Box Score
LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Football welcomed Bucknell to Alumni Field at Foster Stadium for its home opener on a rainy Saturday afternoon, jumping in front of the Bison 24-0 and ultimately holding on for a 24-14 win.
The Keydets now move to an even 1-1 on the season, while Bucknell drops to 0-2. The defense and special teams played major roles in the win, while
Rashad Raymond and
Hunter Rice combined for 177 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
"It's always great to win," said Head Coach
Scott Wachenheim. "I was impressed with how our defense played, also extremely impressed with our special teams. Wet ball. We had perfect snaps, perfect execution on the field goal, punts and kickoffs."
Standout Stats
- Rice rumbles for 107 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries
- Raymond scores a touchdown and picks up 70 yards on 13 carries
- Defense limits Bucknell to just 34 yards on the ground, 0-4 on 4th down attempts
-
Josh Knapp records first two interceptions of career,
Stone Snyder leads team with 11 tackles
-
Alex Oliver,
Evan Eller (1.5 TFL) each record 9 tackles,
Christian Dunn totals six tackles and a sack
- Morgan totals 138 yards and a TD
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Chance Knox has 57 yards on 8 receptions, while Thomas, Brimigion and Twombly record catches
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Jack Culbreath punts six times for 219 yards,
Jerry Rice moves into third place all-time in made field goals (39 yarder)
How it Happened
VMI would cash in on its second drive when
Seth Morgan and
Aidan Twombly connected for a 16-yard gain with a roughing the passer penalty tacked on, setting up a Raymond nine-yard touchdown run. On the next possession, a run fake from Morgan froze the Bucknell defenders, leading to a wide open
Max Brimigion as VMI doubled its lead. The Keydets kept their foot on the gas, drawing a pass interference that led to a touchdown run from
Hunter Rice, as VMI went into the break up 21-0.
Early in the third,
Jerry Rice would make the lead 24-0 with his 30
th career field goal (3
rd all-time, VMI). As Bucknell threatened midway through the third,
Stone Snyder stormed up the middle, forcing a deep throw downfield that led to Knapp's second interception on the afternoon.
The Bison finally broke through with a touchdown at the end of the third, before cutting the lead to 10 with a touchdown and two-point conversion minutes later. The field position battle became crucial, as VMI would seal the deal with a stop on 4
th and 6, running out the clock for the victory.
Catching up with Coach
On Improving moving forward
"The biggest stopper today for us was penalties. Penalties and turnovers stopped us from playing a better game and put us in backed up situations."
On the Defense
"They played great all game long. And they had their backs against the wall. Very impressed with Coach (Nick) Reveiz and the game plan and how hard they played."
On the Run game
"At the start, Rashad (Raymond) was cooking with the ball. It was a rainy, muddy day and I felt the run game was the best chance for us to win. I thought Hunter (Rice) was running extremely hard and was not going down."
What's Next
VMI remains at home for its next contest, hosting Cornell Saturday, September 17 at 1:30 p.m.
Make sure to purchase your game and season tickets today at
vmi.universitytickets.com.
