Bucknell Football Falls to Holy Cross in Final Road Game of Season, 27-10

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Stephen Collage returned an interception 78 yards against Holy Cross.

Josh DeStefano Rushes for 90 Yards for Bison

Nov. 4, 2006

Final Stats

WORCESTER, Mass. - Facing one of the most prolific offenses in the Patriot League, the Bucknell football team lost its final road game of the year as Holy Cross defeated the Bison 27-10 behind 512 total yards Saturday at a cold and breezy Fitton Field. Josh DeStefano scored the only touchdown of the day for the Bison when he scampered in from 24 yards out in the third quarter.

Bucknell, which continued its season-long string of alternating wins and losses, fell to 5-5 overall, including 2-3 in Patriot League play, and was officially eliminated from contention for the league crown. The Crusaders won for the sixth time in seven games and improved to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in league play.

The Bison defense held Holy Cross under 30 points for the second time in their last five meetings and had a number of impressive stands, including stopping the Crusaders on fourth-and-one at the 10 yard line on the game's opening drive.

Holy Cross closed out the first quarter with touchdowns on two of its final three drives in the first quarter. The first was a four-yard run by Mike Kielt and the second was a 29-yard pass from Dominic Randolph, who was 19 of 33 passing for 277 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, to Brett McDermott.

Bucknell's defense came up big again in the second quarter with a couple of goal line stands. Dorian Petersen, who led the Bison with 14 tackles, stopped Kielt on fourth down at the goal line on the first one. Then, after nearly giving up a safety and having to punt, Bucknell allowed Holy Cross to works its way back to the goal line. However, Stephen Collage intercepted Randolph's pass as it glanced off the hands of his receiver and returned it 78 yards. It was the team-high fourth interception of the season for Collage.

Collage's long interception return helped set up a 30-yard field goal for Will Carney that cut the Holy Cross lead to 14-3 with 29 seconds left in the first half.

The Bison put together a 10-play drive to open the second half, but stalled out at the 27 yard line and Carney missed a 44-yard attempt kicking into a stiff wind. Overall, Carney was 1-for-3 on field goals with both misses longer than 40 yards and into the wind.

A 56-yard run by Kielt, who totaled 149 yards on 26 carries in the contest, helped set up another Holy Cross touchdown as the Crusaders didn't convert the extra point for a 20-3 lead.

DeStefano, who has totaled 270 yards rushing in the last two games, capped a six-play, 64-yard drive as he weaved through the Crusader defense from 24 yards out. It was his third touchdown of the year and cut the deficit to 20-10.

Holy Cross, which totaled four plays of 29 yards or more - one on each of its four scoring drives - rounded out the scoring when Kielt rumbled in from five yards out following a 34-yad pass from Randolph to Ryan Maher.

Bucknell gained 252 yards, including 193 on the ground. Marcello Trigg ran for 52 yards and was 5 of 18 passing for 59 yards, including a 23-yarder to Daniel Zvara. Andrew Lair did make a return to the Bucknell lineup in reserve of Trigg in the second quarter, but exited in the middle of his first series.

Brigham Farrand joined Petersen in double figure tackles with 10, the second-highest figure of his career.

Holy Cross produced a balanced offensive attack with 277 yards passing and 235 on the ground. On Senior Day, captain Dan Adams led the Crusaders with 13 tackles.

Bucknell will celebrate its own Senior Day in two weeks when it welcomes Colgate to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. for the final game of the season.