Lafayette Leopards

Late rally lifts Lafayette over Bucknell 21-17 for first win

Published Oct. 26, 2019 7:23 p.m. ET

EASTON, Pa. (AP) — Keegan Shoemaker ran for a first-quarter touchdown and threw a 43-yard scoring strike to Nick Pearson in the fourth quarter and Selwyn Simpson scampered 22 yards for a TD with 6:58 left to play as Lafayette rallied for its first win of the season with a 21-17 victory over Bucknell on Saturday.

The Leopards (1-7, 1-1 Patriot League) grabbed a 7-0 lead on Shoemaker's 5-yard run, but Bucknell answered with Logan Bitikofer's 16-yard TD toss to Brandon Sanders to knot the score at 7 after one quarter.

Bitikofer hooked up with Sanders again in the second quarter for a 13-yard TD to give the Bison (1-7, 1-2) a 14-7 lead at the half.

Ethan Torres' 28-yard field goal was the only scoring of the third quarter and gave Bucknell a 17-7 lead.

After the Shoemaker-to-Pearson scoring strike pulled Lafayette within 17-14, the Leopards forced a turnover when Marco Olivas forced Sanders to fumble after a catch and it was recovered by Lafayette's Yasir Thomas at the Bucknell 45-yard line. Shoemaker ran for 10 yards on first down and Jaden Sutton gained 13 yards on two carries to set the stage for Simpson's game-winning run.

Shoemaker completed 23 of 27 passes for 207 yards with an interception. Pearson had six catches for 95 yards.

Bitikofer was 16-of-32 passing for 165 yards for the Bison. Jared Cooper ran for 103 yards on 15 carries.

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