Bison football made the trip below the Mason-Dixon Line on Oct. 29 where they put up a tough fight but ultimately fell 49-28 to No. 9 Charleston Southern at Buccaneer Field. Quarterback R.J. Nitti ’17 led the team offensively while Joe Lauro ’19 and Ben Richard ’18 held down the defense.

Nitti was 18-for-29 for 154 yards and two touchdowns, and he moved into third place on the program’s career passing yards list. The Bison’s offense was strong in the first quarter, registering 10:58 minutes of possession time and converting on four of six third downs. In total, the Bison registered 242 yards of offense and 131 yards from Charleston Southern’s 15 penalties.

The Bison won three turnovers, two of which led to touchdowns. Connor Golden ’18 won two of the turnovers with two interceptions, giving him six in his career. One of Golden’s interceptions was followed by a touchdown as Nitti completed a 35-yard pass down the right sideline to Kyle Kinner ’18 for a first down, and two plays later he passed to Andrew Owers ’19 who scored with less than a minute before halftime. At halftime, the Orange and Blue were losing 21-14 against the Buccaneers.

The third quarter touchdown came after a fumble from Charleston Southern, deep in their own territory. Trevor Fennimore ’18 recovered the ball for the Bison, which led to a touchdown by Chad Freshnock ’20 as he dove over the offensive line. Unfortunately, the Buccaneers kept their lead in the second half to trump the Bison.

“Our guys played their tails off today and I am proud of them,” head coach Joe Susan said. “We were able to take advantage of turnovers, but it was frustrating as the score got away from us. Charleston Southern is a very good football team,” Susan said.

The Orange and Blue will return to Patriot League play  Nov. 5 when the team plays at Lehigh at 12:30 p.m.