Football Travels to Marist for Second Straight Road Game

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Bucknell will head to Poughkeepsie for its second game of the season on Saturday as they take on Marist at 1 p.m. The Bison have defeated the Red Foxes in 15-of-16 contests and are currently on a 10-game winning streak.

Bucknell is coming off of a 49-13 loss to Air Force in its season opener in Colorado. Ralph Rucker IV completed 10-of-18 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown, and Tariq Thomas had a good day on the ground with 80 yards on 18 carries, but the Bison dropped their opener on the road against a Football Bowl Division (FBS) team for the third year in a row. Sam Milligan caught the lone touchdown pass for the Bison and Matt Schearer made two field goals to garner points for Bucknell. The Bison head into the contest with Marist with the goal of limiting self-inflicted wounds, which proved to be a struggle against Air Force.

Marist is led by head coach Mike Willis, who is in his 2nd season in Poughkeepsie. The Red Foxes are coming off of a 31-14 season-opening win over New Haven. This was Marist's first win in a season opener since 2012 and first home nonleague win since 2015. In the contest, Marist had two players rush for over 100 yards; Sonny Mannino (109) and Tristan Shannon (104).

Media Notes:

When: Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m.

Where: Tenney Stadium at Leonidoff Field - Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Watch: ESPN+

Radio: 100.9 The Valley (WVLY)

Internet Radio: BucknellBison.com

Live Stats: goredfoxes.com

Media Notes: Bucknell

Follow on X: @Bucknell_FB

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell stays on the road for its second week in a row as it travels to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on Marist on Saturday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m.
The Bison are coming off of a 49-13 loss at Air Force. Rucker went 10-of-18 for 126 yards and a touchdown pass to Sam Milligan. Matt Schearer made a pair of field goals for the Bison. Tariq Thomas rushed 18 times for 80 yards, leading the rushing group. Brandon Biagiarelli led the defense with eight tackles, all solo.
Bucknell is looking to continue its 10-game winning streak over Marist with a victory on Saturday afternoon. The Bison have only dropped one of 16 contests to the Red Foxes.
In last year's contest with Marist, the Bison won 34-18. Rucker went 21-of-27 for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Michael Cadden led in rushing with five attempts for 71 yards. The returner with the most receiving yards was Nate Anderson who had four receptions for 47 yards. Biagiarelli is the returner with the most tackles from the last contest with 7 total (3 solo, 4 assisted), two tackles for loss and two sacks.
The Bison were picked to finish fourth in the 2025 Preseason AllPatriot League Poll.
Alongside Ralph Rucker IV (PL OPOTY) and Tariq Thomas (PL ROTY), the Bison are returning two other Patriot League First Team selections in return specialist TJ Cadden and special teams standout Sam Milligan. Bucknell also returns two Patriot League Second Team selections in offensive lineman and 2024 Patriot League ScholarAthlete of the Year, John Ohnegian and punter Matt Schearer.
The Bison are entering their seventh season under head coach Dave Cecchini in 2025. Cecchini was voted the Patriot League Dick Biddle Coach of the Year during the 2021 campaign for leading the Bison to a spot in the first-ever Patriot League Championship game following the abbreviated season, Cecchini's team is coming off a record setting season where the squad broke 13 individual records, seven team records and scored the most single-season points in program history.
Bucknell returned a total of 65 players from the 2024 season and lost 34 athletes from the roster.
The Bison welcomed 32 newcomers this season, including 29 freshmen. Three newcomers transferred to Bucknell in the spring of 2025.
The Bison welcomed a host of new faces to the staff during the offseason; offensive coordinator Drew Folmar, tight ends coach P.J. Barr, defensive line coach Kentwan Balmer, running backs coach Jerome Smith, wide receivers coach Sam Costantino, linebackers and special teams coach Chase Murdock and Strength and Conditioning Coach Tim Warren.
Bucknell's 2025 captains are second-time captain and offensive lineman John Ohnegian, fifth-year quarterback Ralph Rucker IV, senior punter/kicker Matt Schearer and senior cornerback Terian Williams II.

Marist at a Glance

Marist is coming off of a 31-14 season-opening win over New Haven. This was Marist's first win in a season opener since 2012 and first home nonleague win since 2015.
The Red Foxes rushed for a total (net) 228 yards with QB Sonny Mannino leading the charge with 28 attempts for a net 109 yards and one touchdown. Tristan Shannon also rushed for over 100 yards (104). Both were career highs in rushing yards for the athletes.
Marist passed for a total (net) 75 yards. Mannino went 11-of-20 for 75 yards and one touchdown. The Red Foxes leading receiver was Connor Hulstein who had two receptions for 27 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Tyrell Powell and Garrett Carter led the team with eight tackles a piece. Powell had five solo tackles, three assisted tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery. Carter had two solo tackles and six assisted tackles.
Ethan Yuska punted for the Red Foxes six times for 264 yards, averaging 44 yards. His longest punt of the game was 52 yards and he placed two inside the 20-yard line.
Samer Layous went 1-for-2 on field goals, making one 35-yarder and missing the second from 34. He went 4-for-4 on PAT's. • Connor Mendini had six kickoffs for 353 yards and one touch back. He averaged 58.8 yards.

Bucknell / Marist Series

The Bison lead the series 15-1 overall.
Bucknell is undefeated at home against the Red Foxes with a 9-0 record. On the road, the Bison are 7-1 against Marist.
The Bison are currently on a 10-game winning streak over the Red Foxes with their latest win being a 34-18 victory last season.
The last time, and only time, Marist defeated Bucknell was on Sept. 11, 2010 in Poughkeepsie. The Red Foxes took that game 14-3.

