LEWISBURG, Pa. — Junior wide receiver
Treyvhon Saunders hauled in a career-high 137 yards and sophomore wideout
Reed Swanson caught a personal-best two touchdown passes, but the Raiders fell to the Bucknell Bison on the road, 48-34.
Sophomore quarterback Jake Stearney completed 20 of 33 attempts through the air for 248 yards, two touchdowns, and a 125.6 quarterback rating, but was hindered by three interceptions. Defensively, junior linebacker Cole Kozlowski made a game-high 12 stops while senior linebacker Brody Hock added a career-high 10 tackles in the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Despite a 10-7 deficit after the first quarter, the Raiders stifled the Bison offense holding the home side to just 77 total yards averaging only 4.28 yards per play.
- After sophomore running back Chris Gee's first-quarter touchdown scamper, sophomore kicker Luke Vogeler tied the score at 10 just two minutes into the second stanza with a 29-yard chip shot.
- Bucknell would score touchdowns on its next two series, but a Stearney to Swanson 19-yard strike sent the Raiders into the locker room with some momentum trailing 24-17.
- Vogeler opened the second half with a 50-yard field goal to cut into the deficit, but the only other score of the third quarter was a Bison touchdown pass that extended a 31-20 lead.
- The home side tacked on three more points with a field goal to open the fourth, but sophomore Winston Moore took the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the house, bringing the Raiders within one possession.
- Bucknell calmly drove down the field to reinstate a two-possession advantage, but Stearney found Swanson again to close the gap to one score.
- After the Colgate defense forced a three and out, Stearney's pass was tipped in the pocket on the following drive, falling into the arms of a Bucknell defensive lineman to hand the ball back to the Bison.
- The Bison capitalized on the lapse, throwing a 44-yard touchdown pass on the next drive to put the game out of reach for the Raiders in Lewisburg.
GAME NOTES
- Sophomore kicker Luke Vogeler ends the season 13-15 on field goals, the most made kicks in the Patriot League and the best field goal percentage among all kickers in the conference. He now holds the program record for most career 50+ yard field goals with two.
- Kozlowski logged 10+ tackles for the eighth time this season, ending the year with a Patriot League-best 133 tackles. It is the most stops by a Raider since Mike Gallihigh '08 made 140 tackles in 2006.
- Saunders logged his sixth-career 100+ yard receiving day, and ends the season with 88 receptions, the most in the Patriot League and the most-ever by a Raider in a single season.
- Moore's touchdown return is the first kickoff return for a score since Will Gruber '21 took a kick 99-yards to the house against Holy Cross at Polar Park in 2021.
- Swanson is the first Raider receiver of 2024 to haul in two touchdown passes in one game.
