Bison Hold Off Saint Francis in 30-23 Victory

LEWISBURG, Pa. — After being down by one with just under eight minutes left in the game, Ralph Rucker IV rushed for 32 yards to set up Tariq Thomas for a 17-yard rush followed by a seven-yard rushing touchdown. Bucknell converted their two-point try to gain a 30-23 lead over Saint Francis with just about five-minutes left in the game. The Bison (3-2, 0-1 PL) would ride that momentum to get the 30-23 victory over the Red Flash (0-5, 0-1 NEC) at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Senior Night.

Saint Francis threatened to score with a big drive in the final two minutes of the ball game. The Red Flash had possession at the 20 with 7.5 seconds remaining, throwing deep to the end zone. Brad Gerken jumped the route and picked the ball with 1.5 seconds remaining, effectively sealing the game.

"It's not easy for someone with two hands to make that play, but for someone with one hand and one club, it was a great play," said head coach Dave Cecchini. "This was his second game playing with the club and broken thumb. All you are looking for is to knock it down and hope there are zeros on the clock and the game would be over, but thank goodness he caught it because they would have had one more shot at the end zone. Phenomenal heads up play by him to get a foot in bounds."

Thomas rushed for 95 yards on 10 attempts and a touchdown as he surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards in the contest. Rucker went 15-for-26 and a touchdown, and he also rushed for a touchdown for the Bison. TJ Cadden led the Bison in receiving with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.

The game started with both teams punting the ball away on their opening offensive drives and then following that up with touchdowns on their next opportunities. The Bison struck first with a 12-play, 72-yard touchdown drive that culminated with Rucker finding TJ Cadden in the end zone for the score. On the drive, Sam Milligan, Nate Anderson and TJ Cadden all had 10+ yard catches to set up the touchdown. Matt Schearer made the extra point to put Bucknell up 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Saint Francis answered with a 9-play, 63-yard touchdown drive that ended with Raphael Ekechi rushing five yards to the end zone and made the extra point to tie the game at the beginning of the second quarter.

Saint Francis forced Bucknell's offense to punt after the Bison were penalized for holding. Bucknell's defense then forced Saint Francis to go three and out thanks to a sack from freshman Matti Krüger, his career first.

The Bison then strung together a seven-play, 23-yard drive to set Schearer up for a 49-yard field goal attempt. The senior nailed the long kick in front of his family to give Bucknell a 10-7 lead with 3:18 left in the half.

Saint Francis opened its next offensive drive with a 36-yard pass to Peyton Nelson to give them solid field position, but would end up punting thanks to a quarterback hurry by Darius Day and a stop by Luke Freeman on 3rd and 10. The Red Flash defense however, would force Bucknell to have a quick three and out offensive drive to give Saint Francis the ball with 58 seconds left in the half. The Red Flash took advantage of the possession as Maultsby had two 10-yard receptions, including a one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone to put Saint Francis up 14-10 at halftime.

Opening up the second half, Nick Whitfield Jr. threw a dart to Maultsby for 48 yards. The Bucknell defense was able to apply pressure and stand strong at the 4-yard line to force two incomplete passes and limit Saint Francis to a field goal attempt. Matt Plummer made the 21-yarder to put Saint Francis up 17-10 early in the second half.

Bucknell answered with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that culminated with Rucker breaking through an all-out blitz and rushing 11-yards to the end zone. The drive was kickstarted by a 13-yard catch from Milligan, followed up by an 18-yard rush from Thomas. Schearer missed the extra point to tie the game at 17, leaving Bucknell down by one point with 10:57 left in the third quarter.

Bucknell's offense capitalized on Takai Whitmore's strip sack, as Michael Cadden broke a tackle and rushed 20 yards into the end zone on a seven-play, 44-yard drive to put the Bison up 22-17 midway through the third quarter. The Bison went for two, but were unsuccessful.

Bucknell's defense then came out and made another big stop as they forced the Red Flash's offense off the field after four plays. Jack Inserra ended the drive with a quarterback hurry on third down to force a Saint Francis punt. Bucknell's offense would follow that up with a quick three and out of their own, but their defense would stand tall and force Saint Francis to do the same, with freshman Kato Meissner recording his career first sack on third and five to end the drive and the third quarter.

The Bison strung together a six-play, 53-yard drive highlighted by a 36-yard catch by TJ Cadden, but opted to go for a fake field goal on 4th and 8. Schearer ran the ball but was tackled by Malik Gantt and Colin Douglass after two yards gained, causing the Bison to turn over the ball on downs. Saint Francis took advantage of their next possession as they put together a 12-play, 85-yard drive that resulted in an Ekechi six-yard rushing touchdown. The Red Flash attempted a two-point conversion, but were unable to convert, giving them a one-point lead with under eight minutes left in the game.

The Bison offense came out swinging as Rucker would scramble for 32-yards to set up Tariq Thomas for a 17-yard rush followed by a seven-yard rushing touchdown. Bucknell converted their two-point try to gain a 30-23 lead over Saint Francis with just about five-minutes left in the game.

On the final Saint Francis offensive drive of the game, the Red Flash were on the Bucknell 17-yard line with seconds left on the clock and Whitfield tossed a ball into the end zone for the tie, but Gerken was there for the game securing interception.

Bucknell will play its final game of this four-game homestand against Patriot League opponent Richmond on Saturday, October 4 at noon.

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Team Stats

Ralph Rucker IV

Players Mentioned

Nate Anderson

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Darius Day

Luke Freeman

Brad Gerken

Jack Inserra

Sam Milligan

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

Tariq Thomas

Takai Whitmore