LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Four turnovers by Cornell, including three in the second half and two in the red zone, allowed Bucknell to celebrate a 21-10 Homecoming win on Saturday evening at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Big Red fell to 0-3 on the season, while the Bison improved to 1-3.
Bucknell turned a 10-7 deficit entering the third into its first lead of the game two plays into the fourth when Christian Spugnardi caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Nick Semptimphelter. The quarterback then took it in himself six minutes later to make it a two-score game. Cornell had a chance to get within a score, but a fumble on the goal-line ended the Big Red's comeback chances.
The Cornell defense limited Bucknell to 243 yards of offense, with 153 yards of it coming on two scoring drives.
Jake Stebbins had a game-high 12 tackles, including one for a loss, while fellow linebacker
Lance Blass had six stops, including 1.5 for a loss.Â
The senior quarterbacking tandem of
Ben Mays (19-of-28 for 256 yards) and
Richie Kenney (5-of-11 for 50 yards) combined for 306 yards, but all four turnovers.
Curtis Raymond III had a pair of catches for 89 yards, with both catches going for more than 40 yards.Â
Special teams was a highlight in the loss, with
Scott Lees booting a field goal and making his lone PAT, while
Koby Kiefer averaged 40.8 yards on four punts.
Javonni Cunningham had four kickoff returns for 111 yards, including a 45-yard return that gave Cornell a chance late in the fourth.
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First Quarter
• A quick and scoreless first quarter saw the Big Red dominate everywhere but on the scoreboard.
• The Big Red had a nearly 2:1 advantage in time of possession (9:51-5:09) and a decisive 94-32 edge in yardage.
• Senior
Ben Mays, making his first collegiate start, hit on 8-of-9 passes for 91 yards in the first quarter.
• Both teams punted on their first two possessions, but it was the Big Red's second time with the ball that saw Mays hit Raymond for 47 yards all the way to the Bucknell 33.Â
• A holding penalty knocked Cornell out of field goal range, but
Koby Kiefer's punt was expertly downed inside the 1.
• With its back against the wall, Bucknell three two incomplete passes and had a false start penalty, but got some breathing room after a pass interference penalty on third-and-long.
• Cornell started moving the ball on its final possession with
Delonte Harrell running the ball three times for 14 yards and a first down to cross midfield.
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Second Quarter
• Mays went up top to start the second, hitting Raymond for 42 yards down to the Bucknell 5.Â
• Facing third-and-goal from the 3, Harrell got the ball for the third straight play and went over for his second score of the year with 12:53 left before halftime.
•
Scott Lees' PAT made it 7-0.
• Bucknell answered right back with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to even the score.
• The Bison offense never got to third down, eventually scoring when Tyler Beverett scored on a 1-yard keeper to even the score.
• It stayed that way for the rest of the half, with a 54-yard Kiefer punt, a 4-yard tackle for loss from
Connor Morgan, one of six on the night for the Big Red, and consecutive 20-yard pass plays from Mays to
Devan Cross highlights for Cornell.
• The final drive saw the two passes for Cross move Cornell to the Bucknell 11 in the closing minute of the first half.
• In field goal position, Mays was intercepted by Jonathan Searcy at the 4 to essentially end the half.
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Third Quarter
• Cornell kicked off to Bucknell to start the second haf and the Big Red defense was ready to set the tone out of the locker room.
• The Big Red forced a three-and-out to give the offense the ball right away.
• A pair of completions, one to
Ryan Fitton and another to
Turner DePalma, and a quarterback draw brought the ball out beyond midfield.
• A deep ball to DePalma put the Big Red into the red zone and after stalling out,
Scott Lees booted a 27-yard field goal to put Cornell back in the lead.
• Back-to-back punts led to the Bison going on a drive to close the period.
• Bucknell had a pair of pretty completions, including one to Marcus Owens on the sidelines for 19 yards, to get inside the red zone as the third quarter horn sounded.
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Fourth Quarter
• Bucknell opened the fourth facing a fourth-and-1 from th 7, and R Baker was able to get through for 3 to move the chains.
• On the next play, Semptimphelter found Spugnardi all along after reversing his field for the go-ahead score.
• The PAT made it 14-10 and concluded a 10-play, 78-yard drive.
•
Javonni Cunningham found a seam on the ensuing kickoff, returning the football beyond midfield for his longest career return.
• Another interception on the second play from scrimmage gave the Bison a short field at the Cornell 28.
• It took nine plays to gain the 28 needed yards for a touchdown, but the Bison eventually did when Semptimphelter kept it himself from 2 yards out.
• The key play was a four-and-3 from the Cornell 11 that saw Danny Meuser spurt through for 4 yards to keep the drive alive.
• When it was all over, Cornell trailed 21-10 with 8:24 left.
• The Big Red turned to
Richie Kenney at quarterback and the senior beat a Bucknell blitz on fourth down to move the chains, finding
Thomas Glover for 16 yards.
• Another long pass, this time ot Kuzy, set the Big Red up at the 2 with six minutes to play.
• On first-and-goal, Kenney looked like he was going into the end zone to cut into the deficit, but Searcy forced a fumble and it was recovered in the end zone by Ben Allen.
• Cornell had one last chance to cut into the deficit, but three straight incomplete passes, including two broken up by Bucknell defenders, led to a fourth-and-10 pass that was intercepted by Ethan Robinson with 3:27 left, effectively ending any chance of a Big Red comeback.
Next Up
• Cornell completes its three-game road swing when it visits Harvard on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. at Harvard Stadium.
• The Crimson leads the all-time series 48-34-2, though the Big Red has won two of the last three meetings.
• The last time they met, Harvard earned a 35-22 victory in Cambridge despite 135 receiving yards and a touchdown by Phazione McClurge '20.
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