Rucker IV and Schlendorf Earn PL Honors; Rucker Earns Bison of the Week
10/6/2025 1:49:00 PM | Football
LEWISBURG, Pa. — Ralph Rucker IV and James Schlendorf both earned Patriot League honors after the Bison's thrilling 33-28 underdog victory over Richmond on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Rucker earned two honors this week as he was named both the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week and the Bison of the Week. James Schlendorf earned his first Patriot League honor as he captured Patriot League Rookie of the Week thanks to an impressive defensive performance.
Rucker went 24-for-34 for 284 yards and a touchdown in the Bison win. He also rushed for 26-yards. 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.
Rucker showed a lot of perseverance and grit throughout the game which shone through after a 23-yard rush at the start of the second half landed him on the ground in pain. Rucker appeared to be injured on the play and was walked off of the field, but bounced back ready to go on the next Bucknell offensive drive and toughed out the rest of the game to lead his team to victory with a pass to Nate Anderson in the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown with just 2:14 left to play.
Schlendorf, a freshman defensive back from Salt Lake City, Utah, hadn't seen much playing time before Bucknell's contest against Richmond. With a couple of injuries at the defensive back position it was Schlendorf's time to step up and he made the most of it.
The freshman posted a team-leading six tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, one interception and one pass breakup. The interception came at a critical point in the first half of the game where the Bison were down by seven and the Spiders were looking to make it a two-score game at the end of the first half with a pass to the endzone. Schlendorf jumped in front of the Richmond player to make the play and keep it a one-score game at halftime. His pass breakup was also the play of the game for the Bison that ultimately led to the go-ahead touchdown and win for the Bison. He made a great play on the pass to break it up and sophomore linebacker Brandon Biagiarelli intercepted the breakup with less than six minutes left in the game.
The Bison pulled off a 33-28 upset over Richmond and will next face Lafayette in Easton, Pa. on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 12:30 p.m.
