Bucknell University
4-2 , 1-1
(RV) Richmond
3-3 , 0-2
Anderson's Late Touchdown; Two Fourth Quarter Interceptions Lift Bison to 33-28 Win over Richmond
10/4/2025 3:30:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. — Ralph Rucker IV connected with Nate Anderson in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:14 to play, and safety Darius Day ended it with an interception deep in Bucknell territory as the Bison battled back to defeat new Patriot League foe Richmond 33-28 on Homecoming Day at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Day pick was one of Bucknell's three pivotal second-half interceptions. Freshman James Schlendorf's breakup led to a diving interception by Brandon Biagiarelli to set up the winning score, and earlier in the half Schlendorf picked off a pass at the goal line as Richmond seemed poised to take a two-score lead.Â
The Bison and the Spiders played a true back-and-forth game where neither team let up for a single second of play, with 990 yards of total offense between the two teams.
Rucker went 24-for-34 for 284 yards and a touchdown. With 310 yards of total offense in the game, Rucker broke Bucknell's career total offense record, which was previously held by Brandon Wesley '13, who recorded 6,952 total yards of offense.Â
Sam Milligan led the Bison in receiving with 11 catches for 133 yards. Logan Bush led a balanced and efficient rushing attack with eight attempts for 47 yards and a touchdown. Michael Cadden led the scoring efforts with two rushing touchdowns on the afternoon. All told, the Bison ran for 212 yards on the way to 496 total yards, both season highs.Â
Schlendorf had a standout game on defense for the Bison as he recorded his career first sack, interception, and pass breakup, all of which played a big role in the Bison's scoring efforts. Deuce Geter, Schlendorf, and Jack Inserra each finished with six tackles.
Both teams scored touchdowns on each of their first two drives to start the contest with all gas, no breaks. Richmond's opening touchdown came thanks to a couple of big plays, starting with a 36-yard punt return by Carter Glassmyer. Aziz Foster-Powell then rushed for 25 yards and Ashten Snelsire found Isaih Dawson in the end zone for a 24-yard passing touchdown. Jayden Alsheskie made the extra point. Bucknell responded with a 9-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that saw a majority of rushes from three different backs. On the drive, Tariq Thomas rushed for 17 yards, Ty Stauffer rushed for 15 and Michael Cadden rushed for 20 yards. There was one pass on the drive from Rucker to Milligan for 20 yards. The drive culminated in a 4-yard touchdown rush by Michael Cadden.Â
Richmond then scored a second 20+ yard passing touchdown on its next drive. After Schlendorf sacked Snelsire (his first career sack) and the Bison contained the Spiders on second down, Snelsire found Quanye Veney for a 49-yard grab and then Foster-Powell rushed for 12 yards. The drive culminated in a 25-yard touchdown pass to Dawson. The Bison responded yet again, this time with an 11-play 78-yard touchdown drive that culminated in Bucknell's fourth running back of the day entering the game on 4th-and-1 and rushing 11-yards into the end zone. Schearer made the extra point to tie the game at 14 at the start of the second quarter.
Richmond kept slinging as it then recorded their third 20+ yard passing touchdown of the afternoon on its third offensive drive as Snelsire found Andrew King in the back of the end zone on a 25-yard pass. Alsheskie made the extra point to give the Spiders their third lead of the game.Â
After that touchdown put the Spiders up 21-14, the defensive forces of both teams started to compete. The Bison's next offensive drive was halted by an offensive holding call that nullified two 10+ yard catches by Anderson and forced the first punt of the afternoon. Richmond then traveled down the field and went for another deep pass toward the end zone on third down, but this time the Bison defense was ready as Schlendorf recorded his first career interception to give Bucknell the ball back. The Bison would find a first down on the first play as Bush ran for 12-yards, but would later turnover the ball on downs. The Bison defense held the Spiders to a field goal attempt with the help of an offensive holding penalty, but they never got the kick away due to a bad snap.
