Though many Georgetown students enjoyed the festivities associated with this past Saturday’s annual Homecoming Day, the same could not be said for the Georgetown football team (2-6, 0-3 Patriot League). The Hoyas lost their third consecutive Homecoming game, this time to Bucknell (6-1, 2-0 PL), 22-17.
The Blue and Gray held a 17-16, fourth-quarter lead after junior quarterback Kyle Nolan’s 5-yard touchdown run, but were unable to hold on. Bucknell’s sophomore quarterback R.J. Nitti threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Will Carter with 7:03 left in the game for the win.
“We’re in it right to the fourth quarter,” said Georgetown Head Coach Rob Sgarlata. “There’s an aspect of being a mature football team and being able to make those plays down the stretch. That’s what we need to get to.”
The Bison opened up the game’s scoring with a methodical 17-play, 97-yard drive that was punctuated by a 3-yard touchdown by sophomore running back C.J. Williams to give Bucknell a 6-0 lead with 4:05 left in the first quarter after a missed extra point attempt. The Hoyas responded quickly as Nolan connected with sophomore tight end Matthew Buckman for a 67-yard touchdown pass that put the Hoyas up 7-6 after one quarter of play.
Both teams exchanged field goals early in the second quarter as Bucknell senior kicker Derek Maurer’s 20-yard field goal at the 12:07 mark gave the Bison a 9-7 lead. Hoya sophomore kicker Henry Darmstadter’s 34-yard field goal quickly regained a 10-9 lead with 9:15 left in the second quarter C.J. Williams’ second touchdown of the game, an 8-yard run with 6:06 left in the half, gave the Bison a 16-10 halftime lead.
Following senior defensive tackle Jordan Richardson’s fumble recovery at the Bucknell 48-yard line with 1:28 left in the first half, the Hoyas seemed poised to put some points on the board before halftime. With 25 seconds left and the Hoyas appeared lined up for a 48-yard field goal, the Blue and Gray executed a fake field goal to perfection as Nolan, the holder, flipped a shovel pass to sophomore defensive lineman Phil Novacki for an 18-yard gain to the Bucknell 13-yard line.
After sophomore quarterback Tim Barnes’ 6-yard run out of bounds to the Bucknell 7-yard line, the Hoyas, tried to attempt a pass into the endzone before the half. This proved fruitless, however, as Nolan was swarmed by the Bison and sacked. With no timeouts left to stop the clock, the Hoyas could not even attempt a field goal as time expired.
“They were just in the right coverage. Dumb mistake on my part. I should have just thrown the ball away, live to play another down and kick the field goal,” Nolan said.
Down 22-17 with 34 seconds left, Georgetown junior linebacker Hunter Kiselick blocked Bucknell’s punting attempt. However, the Hoyas muffed the recovery, allowing the Bison to recover and run out the clock on the Hoyas’ attempt to win their first homecoming game since 2011.
“I’ve never been around a set of kids in 20 years of coaching that has as much fight as these guys,” Sgarlata said. “There’s 34 seconds left and we block the punt, give ourselves a shot. I have no problems with their effort. We’ll just keep fighting.”
Special teams play has been a Hoya strength this season, as demonstrated by their successful fake field goal attempt and blocked punt. Earlier this season, the Hoyas also executed a fake punt attempt against Brown.
“We probably work more on special teams here than most teams. I think it’s really important. It’s a way to gain an advantage,” Sgarlata said.
Although the Hoyas have made significant improvements and strides under Sgarlata in his first year as head coach, the loss sealed their slim chance of winning their first ever Patriot League championship. When asked what Georgetown’s goals were for the rest of the season, Nolan responded quickly.
“We got three tough games ahead of us. If we do a good job—do what we can do—they’re winnable,” Nolan said.
The Hoyas will look to snap their four-game losing streak when they host Lehigh (1-6, 0-2 Patriot League) this Saturday at 12 p.m. The Hoyas have yet to beat the Mountain Hawks, who are suffering from an uncharacteristic down year, since they joined the Patriot League in 2001. In fact, Georgetown has not won a single game against Lehigh since 1925, when Calvin Coolidge was president.
Photo by Freddy Rosas
