Once again, Georgetown waited until it was too late to get its offense heated up.
For the fifth consecutive week, the Hoyas (1-6, 0-4 Patriot League) found themselves scratching their heads after a tough loss, this one a 17-7 loss to the Bucknell Bison (4-3, 1-1) on a crisp autumn day at the Multi-Sport Facility.
“It’s never anything different than the previous week,” junior quarterback Matt Basseuner, who came off the bench in the second half for the third time this season, said. “It’s just a matter of us executing.”
The Hoyas’ revolving door at quarterback continued to turn in the first half Saturday, with sophomore Ben Hostetler making his third start of the season. Hostetler led the lackluster Hoya offense to a string of three-and-outs in the first quarter, only to be replaced by redshirt senior Nick Cangelosi, who saw his first game action of the 2006 season.
The offense remained stagnant under Cangelosi, who started for the majority of the 2005 campaign, and Bucknell sophomore punter Phil Azarik did nothing to help the Georgetown offense, consistently pinning the Hoyas inside their own 10-yard line.
While the offense struggled to find its way, Bucknell battered the Hoya defense into submission with the steady running combination of sophomore fullback Kevin Mullen and freshman slotback A.J. Kizekai. Mullen rushed for a season-high 110 yards.
Led by the physical play of senior defensive end Alex Buzbee and junior linebacker Mike Greene, Georgetown managed to limit the powerful rushing attack early, forcing the Bison to punt on their first four drives and held Bucknell to a field goal in its first red zone opportunity.
But the Bison won the two crucial battles that defined Saturday’s low-scoring affair – field position and time of possession. Thanks to the Hoyas’ offensive ineptitude, the Bison often started drives near midfield or in Georgetown territory. With their ball-control offense, Bucknell managed to keep the ball in its hands and wear down a Hoyas defense that seemed noticeably winded by the second quarter when senior slotback Peter Kaufman rumbled for a six-yard touchdown.
“We just had to stop the run. The fullback was key,” senior cornerback Derek Franks said of the Bison’s first scoring drive. “We just didn’t execute.”
Hostetler re-entered the game late in the second quarter to direct the two-minute offense, but Bucknell senior cornerback Matt Palermo stepped in front of Hostetler’s first pass, dashing Georgetown’s hopes of a quick score before the half, which came to a close with the Bison ahead 10-0.
After a dismal first half, Georgetown Head Coach Kevin Kelly said the decision to put the ball in Basseuner’s hands was an obvious one.
“My thought at halftime was that we needed a spark figuring we had only managed 74 yards,” Kelly said. “And thinking back to the Columbia game, we got a spark from att coming off the bench.”
The Hoyas failed to ignite in the third quarter, however, as both teams exchanged punts for a scoreless 15-minute stalemate. It looked as if Bassenuer was beginning to click early in the fourth quarter, hitting junior wide receiver Brent Craft for consecutive long pass plays and leading his charges into Bison territory for the first time all day.
But with just over eight minutes to play, junior linebacker Ryan Slater laid a vicious hit on a scrambling Basseuner, forcing a fumble that would doom the Hoya’s chances of staying in the ballgame.
“We were moving the ball, but I made that mistake again,” Basseuner said.
The turnover would prove especially costly to the Hoyas, as Bucknell took possession and embarked on a 12-play, 68-yard scoring drive, capped off by Mullen’s thunderous four-yard run to the end zone.
Freshman Marcello Trigg, who started the season as the Bison’ third-string quarterback, was solid in only his second game under center, consistently finding sophomore wideout Daniel Zvara for big third-down conversions.
“I didn’t do that much really, I just made a couple of plays when we needed it,” a beaming Trigg said afterward. “Our offensive line did well, and our coaches prepared us well for this game.”
The Bison were content to throw in the direction of junior cornerback Kevin Cherepski, who could not match the stellar play of fellow cornerback Franks.
“They are a running team, but when they throw, they try to hit you with the long ball,” Franks said of the late passing onslaught. “They challenged me, and I think I rose to the challenge.”
Georgetown received the ball down 17-0 and with a little over three minutes remaining in the game and played its best offense of the day. Determined not to be shut out, Bassenuer led a hurry-up offensive set in which he repeatedly found Craft open over the middle and freshman running back Charlie Houghton out of the backfield.
Junior tight end Charlie Curtis hauled in a lob pass in the back of the end zone with 27 seconds remaining to finally put the Hoyas on the board.
While Georgetown may have looked impressive on their final drive, Basseuner was far from satisfied.
“It doesn’t matter how much time is left on the clock, my mentality never changes – I play to win,” Basseuner said in the locker room after the game. “This hurts. It’s not a moral victory that we scored. It doesn’t matter if it’s 17-16 or 17-7, a loss is a loss.”
Since the Hoyas have a bye week before heading to Charleston, S.C., to take on Charleston Southern, Georgetown will have two weeks to ponder another bitter loss. The knowledge that they cannot finish with a winning record is particularly hard for the team’s seniors to deal with.
“It’s hard when you lose, no doubt. I’m just trying to set an example for the younger guys to do better than we did,” Franks said. “I just got to get some `Ws’ before I leave here.”
Georgetown’s bout with Charleston Southern (6-0) is set for 1:30 p.m. at CSU Stadium.
