Box Score Box
Score
CARLISLE, Pa. – A last-second shot at the end zone for the
Susquehanna football team that would have won the game over
Dickinson fell short and SU dropped a 17-14 decision in its first
road contest of the season.
Down by three points with the clock nearing zero, Mike
Ritter (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) took a pitch
from Casey Tosches (Princeton Junction, N.J./WWPS)
and took off down the field but he fumbled the ball, giving the
ball back to the Red Devils with three seconds on the clock, thus
sealing the victory for Dickinson (2-1, 2-0).
George Pachucy (Olyphant, Pa./Scranton Prep)
started the game at quarterback for SU (1-2, 0-2) before
Taylor Kolmer (Churchville,
N.Y./Churchill) came in roughly midway through the first
half. Pachucy finished the game 1-for-3 while Kolmer went 11-for-21
for 108 yards and one touchdown.
On the ground, Connor McGrath (Sparta, N.J./Pope John
XXIII/Assumption) finished with 102 yards and Ritter was
the team's leading receiver with 73 yards on four catches,
including a touchdown. Ritter's touchdown marked the
20th of his career.
For the Susquehanna defense, Mike Statuti (Souderton,
Pa./Souderton) led the way with an 11-tackle day while
Jalon Scott (Albany, N.Y./Albany
HS) added 10 tackles, one sack and one tackle for
loss.
The game did not start out on a promising note for the SU offense
with two penalties on the opening drive, putting the team in a
first-and-25 situation and turned the ball over on downs. The first
quarter ended without a scoring drive from either side.
With less than seven minutes to play in the half,
Dickinson's offense took over in what remained a 0-0 game. It
did not stay scoreless, though, as the Red Devils' Michael
Carmella found Matt Wood in the end zone who, despite juggling the
ball, maintained controlled as he hit the ground to make it 7-0
with 3:56 on the clock.
Will Dyson (Hawley Pa./Wallenpaupack) changed
that when he picked off Carmella on Dickinson's very next
offensive play and ran his way 45 yards into the end zone to knot
the game at 7-7 with 2:43 remaining.
Steven Viegas (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) followed that
with a pick of his own at nearly the same spot and gave SU's
offense the ball at the Red Devils' 48 at the 1:56 mark of
the half. Susquehanna could not convert that pick into points but
it ran the clock down to 47 seconds in the half and Dickinson knelt
on its last two possessions of the quarter for a 7-7 halftime
score.
Dickinson came out of halftime and put together a 10- point third
quarter to lead 17-7 with 15 minutes remaining.
Ritter snapped that Red Devils' scoring streak by pushing
his way into the end zone on a third-down play less than three
minutes into the fourth quarter to make it a three-point contest at
17-14.
Both teams traded possessions without finding the end zone but
with 26 seconds left in the game, Dickinson had a fourth-and-goal
at the three-yard line with the chance to put the game out of
reach. The Red Devils' Mike Capone was short of the end zone
but it still left SU with only 22 seconds with which to work to put
points on the board.
The Crusaders took over on their own one-yard line and Kolmer
pitched the ball to Tosches who subsequently pitched the ball to
Ritter. The senior looked like he had a shot at the end zone but he
fumbled it at the Dickinson 43-yard line and with three seconds
left, the Red Devils came away with the win.
SU returns home for two straight games beginning Saturday, Sept.
22 with a 1 p.m. game against Gettysburg.
