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Video Highlights of Cornell-Bucknell Game
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Game Day Photo Gallery (Jennifer van Benthem '12)
Post-Game Press Conference

ITHACA, NY – Second quarter touchdowns by Bryan Walters, on a 30-yard pass from quarterback Ben Ganter, and Stephen Liuzza, on a 65-yard run, broke open a tight 9-7 game as Cornell won its season opener over Bucknell, 33-9.

Ganter, making his second career start for the Big Red, went 17-for-25, passing for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Ganter spread the ball around, with Horatio Blackman, Shane Savage and Walters each tallying five catches. Blackman led the receiving corgs with 67 yards, while Savage and Walters had 49 and 45, respectively.

The Cornell defense was led by linebackers Chris Costello, with 14 tackles, and Dempsey Quinn and Aaron Levine, with 10 tackles apiece. As a unit, the Big Red held the Bison to just 238 yards of offense.

Bucknell (1-2) was led by talented running back A.J. Kizekai's 77 rushing yards and 49 kickoff return yards, while quarterback Marcello Trigg went 8-for-16, passing for 66 yards and one touchdown.



After trading possessions to open the game, a punt by Drew Alston pinned the Bison on their three-yard line. A rush by Luke Massaro brought the ball out to the five-yard line, but Bucknell's Josh Lee fumbled in the end zone, giving Cornell its first points of the season off a safety.

The Big Red took the free kick on its own 47-yard line and needed just seven plays for the offense to record its first points of the season. The highlight of the drive was a 32-yard reception by Blackman that brought the ball to the Bucknell 11. A pair of short rushes by Ganter, sandwiched around an 8-yard reception from Blackman set Cornell up on the goal line. Randy Barbour punched it in and Brad Greenway added the extra-point to make it a 9-0 game with 6:03 showing on the clock.

With just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter, Bucknell drove deep into the Big Red zone. A brilliant pass break-up by Rashad Campbell in the corner of the end zone was wasted when a personal foul penalty negated a big Cornell defensive stop on 4-and-2, giving the Bison new life. Just two plays later, Trigg found Justin Pulgrano for the five-yard touchdown reception.

Cornell's offense went back to work on the ensuing drive, steadily moving down the field before Ganter connected with Walters for a touchdown. Greenway added the PAT to give the Big Red the 16-7 lead just 37 seconds into the second quarter.

After trading the next three possessions, a short Bucknell punt gave Cornell the ball on its 35-yard line. After an incomplete pass on the first play from scrimmage, Liuzza broke off an electrifying 65-yard touchdown run, tiptoeing the sideline, before breaking back to the middle off the field and outrunning a Bison defenseman. Greenway split the uprights on the PAT and Cornell took the 23-7 lead with 7:11 to play in the opening half.

On Bucknell's next possession, T.J. Hochanadel forced a fumble and Ben Heller recovered the ball for the Big Red. The offense was unable to take advantage of the turnover, however, and the teams traded possessions the rest of the way, as Cornell took the 23-7 lead into the intermission.

The third quarter started with a bang as Walters took the opening kickoff 63 yards to the Bucknell 27-yard line. The offense stumbled, but a 43-yard field goal by Greenway pushed the Big Red lead to 26-7 just 1:29 into the stanza.

Despite a 32-yard return by Pulgrano on the ensuing kickoff, the Bison offense couldn't get going and Cornell went back on offense. A strong punt by Andrew Bell pinned the Big Red on its 14 and a sack on the first play from scrimmage pushed the home team back to the six-yard line. After Barbour brought the ball back to the line of scrimmage, Ganter's pass to Liuzza over the middle fell incomplete, as Brigham Farrand knocked the ball away at the last second.

Alston punted away to the 50 and a great special team's play gave Cornell new life, as Jason Davis fumbled the catch and Campbell recovered the ball at midfield for the Big Red. Once again, the Cornell offense stalled, but an outstanding punt by Alston pinned the Bison on their own two-yard line and the Big Red defense forced a three-and-out.

A poor punt gave Cornell possession in Bucknell territory and the Big Red used seven plays to drive down field before Ganter hit Savage for a 31-yard touchdown reception. After Greenway's extra-point, the Big Red led 33-7 with 2:52 to play in the third quarter.

The Bison offense showed some signs of life on its next drive, earning a first down at the Cornell 3-yard line. From there, the Cornell defense took over and held the Bison off the board, halting a fourth-down attempt and taking over on downs on its own five-yard line. After back-to-back runs by Barbour gave Cornell some breathing room, Marcus Hendren scooted 46 yards to bring the ball into Bucknell territory. That was the highlight of the drive, however, and the Big Red was eventually force to punt.

After another defensive stop, the Cornell offense took over deep in its own territory and a high snap sailed over Ganter's head, giving the Bison a safety to make it a 33-9 game with just under seven minutes to play.

The teams traded possessions the rest of the way as Cornell earned the victory.

The Big Red is back in action next weekend as it travels to New Haven, Conn., to face Yale in its Ivy League opener on Saturday, Sept. 26 at noon.