Football was riding a two-game win streak heading into a rivalry matchup, as the Bison hosted Lehigh at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium this past weekend. The Orange and Blue could not keep the momentum rolling, falling to the Mountain Hawks 41-24. Lehigh improved to 4-0 on the season while Bucknell fell to 2-2.

The Bison kept the contest tight early, limiting Lehigh’s offensive opportunities and matching them with scoring of their own. Lehigh got on the board first after Ralph Rucker IV ’26 was intercepted on the first play of the game. The turnover led to a Mountain Hawks field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Lehigh found the end zone for the first time on its next possession, but the Bison bounced back with a field goal of their own, making the tally 10-3 towards the end of the first quarter. After Lehigh opened up the margin with a touchdown to begin the second quarter, Rucker and the Bison offense responded with their first end zone find of the afternoon. Ending a 12-play, 85-yard drive, Rucker ran it in himself from five yards out to put the Bison back within a touchdown, making the score 17-10. The Bison defense held true for the remainder of the half, and the Orange and Blue entered the halftime locker room down 17-10. 

The Mountain Hawks came out with a fire in the third quarter, putting the game out of reach before the Bison even knew it. Lehigh scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter alone to make the score 38-10 entering the final 15 minutes of action.

The Orange and Blue tried to claw their way back, finding the end zone on each of its first two offensive possessions of the fourth quarter. Rucker found Nate Anderson ’26 for a 10-yard connection, then hit TJ Cadden ’27 on the next possession for a 3-yard touchdown. 

Lehigh tacked on one more field goal, but the damage was already done. The Mountain Hawks would emerge victorious 41-24.

The Bison look to bounce back next as they will host Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 27.