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The Farmers third game of the season was just their second ever game against a team from north of the Mason-Dixon line. Their first they played the previous year as part of the North Carolina State Fair, against Villanova. Hoping to remain undefeated against the Yanks and turn around their season following an unexpected loss to the Virginia Military Institute, NC A&M had been practicing vigorously with the call of "Remember Saturday" ringing across the field.
The quality of Bucknell's team made A&M fans anxious for what was expected to be among the top games in the state of North Carolina for the season. Though the boys from Lewisburg had played and won three games, only one game was even considered by the Farmers leading up to the game. Their first game was a 19-0 win over Lock Haven College on September 30th; two weeks later, the Pennsylvanians took down Wyoming Seminary, of Kingston, 22-0. In the intermediate week, Bucnkell defeated the powerful Lehigh team by a narrow 3-0 margin.
Though the bleachers had been expanded before the U.S.S. Franklin game, they were modified more prior to the Bucknell game. The work focused primarily on building special sections for the local girls schools in the "lower middle set of bleachers," with special banners matching each of the schools' colors adorning each section. Despite the improved bleachers, the reported attendance was actually about 500 lower than what it had been for the Franklin game; all estimations of the attendance gave the tally for the day as either 2,300 or 2,500 spectators. The crowd was said to be "one of the largest crowds that ever witnessed a Bucknell football game."
Bucknell was purported to have an advantage in a few different ways leading into the game. First and foremost was that their school was larger by about 150 pupils; while that doesn't sound like much, at a time when NC A&M had only 619 students, that number becomes less negligible. Secondly, they were reported to be significantly faster than the heavy Farmer team. The final factor worth mentioning is that Bucknell's coach, Byron "By" Dickson, had been a field coach while A&M's coach, Eddie Greene, had played football at Pennsylvania (News and Observer, October 15th, 1911, p. 7; The Raleigh Daily Times, October 18th, 1911, p. 3).
Despite the apparent advantages Bucknell had over the Farmers, their season had not started ideally. First, their original captain, Edgar A. Snyder, failed to return to school in the Fall; in his stead, "Vic" Schmid was elected captain. Additionally, the Orange and Blue of Bucknell had only four lettermen returning to their team. However, Dickson's "efficient coaching" soon got the team into good shape (L'Agenda, Vol. XX (1913), p. 202). Additionally, one of their usual players, named Reading, was out of the game, forcing a shift in lineup.
A&M | Bucknell | |
---|---|---|
Seifert | RE | Bartholomew |
Dunn | RT | Dunkle |
McIver | RG | Teamer |
Floyd | C | Schmid (Capt.) |
Sykes | LG | Richardson |
Hurtt | LT | Hern |
Phillips | LE | Jordan |
Stafford (Capt.) | QB | Cruikshank |
Robertson | RHB | Gdaniec |
Cool | LHB | Keiser |
Harris | FB | "Tip" Topham |
Hartsell | SUB | |
Anthony | SUB |
Period | Time | Description | NCSU | BUCK |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | unk | NCSU - Cool - 4 yd Run (Hurtt kick on kick-out from Stafford to Cool) 8 plays, 51-52 yards, TOP unk | 6 | 0 |
NCSU | Opponent | |
---|---|---|
Rushing TDs | Cool (1) | none |
Passing TDs | none | none |
Receiving TDs | none | none |
Defensive TDs | none | none |
PATs | Hurtt (1) | none |
2PT: | N/A prior to 1958 | N/A prior to 1958 |
FGs | Hurtt (0/1) | none |
Safety: | none | none |
Length: 40 (10 / 10 / 10 / 10) - Duration: unk Attendance: 2,300-2,500 Location: A&M Athletic Field - Raleigh, NC Temperature: ??? Weather: fair Wind: ??? |
The game kicked off just three minutes after it's 4 PM kickoff time. The weather was what most would consider ideal football weather, with a high on the day of just 73 degrees, no rain, and was widely described as "fair." Despite that, reports of the game from Bucknell widely opined that the heat of the day led to the poor showing by Bucknell, with Bucknell's school paper, The Orange and Blue, writing "the sun beat down upon the contestants and the great crowd sweltered in summer clothing and straw hats." The Philadelphia Enquirer echoed thos sentiments, writing "The intense heat militated much against the Pennsylvanians."
A&M kicked off first, Cool sending the ball from midfield to Bucknell's 5 yard line; from there, Cruikshank advanced the ball about 20 yards to somewhere between the Orange and Blue's 20-to-25-yard line. After two attempts to gain with no success, Bucknell punted 50 yards, to around A&M's 35-yard line. Robertson caught the ball and advanced it 10 yards. A 3-yard run by Cool was followed by a 15-yard dash by Robertson around Jordan on the left end. Another 5-yard run through the middle of the line by Cool was followed by a second Red and White first down on a 10-yard run by Harris. A 20-yard gain by Robertson put A&M within 20 yards of the Bucknell goal line, however, here the Farmers got fancy, attempting two consecutive forward passes. While no comment was made on the outcome of the first one, the second was interecepted by Bucknell, giving the Pennsylvanians the ball near their own 20.
