A.J. Kizekai ’07 rushed for 78 yards for Bucknell vs. Georgetown

10/18 - bucknellbison.cstv.com
Strong Second Half Helps Bucknell Football to 27-24 Victory at Georgetown - Bison Improve to 3-0 on Road in 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Marcello Trigg completed 13 of 20 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score as the Bucknell football team posted a come-from-behind 27-24 victory at Georgetown Saturday afternoon at Multi-Sport Field. Andrew Lair rushed for a career-high 122 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown scamper on the second play of the game, as he rotated at quarterback with Trigg throughout the contest. Bucknell moved into a five-way tie for first place in the Patriot League with the victory.

For the second time in its last two road games, Bucknell (4-2, 1-0 PL) needed a second-half comeback. Two weeks ago the Bison outscored Marist 14-0 in the fourth quarter on their way to a 21-17 victory. Bucknell trailed Georgetown 17-7 late in the first half, but registered 20 consecutive points and overcame a late Hoya touchdown to improve to 3-0 on the road this year. It is the eighth time in program history that the Bison have won their first three road contests.

Like Bucknell, Georgetown (1-5, 0-3 PL) rotated quarterbacks regularly with Keerome Lawrence and James Brady both taking snaps. Lawrence keyed the Hoya offense with touchdown runs of 39 yards and 37 yards in the first half. The second of those long runs, which ended with Lawrence diving into the endzone, gave Georgetown a 17-7 advantage, its largest since the final contest of the 2006 campaign.

Trigg, who played a solid game despite being hobbled with an injured ankle, then engineered a 10-play, 58-yard drive that ended with him running the ball in from eight yards out with 40 seconds left in the half. He completed 5 of 8 passes for 47 yards during the drive.

After punting on its first possession of the second half, the Bison offense got going again later in the third quarter as Trigg found Shaun Pasternak for a pair of 15-yard touchdowns 2:06 apart. The first score came on a pass from Trigg to Pasternak across the middle. Earlier in that drive, while falling down and nearly being sacked Trigg found A.J. Kizekai for a first down on a 3rd-and-12 play to keep the drive alive.

On the ensuing drive, Georgetown’s Keion Wade fumbled just outside the Hoya 10-yard line and Todd Rinaldo recovered. Three plays later, Trigg lofted a soft pass over the head of a Georgetown defensive back to Pasternak for his sixth touchdown grab of the season to put the Bison up 27-17.

The Hoyas added a late touchdown when Collin Meador caught a five-yard pass from Brady, who completed 19 of 31 passes for 155 yards. After a punt by Bucknell, Georgetown did have one more opportunity to at least tie the game, but two penalties and three incomplete passes by Brady led to a turnover on downs in the final seconds.

Underneath a sunny sky, Lair started the scoring as he rushed down the right sideline for 58 yards on the second play of the game. It was the longest run by a Patriot League player this season.

Georgetown had success on its first drive as well with Lawrence tying the game up on the sixth play with his 39-yard touchdown run.

Like the score indicated, the game was even statistically as Bucknell totaled 19 first downs and Georgetown 17. The Bison registered 356 total yards, while the Hoyas piled up 364.

Greg Jones led the Bison with 10 tackles, while Todd Manjuck added nine. Sam Nana-Sinkam, who left the game with an ankle injury, had five tackles to vault his season total to a team-high 62. Three Georgetown players (Chris Rau, Ataef Etukeren, Joey Tavarez) posted double-figures in tackles.

A.J. Kizekai [Blair '07], who had 78 yards rushing, combined with Lair for 200 of Bucknell’s 219 yards on the ground, while Pasternak had six receptions for 81 yards, giving him more receptions than any other Bison under Tim Landis.

Thanks to his 137 yards passing, Trigg moved into ninth place on Bucknell’s career passing yards list (2,859). Kizekai totaled 190 all-purpose yards (78 rush, 46 receiving, 66 kick returns) to move into fifth place on the program’s all-time list.

The home team in the Bucknell-Georgetown series has not won since 2003 and the last four meetings have been decided by a total of 19 points. The Bison won their Patriot League opener for the first time since 2004, when they beat the Hoyas.

Bucknell will return home next Saturday to host Colgate at 1 p.m. It is Homecoming on the Bucknell campus and the Hall of Fame induction breakfast will take place at 8:30 a.m.

Posted 10/23/08

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