the board, however, and Fordham would add another passing touchdown, a rushing touchdown and a pick-six.
Bucknell plays its final road game of the season at Georgetown on Saturday, Nov. 12.
