POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — The Bison football team found their first victory of 2025 at Marist on Saturday with a 34-23 win. Tariq Thomas led the offensive charge as he rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Ralph Rucker IV went 18 of 23 for 236 yards through the air, and TJ Cadden (104 yards) and Sam Milligan (87 yards) both broke their career records in receiving yards.

Freshman Logan Busson recorded his first career interception in the first half, and Terian Williams II and Deuce Geter paced the defense with 13 tackles each. 

Outside of the normal for Bucknell, all four Bison touchdowns came on the ground. Alongside Thomas’ two, Rucker and Michael Cadden each found their way into the end zone. Matt Schearer went 2-for-2 in field goals to round out the score.

“It’s a team sport and all 11 guys on offense, defense, and special teams were firing on all cylinders,” said Bucknell coach Dave Cecchini. “Tariq did a phenomenal job right from the get-go. Hats off to our offensive line, they did a great job protecting Ralph even with a lot of blitzes.”

Marist won the toss and elected to receive the ball in the first quarter, but the Bison defense came out explosively and forced a quick three-and-out to start the game. Bucknell’s offense then took the field and continued the trend with a six-play, 53-yard touchdown drive, culminating with a 15-yard rush by Rucker into the end zone to put the Bison on the board first.

The Red Foxes offense found its way to the Bucknell 47-yard line thanks to four straight passes from quarterback Sonny Mannino, but the Bucknell defense struck once again. Busson read the route and picked off Mannino’s pass and ran it back to the Marist 40-yard line.

“I was just dropping to my curl and I saw the quarterback’s eyes go back in so I cut back inside and got it,” said Busson. “I am new to playing inside linebacker, so I am just trusting my coaches and giving 100% all the time.”

Thomas opened the offensive drive with a 36-yard rush, but the Marist defense locked down and forced the Bison to settle for a field goal. Schearer nailed the 22-yarder to give the Bison a 10-0 lead.

Marist’s offense played aggressively as they attempted to convert on two fourth downs within their third drive; the first was successful, but the passing attempt on 4th and 10 went incomplete, forcing a turnover on downs.

The Bison took the 10-0 lead into the second quarter, as they were driving down the field. Bucknell started the second on the Marist 14-yard line. Rucker rolled out of the pocket to avoid a sack and attempted to pass the ball into the end zone, but Nate Robinson Jr. was sitting on the pass and picked it off to get Marist out of a tricky situation.

The interception was followed up by each team going three and out. On the Red Foxes’ fourth offensive drive of the game, however, momentum shifted in their favor. Starting at the Marist 20-yard line, the offense put together a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, which culminated with a one-yard rush into the end zone by Tristan Shannon to make it a three-point game.

The Bison followed up Marist’s touchdown drive with one of their own. A nine-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by a Milligan 36-yard catch and a fully stretched out TJ Cadden 12-yard catch. Finishing the drive was Thomas, who rushed four yards into the end zone for the score.

Marist was holding on with under four minutes left in the first half as they used the rest of the clock to drive down the field. With 15 seconds left in the half, Sonny Mannino made a one-yard pass into the end zone to Connor Hulstein to cut the Bison lead to three.

Coming out of the half, both teams’ defensive sides were able to adapt, which left the beginning of the third quarter scoreless as both teams had unsuccessful drives. The Bison broke the drought with a 32-yard Schearer field goal to make it a 20-14 game with 5:10 left in the third quarter. 

Bucknell’s defense then came up big to limit Marist to a field goal and maintain the lead. After the Red Foxes drove down the field and had 3rd-and-goal, Williams broke up a pass in the end zone to force the field goal. Sameer Layous made the 29-yarder. 

The Bison offense then came out swinging as TJ Cadden caught a 46-yard bomb from Rucker to the Marist one-yard line to end the third quarter. To start off the fourth, Thomas burst across the line to extend the Bison’s lead to 27-14. 

Bucknell 34, Marist 23

Bucknell 10 7 3 14 — 34

Marist 0 14 3 6 — 23

First quarter

B–Ralph Rucker IV 15 run (Matt Schearer kick), 11:43.

B–Schearer 22 field goal, 8:06.

Second quarter

M–Tristan Shannon 1 run (Samer Layous kick), 8:16.

B–Tariq Thomas 4 run (Schearer kikc), 3:58.

M–Connor Hulstein 1 pass from Sonny Manino (Layous kick), 0:15.

Third quarter

B–Schearer 32 field goal, 5:10.

M–Layous 29 field goal, 1:52.

Fourth quarter

B–Thomas 1 run (Schearer kick), 14:56.

B–Michael Cadden 8 run (Schearer kick), 7:30.

M–Ja’Cylon Cox 4 run (kick failed), 0:50.

TEAM STATISTICS

M B

First downs 24 20

Rushes-yards 41-177 34-136

Passing yards 262 236

C-A-I 24-46-1 18-23-1

Total yards 439 372

Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 3-35 2-10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Marist, Sonny Mannino 20-89, Tristan Shannon 11-42 TD, Will O’dell 2-24, Carter James 6-15, Ja’clyon Cox 1-4 TD, Jackson Conners-McCarthy 1-3. Bucknell, Tariq Thomas 15-76 2 TDs, Michael Cadden 5-27 TD, Ralph Rucker IV 6-18 TD, Ty Stauffer 3-14, Logan Bush 2-6.

PASSING–Marist, Sonny Mannino 22-42-1 229 TD, Will O’dell 4-4-0 33. Bucknell, Ralph Rucker IV 18-23-1 236.

RECEIVING–Marist, Reed Shumpert 8-83, Lance Martinez 4-76, Jackson COnners-McCarty 4-35, Joey Bemis 2-20, Irene Ngabonziza 1-17, Connor Hulstein 3-12 TD, Santino Correa 1-6, Carter James 1-6, Jeremy Decaro 1-4, Jack Melore 1-3. Bucknell, CJ Cadden 7-104, Sam Milligan 5-87, Josh Gary 3-27, Charlie Kreinbucher 1-7, Michael Cadden 1-6, Nate Anderson 1-5.