Back in control of the ball, Bucknell got to work. Though the existing summaries of the game do not track very well at this point, they all tell roughly the same story. Bucknell advanced the ball about 20 yards on three plays which all consisted of "straight football," with the longest gain of the drive--an 8 yard run by Cruikshank. On their fourth play, the Orange and Blue broke off a 15-yard run, but the play was called back and the gains negated by a 15-yard holding penalty. On the next play, Keiser was tackled by Seifert for an 8-yard loss, forcing Bucknell to punt on third and 14. "Tip" Topham booted the ball, sending it to Robertson, who either advanced the ball 10 yards or was stopped in his tracks by Jordan; reports differ.
In control of the ball for the second time on the day, the Aggies "went in to redeem all the glory lost at Lexington last week" with "Remember Lexington" sounding as their somber slogan. "Seifert pronounced a general benediction by slapping everybody, except the enemy, on their back." Following a 2 yard gain by Anthony, the Farmers fumbled but recovered the ball with a loss of 2 yards. A 5-yard penalty against Bucknell for being offsides allowed an unnamed A&M player to convert the Farmers' first set of downs. After this, Cool made a 2-3 yard run, but then the Farmers fumbled and recovered the ball yet again, leaving the Farmers with around 5 yards to gain on their third and final down.
Fairly far from the Bucknell goal line, the Red and White lined up in punt formation. "Everybody thought A. & M. was going to punt," wrote Red and White, however, the Farmers did not. Robertson broke through Bucknell's line with the assistance of Dunn and McIver for a 30-yard gain. This was reportedly the longest run of the game. On the very next two plays, Anthony picked up 3 yards and Cool the final 4 yards to cross the goal line, getting A&M the first points of the game about 7 minutes in. Because Cool crossed the goal line near the corner of the field, the Farmers performed a punt out. Stafford delivered the kick and Cool caught the ball, allowing Hurtt to make "an easy goal," putting the Farmers up 6-0 in what would prove to be the final score of the game.
The remainder of the first quarter was not covered in any detail. The only recorded details are that the Farmers were penalized 15 yards for holding (their only penalty of the day), that the play of the two teams was "even," and that the first of the game's four 10 minute periods ended with Bucknell in control of the ball on their own 40-yard line. Some time during the first quarter, Anthony replaced Harris, who was injured, though it is unclear when.
The second quarter also failed to merit much description, with the bulk of the quarters' description coming from The Orange and Blue. "Tip" Topham started the quarter with a 4 yard run, and on the next play Cruikshank picked up the first down. The Pennsylvanians' drive stalled shortly thereafter, forcing a punt by Topham to A&M's 40-yard line. Despite Bucknell earning another offsides penalty, the Cool later punted the ball, Topham catching the kick. Though Cruikshank had the yardage to get at least one Orange and Blue first down, A&M intercepted a Bucknell forward pass a few plays later. However, the ball was back in the Lewisburg boys' hands in short time, as on the very next play Richardson recovered a Farmer fumble.
A forward pass to Jordan for a gain of 15 yards was the final recorded play of the half. According to The Orange and Blue, "In the remainder of the quarter Bucknell clearly outplayed the home team and threatened to score continually. Three times A. and M. punted without getting the ball out of their territory. Bucknell worked two successful forward passes and failed once. When the first half ended Bucknell had the ball on A. and M.'s 10-yard line." Red and White demurred slightly, writing that both teams had good plays and that Bucknell was 20 yards from the Red and White goal line. News and Observer split the difference, claiming "Each side did some spectacular fumbling, but the honors for both fumbling and ground-gaining were with the Pennsylvanians." Supposedly, much of their ground gaining came on a "cross-play" (possibly the criss-cross play). Richmond's Times-Dispatch noted that Bucknell attempted a number of onside kicks.
Halftime resulted in another band performance and a ceremony, though there was no goat to be presented. Instead, A&M students were led by the chief cheerleader, "Dick" Mullen, and a "a beribonned dog named Tige." The procession gave a series of yells and cheers for the Red and White while the Battalion Band, decorated with colorful banners, furnished "military music" for the occaision. Mullen led with a red and white-colored parasol sponsored by the State Fair, helping formalize the association between the school and the Fair.
During the half, the Aggies reorganized their team slightly. Robertson was taken out to give him time to recover from a shoulder injury he sustained during the second quarter; Cool was shifted from left halfback to right halfback, and Hartsell was moved in to take his place. After a few minutes, Hartsell was taken back out and everyone returned to their former positions; the explaination was that Hartsell "is not now in condition to play for a long time."
