Bucknell Drops Contest at Lafayette 62-24

EASTON, Pa. — Bucknell football (4-3, 1-2 PL) made a solid third quarter effort to come back from a 48-10 deficit including a Luke Freeman blocked punt that Sam Milligan returned for a touchdown, but it wouldn't be enough as Lafayette (5-2, 3-0 PL) would maintain their lead and take a 62-24 victory over the Bison.

Quarterback Chris Dietrich saw his first start as a Bison on Saturday, as Ralph Rucker IV was sidelined due to an injury. Dietrich went 19-of-32 for 224 yards and two touchdowns.

TJ Cadden led the Bison in receiving with five catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Tariq Thomas led the rushing efforts with nine carries for 47 yards. On defense, Brandon Biagiarelli led the pack with eight total tackles (7 solo, 1assisted) and one tackle for loss.

Matt Schearer had a strong day as he punted eight times for 328 yards with one punt inside the 20-yard line. He also went 1-for-1 in field goals on a 50-yarder, which tied his career-long that came in his freshman season in 2022 at Georgetown. The 50-yarder also tied the Patriot League's season-long field goal record.

In the loss, Bucknell struggled to stop Lafayette's rushing efforts as the Bison gave up three touchdowns on one play, 67+ yard rushes by three different Leopards.

The first quarter was a low scoring feat as Lafayette was the only one to find the end zone. Bucknell opened with a quick three-and-out before the Leopards put together a six-play, 65-yard touchdown drive which culminated in a 32-yard rush into the end zone for Ethan Weber. Lafayette held the lead throughout the first quarter as each team recorded three punts apiece to end the first.

The Bison opened quarter two with an eight-play, 91-yard touchdown drive where Dietrich threw his first touchdown pass as a Bison, a 35-yarder, to TJ Cadden to tie the game. The Leopards then scored two unanswered touchdowns to take a 21-7 lead with 7:06 left in the half. The first of the two touchdowns was a 20-yard pass from Dean DeNobile to Jakyre Henley. The second touchdown came thanks to a 79-yard rush by Jason Penza.

The Bison then put together a solid drive, but a sack and a personal foul on Bucknell forced the Bison to settle for a 50-yard field goal attempt. Schearer made the field goal and tied his career-long,

Lafayette answered in 27 seconds as they used a couple of long and quick plays to set up a 34-yard touchdown pass from DeNobile to Elijah Steward. The pass was heavily contested by Takai Whitmore, who ripped the ball out of Steward's hands in the end zone, but upon officials review the touchdown would stand, extending the Leopards lead. On the Bison's next drive, Lafayette applied heavy pressure and Michael Vaughn intercepted a pass at the Bucknell 36-yard line which would set up the Leopards fourth touchdown of the second quarter and a 34-10 lead at halftime.

Lafayette opened the second half by adding two more quick touchdowns to make it a 48-10 game with 9:30 left in the third quarter. One of those touchdowns was a one-play, 67-yard rush by Ethan Weber.

Bucknell then answered with a five-play, 67-yard touchdown drive. On the drive Dietrich found Milligan for a 25-yard completion, which set up a Dietrich-to-Cadden connection for the touchdown as TJ Cadden hauled in a 16-yard pass in the end zone. Schearer made the extra point.

The Bison's defense came up with a big three-and-out on Lafayette's next drive with tackles from Biagiarelli, England Allen and Colton Davis, forcing the Leopards to punt. Freeman blocked the Leopard's punt and Milligan picked up the ball and ran it into the end zone. The last time the Bison blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown was on Oct. 13, 2018 in a loss at Monmouth. Schearer made the extra point and the Bison would cut their deficit to 24 with 3:29 left in the third quarter.

The game would then remain scoreless through the end of the third quarter. Both teams traded punts before Lafayette found the end zone twice in the matter of 2:15 to extend their lead to 62-24. That score would hold as the final ten minutes went scoreless.

Next up the Bison will stay on the road and travel to Ithaca to take on the Cornell Big Red on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.