Inside the Record Book

QB Ralph Rucker IV re-invented the record books. Rucker is now Bucknell's single-season leader in touchdown passes (25), passing yards (2,826), completion percentage (.672), passing completions (244) and total offense (2,922) Rucker also leads Bucknell in single game passing yards (437) and single game touchdown passes (5). With this being his final season, Rucker holds career records in passing touchdowns (46) and completion percentage (.647).
TJ Cadden tied for the longest kickoff return (100 yds) and holds the records for most punt return touchdowns in a season (2) and most total return touchdowns (3; two punt return and one kickoff return).
Matt Schearer holds the record for season point after conversions with 45.
As a 2024 team, Bucknell broke even more records. The 2024 team holds the records for; single season completions (277), single season passing yards (3,220), single season average passing yards per game (268.33), single season total yards (4,651), single season total plays (836), single season total points (346), single season first downs (252), single game total offense (428) and single season touchdown passes (28).

On Record Watch

Ralph Rucker is 263 passing attempts away from the career record for passing attempts.
Ralph Rucker is 1,427 yards away from the career total offense record.
Ralph Rucker is 106 pass completions away from the career record.
Ralph Rucker is 788 passing yards away from the career passing yards record.

Milestone Watch

Charlie Kreinbucher is 82 yards away from a career 500 receiving yards.
Sam Milligan is 178 yards away from 500 receiving yards and 12 yards away from 100 kick-return yards.
Tariq Thomas is 137 yards away from 1,000 rushing yards.

Bison Award Winners

The Bison returned six 2024 All-Patriot League Selections; Ralph Rucker IV, Tariq Thomas, TJ Cadden, Sam Milligan, John Ohnegian and Matt Schearer.
Rucker was the 2024 PL Offensive Player of the Year and Thomas was the 2024 PL Rookie of the Year.
Rucker was named the 2025 Patriot League Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and 2025 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Third Team.
Five Bison were named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team; Rucker, Ohnegian, Aaron Davis, TJ Cadden and Milligan.

Head Coach Dave Cecchini

Dave Cecchini, one of the all-time great wide receivers in Patriot League history who has since gone on to achieve tremendous success in the coaching ranks, was named the 27th Bob Odell Head Football Coach at Bucknell University on February 6, 2019.
Cecchini was voted as the 2021 Spring Patriot League Dick Biddle Coach of the Year for guiding the team to a spot in the Patriot League Championship Game. In addition, he was selected as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented by STATS to the FCS Coach of the Year, for the second time in his career.
In his first season at the helm, Cecchini led the Bison to a third-place finish in the Patriot League, their highest placement since they were the 2014 runners-up. Their Patriot League victories came over defending champion Colgate (32-14), rival Lehigh (20-10) and Georgetown (20-17); two of their three league losses came by a touchdown or less.
In 2017 while at Valparaiso, Cecchini was a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association's FCS National Coach of the Year and the STATS FCS Coach of the Year awards; he was also voted as the Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year and the AFCA FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year.
Since arriving at Bucknell, Cecchini's players have combined to earn 34 All-Patriot League First/Second Team awards as well as one First Team All-American.

Inside the 2025 Schedule

This is the 140th season of football at Bucknell. The Bison played their first-ever game in 1883 and have been playing a consistent schedule since 1887.
Bucknell is scheduled to play 12 games for just the fourth time in program history. The Bison will host six games and have six games on the road.
Bucknell opens the 2025 season with back-to-back away games at Air Force and Marist before going on a four-game home stand. Homecoming will be the final game of the homestand on Oct. 4 against Richmond.
Bucknell's home opener will be on Sept. 13 against VMI. The Bison will then start Patriot League play against Lehigh on Sept. 20 at home, which will also be Bucknell's Family Weekend game.
After its home stand, Bucknell will head on the road for games against Lafayette and Cornell.
The final four games of the season will all be against conference opponents. Bucknell will host Georgetown on Oct. 25, travel to Fordham on Nov. 8, take on Holy Cross at home on Nov. 15 and then end the season at Colgate on Nov. 22.

How to Follow the Bison

All of Bucknell's games this season will be broadcast on ESPN+ with the exception of the season opener at Air Force, which will be shown on CBS Sports Network.
All of the Bison's games will be broadcast on 100.9 The Valley (WVLY). The broadcast will also be available for internet streaming on BucknellBison.com.
Bucknell is active on X (@Bucknell_FB) and Instagram (Bucknell_FB).
Interact with the team using the hashtags #ACT and #rayBucknell.

Up Next

The Bison will begin a four-game home stand for the first time since 1996 on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. as they take on VMI in their Military Appreciation Game. The Bison will then have Lehigh, Saint Francis and Richmond on deck at Christy.

Football Travels to Marist for Second Straight Road Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nate Anderson

Brandon Biagiarelli

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Aaron Davis

Charlie Kreinbucher

Sam Milligan

John Ohnegian

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

Tariq Thomas

Terian Williams II

Football Travels to Marist for Second Straight Road Game

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nate Anderson

Brandon Biagiarelli

Michael Cadden

TJ Cadden

Aaron Davis

Charlie Kreinbucher

Sam Milligan

John Ohnegian

Ralph Rucker IV

Matt Schearer

Tariq Thomas

Terian Williams II

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