Opportunistic Bucknell Delivers Lehigh Heartbreak, Beats Mountain Hawks in 2OT, 38-35

BETHLEHEM, PA – It was a battle.

At halftime, the score was 14-14. At the end of the 3rd quarter, the score was 21-21. At the end of regulation, the score was 28-28. And at the end of the first overtime, the score was deadlocked at 35.

Evenly matched throughout, an opportunistic Bison squad never laid down, forcing critical turnovers and scoring a huge momentum-stealing 100 yard kickoff return for touchdown by WR T.J. Cadden to keep the score knotted for most of the game.

And in the end, a forced fumble by Bison LB Brad Jamison in the second overtime and recovered by LB Gavin Willis would end the afternoon of heartbreak for Lehigh fans 38-35.

The win put Bucknell (3-2, 1-0 Patriot) in first place in the Patriot League, while Lehigh (3-2, 0-1 Patriot) will have an unusually long time to stew on the loss with two consecutive bye weeks before their next football game.

“I’m just so proud of our players. There were so many moments for them to hang their heads,” Bucknell head coach Dave Cecchini said after the game. “The back and forth was amazing, but for most of the game we were down. To win it in the manner that we did, as a team, all three phases of the game, stepping up multiple times.”

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Lehigh head coach Kevin Cahill said in his opening statement. “Bucknell is a very good team. We knew that they were going to do some things that we were worried about. And you give them credit. They found a way to win the game in the double overtime, and they’re 1-0 in the league, and we are not. We’ve got to do a good job of learning from this and moving forward. This loss can’t define who we really are. It’s an opportunity for us to get back to work, and…” There was a pause. “Everything we want is right in front of us. So we’ve got to continue to work. And we’ve got to continue to get better.”

On the stat sheet, Lehigh dominated Bucknell in many aspects, gaining 500 yards of offense, dominating time of possession 36 minutes to 23, sacking Bison QB Ralph Rucker IV 5 times, notching 3 more sacks than the Bison.

But coach Cahill, WR Geoffrey Jamiel and LB Mike DeNucci were keenly aware that none of that mattered on Saturday. Gaining more yards doesn’t win a football game. It didn’t alter the final score, nor the fact that Bucknell LB Gavin Willis would recover two fumbles – including the one in the second overtime that would be the game winner.

It was a true battle – neither side gave in, or caved, the entire way. Each team made mistakes, recovered from them, picked themselves up off the tarmac, and battled their way back into it.

Up 7-0, Lehigh DB Nick Peltekian pounced on a Bucknell fumble the very next drive, which set up Geoffrey Jamiel’s first touchdown reception on the day by QB Hayden Johnson to give Lehigh a 14-0 lead.

With a two-score lead all the momentum on Lehigh’s side, Bison WR T.J. Cadden‘s kickoff return for a touchdown – his third return score this season – swung the pendulum the other direction, cutting the deficit in half, picking Bucknell up off the mat only down 14-7.

Two plays later, Willis would recover his first fumble on the afternoon, setting up a one play scoring strike from Rucker to WR Eric Weatherly on the very next play. Only a minute and a half after Lehigh went up by two touchdowns, it was 14-14, and the dogfight was on.

“We just put ourselves at the bottom of the hill when we should have to top the whole game,” DeNucci said after the game. “We came back and made it a fight, but just looking at the numbers, and then you look at the score, it doesn’t really represent what this game should have been for us. But that’s the thing. The scoreboard is the way the scoreboard is. That’s all I can say about that. We didn’t get over the hump.”

After a big defensive stop to start the second half, Lehigh would grind out a 10 play, 78 yard drive capped off by a 19 yard run by RB Luke Yoder, who would lead all ball carriers with 140 yards net rushing on the afternoon.

But Bucknell would respond with their best offensive drive on the afternoon, a 12 play, 73 yard drive ending with Rucker’s 7 yard touchdown run to knot things at 21.

The drama would lead to a thrilling fourth quarter and overtime period, one where veteran CB Aaron Davis of Bucknell returned an interception for a touchdown to give the Bison a 28-21 lead with six minutes to play.

But it would be Lehigh QB Hayden Johnson‘s turn to pick himself up off the tarmac, converting a critical 4th and 5 to WR Mason Humphrey to set up Yoder’s second touchdown run of the day – this one a 1 yarder – to tie the game at 28.

“You saw a first-year quarterback [Johnson] throw a pick-six and he was like ‘OK, good, I get to come back and drive the team down the field’ and he did that and we saw a lot in him,” Cahill said. “We also found a way to run the football after we were struggling in the first half. Defensively, we did a great job. We just gave up one big play in the first half and a big play here and there, but we made them drive the field, and give Bucknell credit because they drove the field and scored.”

“Hayden’s a great player,” Jamiel added. “He’s a freshman, but he feels older. He’s a leader. We all get behind him or whoever’s in there, the quarterback. That one play is not going to define him. He’s going to come back and have a great week of practice.”

Lehigh scored quickly in the first overtime, with two quick Yoder rushes ending in the end zone, but Weatherly’s second TD grab from Rucker would help send Bucknell to the decisive second OT.

“I think we made some young mistakes,” Cahill said. “But that’s who we are right now. We’ve got to overcome those things. We had too many mistakes that we had to overcome. You got to overcome your turnovers. Too many turnovers. We didn’t play well enough to win the game.”

Both Lehigh and Bucknell have bye weeks next week.

Box Score

Bucknell (3-2 , 1-0) -VS- Lehigh (3-2 , 0-1)

BUC: Rucker IV,Ralph (150), Thomas,Tariq (77), Weatherly,Eric (55)
LEH: Johnson,Hayden (200), Yoder,Luke (137), Jamiel,Geoffrey (136)
Attendance: 4003

Chuck Burton

Chuck has been writing about Lehigh football since the dawn of the internet, or perhaps it only seems like it. He’s executive editor of the College Sports Journal and has also written a book, The Rivalry: How Two Schools Started the Most Played College Football Series.

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