Bucknell University
1-1 , 0-0
Marist
1-1 , 0-0
Tariq Thomas Rushes for Two Touchdowns in the Bison's 34-23 Win Over Marist
9/6/2025 5:02:00 PM | Football
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — The Bison football team found their first victory of 2025 at Marist on Saturday with a 34-23 win. Tariq Thomas led the offensive charge as he rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Ralph Rucker IV went 18-of-23 for 236 yards through the air, and TJ Cadden (104 yards) and Sam Milligan (87 yards) both broke their career records in receiving yards. Freshman Logan Busson recorded his first career interception in the first half, and Terian Williams II and Deuce Geter paced the defense with 13 tackles each.
Outside of the normal for Bucknell, all four Bison touchdowns came on the ground. Alongside Thomas' two, Rucker and Michael Cadden each found their way into the end zone. Matt Schearer went 2-for-2 in field goals to round out the score.
"It's a team sport and all 11 guys on offense, defense, and special teams were firing on all cylinders," said head coach Dave Cecchini. "Tariq did a phenomenal job right from the get-go. Hats off to our offensive line, they did a great job protecting Ralph even with a lot of blitzes."
Marist won the toss and elected to receive the ball in the first quarter, but the Bison defense came out explosively and forced a quick three-and-out to start the game. Bucknell's offense then took the field and continued the trend with a six-play, 53-yard touchdown drive, culminating with a 15-yard rush by Rucker into the end zone to put the Bison on the board first.
The Red Foxes offense found its way to the Bucknell 47-yard line thanks to four straight passes from quarterback Sonny Mannino, but the Bucknell defense struck once again. Busson read the route and picked off Mannino's pass and ran it back to the Marist 40-yard line.
"I was just dropping to my curl and I saw the quarterback's eyes go back in so I cut back inside and got it," said Busson. "I am new to playing inside linebacker, so I am just trusting my coaches and giving 100% all the time."
Thomas opened the offensive drive with a 36-yard rush, but the Marist defense locked down and forced the Bison to settle for a field goal. Schearer nailed the 22-yarder to give the Bison a 10-0 lead.
Marist's offense played aggressively as they attempted to convert on two fourth downs within their third drive; the first was successful, but the passing attempt on 4th and 10 went incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.
The Bison took the 10-0 lead into the second quarter, as they were driving down the field. Bucknell started the second on the Marist 14-yard line. Rucker rolled out of the pocket to avoid a sack and attempted to pass the ball into the end zone, but Nate Robinson Jr. was sitting on the pass and picked it off to get Marist out of a tricky situation.
The interception was followed up by each team going three and out. On the Red Foxes' fourth offensive drive of the game, however, momentum shifted in their favor. Starting at the Marist 20-yard line, the offense put together a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, which culminated with a one-yard rush into the end zone by Tristan Shannon to make it a three-point game.
The Bison followed up Marist's touchdown drive with one of their own. A nine-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by a Milligan 36-yard catch and a fully stretched out TJ Cadden 12-yard catch. Finishing the drive was Thomas, who rushed four yards into the end zone for the score.
Marist was holding on with under four minutes left in the first half as they used the rest of the clock to drive down the field. With 15 seconds left in the half, Sonny Mannino made a one-yard pass into the end zone to Connor Hulstein to cut the Bison lead to three.
Coming out of the half, both teams' defensive sides were able to adapt, which left the beginning of the third quarter scoreless as both teams had unsuccessful drives. The Bison broke the drought with a 32-yard Schearer field goal to make it a 20-14 game with 5:10 left in the third quarter.
Bucknell's defense then came up big to limit Marist to a field goal and maintain the lead. After the Red Foxes drove down the field and had 3rd-and-goal, Williams broke up a pass in the end zone to force the field goal. Sameer Layous made the 29-yarder.
The Bison offense then came out swinging as TJ Cadden caught a 46-yard bomb from Rucker to the Marist one-yard line to end the third quarter. To start off the fourth, Thomas burst across the line to extend the Bison's lead to 27-14.
As the Red Foxes did several times throughout the game, they got into Bison territory and then went for it on fourth down. This time, Marist went for a 4th and 6 at the Bucknell 41-yard line, but the plan was thwarted by Williams, who broke through the line and sacked Mannino to force a turnover on downs.
The sack was a diving board for the Bison offense, which went seven plays for 59 yards and a touchdown immediately after. The score came from Michael Cadden on an eight-yard rush with 7:30 left in the game.
As time was counting down, the Red Foxes had one more offensive drive and they took advantage of it. Marist went seven plays for 64 yards and ended the drive with a four yard rushing touchdown by Ja'Cyion Cox. The extra-point attempt hit the upright, and then the Bison got the ball and lined up in victory formation as they earned their first win of 2025 with a scoreline of 34-23.
Bucknell begins a four-game home stretch next Saturday, Sept. 13 against VMI at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The game is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m.
Team Stats
BUC 7, MAR 0
BUC - Rucker IV,Ralph 15 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 6 plays, 53 yards, TOP 02:24
BUC 10, MAR 0
BUC - Schearer,Matt 22 yd field goal 5 plays, 35 yards, TOP 01:26
BUC 10, MAR 7
MAR - Shannon,Tristan 1 yd run (Layous,Samer kick), 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:24
BUC 17, MAR 7
BUC - Thomas,Tariq 4 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:12
BUC 17, MAR 14
MAR - Hulstein,Connor 1 yd pass from Mannino,Sonny (Layous,Samer kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:43
BUC 20, MAR 14
BUC - Schearer,Matt 32 yd field goal 9 plays, 44 yards, TOP 04:32
BUC 20, MAR 17
MAR - Layous,Samer 29 yd field goal 9 plays, 64 yards, TOP 03:18
BUC 27, MAR 17
BUC - Thomas,Tariq 1 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 4 plays, 69 yards, TOP 01:49
BUC 34, MAR 17
BUC - Cadden,Michael 8 yd run (Schearer,Matt kick), 7 plays, 59 yards, TOP 03:27
BUC 34, MAR 23
MAR - Cox,Ja'Cyion 4 yd run (), 6 plays, 64 yards, TOP 01:20