Bucknell got the ball with 1:28 left in the half. With a 25-yard grab by Josh Gary and the help of a pass interference call on Richmond, the Bison began charging down the field. With seconds left in the half, Rucker was sacked and a pass to the end zone was broken up, but Schearer converted a 31-yard field goal attempt to close the Bison's deficit to four going into halftime.Â
Bucknell received the ball coming out of the half and the Bison strung together an 8-play, 86-yard touchdown drive. Milligan had two long catches on the drive including a 32-yard catch where he sported multiple broken tackles. Rucker had a 23-yard rush to put the Bison two-yards from the end zone, but he was injured on the play. Back-up quarterback Christopher Dietrich entered the game and handed the ball off to Michael Cadden, who found the end zone for the second time on the day and gave the Bison their first lead.Â
The lead would go away quickly as the Spiders answered on their next drive with yet another 20+ yard passing touchdown, this time the touchdown pass was 25 yards and was caught by Ja'Vion Griffin. On the drive, Dawson caught a pass for 34-yards to get the first down on a third down play for the Spiders. Alsheskie made the extra point to put Richmond up 28-24.
Rucker came back on the next offensive drive for Bucknell, but Richmond's defense would stand tall once the Bison got into their zone. On 3-and-9 at the Richmond 22-yard line, Blake Houser sacked Rucker to force the Bison to attempt a 43-yard field goal. Schearer's kick would go wide, leaving the Bison down by four with three minutes left in the third quarter.Â
Richmond would then drive down the field and be faced with a 4th-and-1 try at the start of the fourth quarter on the Bucknell 10-yard line. Snelsire kept the ball and attempted to break through the middle, but Charlie Meehleib and Deuce Geter made a big stop for Bucknell to keep the Bison's deficit to four. For the second time deep in Richmond's territory, the Bison offense struggled in the red zone at the Spiders' 10-yard line as Rucker threw three incomplete passes. On 4th-and-10, Matt Schearer made a 27-yard field goal to close the gap to 28-27 with 6:14 left in the game.
On Richmond's next drive, Schlendorf came up with a huge pass breakup, and Biagiarelli grabbed the ball just before it hit the ground on Richmond's 49-yard line. Rucker would then find Anderson in the end zone on a third down play and the senior would secure the catch and the lead for Bucknell with just over two-minutes left of play.Â
With two minutes left, the Spiders threatened to score a game-winner as they quickly charged to the Bucknell 49-yard line, but for the second straight week the Bison ended the game with an interception. Last week, Brad Gerken sealed the win over Saint Francis with a pick in the end zone with one second left. This time it was Day playing the role of hero as he grabbed a game-ending interception to give Bucknell its first win in four all-time meetings with Richmond.
The Bison are now 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Patriot League. Next up, the Bison take to the road for the first time in a month and will head to Patriot League rival Lafayette on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 12:30 p.m.
Team Stats
RIC 7, BUC 0
RIC - Dawson,Isaiah 24 yd pass from Snelsire,Ashten (Alsheskie,Jayden kick) 4 plays, 62 yards, TOP 01:43
RIC 7, BUC 7
BUC - Cadden,Michael 4 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 04:45
RIC 14, BUC 7
RIC - Dawson,Isaiah 25 yd pass from Snelsire,Ashten (Alsheskie,Jayden kick) 6 plays, 83 yards, TOP 02:31
RIC 14, BUC 14
BUC - Bush,Logan 11 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 05:40
RIC 21, BUC 14
RIC - King,Andrew 25 yd pass from Snelsire,Ashten (Alsheskie,Jayden kick) 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 03:09
RIC 21, BUC 17
BUC - Schearer,Matt 31 yd field goal 10 plays, 61 yards, TOP 01:23
RIC 21, BUC 24
BUC - Cadden,Michael 2 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 8 plays, 86 yards, TOP 04:16
RIC 28, BUC 24
RIC - Griffin,Ja'Vion 25 yd pass from Snelsire,Ashten (Alsheskie,Jayden kick) 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 02:12
RIC 28, BUC 27
BUC - Schearer,Matt 27 yd field goal 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 05:59
RIC 28, BUC 33
BUC - Anderson,Nate 20 yd pass from Rucker IV,Ralph () 6 plays, 49 yards, TOP 01:38
