Saturday College Football is back in session as the Bison football team opened their season against Navy. While the Orange and Blue fought admirably, the match resulted in an ultimate loss to the Midshipmen, 49-21.
The Bison started the day strong in Annapolis, Md., scoring the first touchdown of the game only 1:23 into the first quarter. Quarterback Ralph Rucker IV ’25 connected to unguarded wide receiver Nate Anderson ’26 for a 47-yard pass.
A new transfer from Western Michigan, this was Anderson’s first touchdown as a Bison. “Ralph threw a great pass to me, and the offensive line did a great job of blocking up front to allow Ralph to get the ball off in time,” Anderson said. “It felt great to score my first one with Bucknell. Ralph and I were repping that same play all week and it paid dividends in the game.”
However, the Midshipmen responded quickly by scoring three minutes later. The Bison continued to lead by one for the rest of the quarter.
In the first play of the second quarter, the Midshipmen took the lead on a three-yard touchdown. Navy scored two more touchdowns before half, giving the opponent a 28-7 lead against the Bison.
“After such a rough second quarter we emphasized getting back to the fundamentals, eliminating procedural penalties and spreading out on offense to stretch Navy’s defense horizontally,” Head Coach Dave Cecchini said.
The Orange and Blue continued to rally in the Maryland heat for the duration of the third quarter. However, the Midshipmen scored again, furthering their lead to 35. The Bison responded with a touchdown by Paul Neel ’25 closing the gap to 35-14. Things heated up more as cornerback Aaron Davis ’26 got injured and rushed off the field to a Baltimore hospital. He was released later Saturday night back to campus.
Navy scored two more times in the last quarter, reaching 49 points. In the final minute of the fourth quarter, the Bison’s own Cadden brothers led the effort in the final touchdown of the game. TJ Cadden ’27 caught a nice pass from Michael Hardyway ’25, resulting in a 37-yard push to the 2-yard line. The following play concluded in a touchdown by Michael Cadden ’28, his first collegiate score. This ended the game’s 49-21 score.
The Orange and Blue finished the day with a total of 337 yards.
“I feel like the highlights of the game were we showed sparks on offense that we could be a very explosive team,” Anderson shared.
Other highlights for the Bison include Neel’s 60-yards and 12 carries and TJ Cadden’s five catches for 97-yards, as well as his 52-yard kickoff return for special teams. The defense was led by Nick Hoying ’26 with eleven tackles.
“We gained valuable experience in all three phases of the game, and some of our younger players were able to have a positive impact throughout the game,” Cecchini said. “As long as we can come out of these games healthy, it puts us in a great position to grow from week one to week two.”
Bison Football will continue their season playing at Virginia Military Institute on Saturday, Sept. 7.