Despite the fact A&M kicked off to start the game, the only report which covers the third quarter in any detail, which is yet again found in The Orange and Blue, either skips Bucknell's kick off or describes A&M kicking off a second time. Gdaniec caught the kickoff and advanced it 15 yards, but fumbled the ball, giving control back to A&M. Three runs by the Farmers netted only 8 yards, turning the ball back over to Bucknell on downs at their own 10-yard line. After a 20-yard dash by Topham, the Pennsylvanians were forced to punt, with "Tip" making the kick.
A&M's ensuing drive was not clearly described, however other sources reported several big plays which likely occurred during this time. At one point, Cool made a 30-yard run around right end, and later Seifert made a near-touchdown on a 20-yard run. Reportedly, "Dutchy" Seifert made the run on a punt and had eluded every Bucknell tackler save one. Bucknell's description of A&M's drive picks back up with Hurtt attempting a drop kick goal from field (field goal) kick with the Farmers just 15 yards from the Orange and White goal line. Unfortunately, the kick just missed, however it was so close that "a considerable part of the crowd thought that A & M had scored three more points."
The miss gave Bucknell the ball back on their own 25; though Bucknell was allowed to pick whether they ran a play from scrimmage or kicked off following the touchback (as teams were allowed to pick from 1909-1913), no surviving description of the game describes the third quarter any further than mentioning that it ended with the ball in Red and White hands around midfield. The ball was supposedly "mostly in Bucknell's territory."
"After a succession of indecisive plays" by the Farmers to start the fourth quarter, the Red and White punted. Phillips caught the kick but was tackled just a few yards from Bucknell's goal before he could advance the ball. A few plays later, the Lewisburg boys punted again, sending the ball 40 yards to midfield, but the Farmers were unable to pick up a first down, giving Bucknell the ball back at their own 50 yard line after a turnover on downs. After a series of unsuccessful line plays by Bucknell, they attempted an onside kick "which they attempted to recover." As News and Observer put it, the ball "acted like a will o' wisp, evading the grasp often enough to make five or six persons, or the same persons often enough to make five or six times." Evading the hands of Bucknell players at least three times by their own count, the ball caromed off the ground and the players until it settled 20 yards from A&M's goal line, where it was recovered by either Hern (The Orange and Blue) or Cruikshank (The Philadelphia Enquirer). With about 3 minutes remaining, Bucknell attempted a forward pass, but this was intercepted by Cool.
The Farmers advanced the ball 30 yards on a series of line plays, and then 20 more yards after the two teams exchanged punts. The game ended with the ball somewhere between A&M's 45-yard line and midfield. The Farmers won the game 6-0.
A&M fans were ecstatic about the result. After the disappointment of the loss to V.M.I. the previous week,the Farmers were widely expected to lose to the strong Northern team, however instead "The team played together like a bunch of veterans" who played with "machine-like precision" despite the fumbling. "Altogether," wrote News and Observer, "the team of October 19 made the team of October 14 look like a bunch of scrubs."
While Red and White raved that "the whole team should be rated as stars," Phillips was widely viewed as the premier ball player of the Farmers. Special mention was also given to Floyd, who "played the game of his life," while McIver was praised for "playing the whole game through with one eye closed blind" after having been punched at some point early on. Seifert, Cool, Anthony, and Robertson were also widely lauded. In general, the Bucknell game was seen as one of the best games ever played on the Farmers' home grounds.
Bucknell was praised for their all-around offensive work, but especially for their ability to make forward passes. They were described by News and Observer as "unusually well balanced," while their line work--especially that of Bartholomew and Jordan--was also praised by The Philadelphia Enquirer as impenetrable. Stars for the Pennsylvanians Captain Schmid and Topham, especially for his punts, which averaged nearly 60 yards. The Enquirer noted that the Lewisburg boys would have won had it not been for two fumbles which otherwise would have resulted in touchdowns (Red and White, Vol. XIII No. 2 (October 1911), pp. 149-151; The Orange and Blue, Vol. XVI No. 4 (October 23rd, 1911), p. 1; News and Observer, October 20th, 1911, p. 3; The (Richdmond) Times-Dispatch, October 20th, 1911, p. 6; The Raleigh Daily Times, October 20th, 1911, p. 3; The Philadelphia Enquirer, October 20th, 1911, p. 10).
After losing to the Farmers, Dickson's Bucknell team returned to the state of Pennsylvania, where they played nearly every game of the remainder of their season. A 5-0 win at Rochester the next Saturday was their lone win through the next three games, with the Orange and Blue losing narrowly (6-0) at Lafayette before being downed 2-20 in West Point to Army; a glimmer of hope in this game was that they were the first to score on an Army team that season that ended the year with a 6-1-1 record and a 88-11 score differential. They closed out their season with something of a victory lap, taking down Muhlenberg 20-3 at home and Haverford 15-0 on the road. Their final game of the season was a 3-3 tie against a mediocre (5-4-1) Ursinus team played on a wet and rainy field on Thanksgiving Day.
Last updated: 7/5/2024