SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Junior running back
Da'Avian Ellington (Carteret, N.J./Woodbridge) earned MVP honors Saturday afternoon as the No. 15/16 Susquehanna University football team dominated Wilkes University in the 5th Annual Centennial-MAC Bowl. Susquehanna (10-1) ran away with an 88-24 victory over the Colonels (8-3) for its third consecutive Centennial-MAC Bowl win.
Ellington carried the ball 20 times for 175 yards and six touchdowns. He set two school single-game records with six rushing touchdowns (old mark – 5 by Cameron Ott on September 24, 2016 vs. Gettysburg) and 36 points (old mark – 30 twice by Mark Bartosic on October 12, 2002 at Widener and Matt Wichlinski on October 24, 1998 vs. Juniata).
Additionally, sophomore kicker
Elijah Hoffman (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia) broke the SU single-game record for extra points as
Hoffman was 10-of-12 in the win, surpassing the mark of 9-of-9 set three times by
Hoffman on November 16 at Juniata College,
Evan Argiriou on November 12, 2016 vs. Juniata and
Steve Leggett on October 22, 1994 vs. Delaware Valley College.
The final Susquehanna single-game record to be broken today was punt return yards as senior captain
Mitch Carsley (Elverson, Pa./Twin Valley) ran off to 169 yards on six punt returns. The old record was 119 established by
Ben Gibboney on November 12, 2005 at Lycoming College.
Today's season-high 88 points is the first time the River Hawks have scored more than 70 points since a 70-7 win over Delaware Valley on October 22, 1994. In addition, 64-point victory is the largest by SU over the Colonels since the River Hawks' 59-0 shutout at Wilkes on October 1, 1983.
Susquehanna 88, Wilkes 24
How It Happened
First Quarter
- The first score of the day was a 25-yard completion from sophomore quarterback Michael Ruisch (Fogelville, Pa./Parkland) to sophomore wide receiver Kyle Good (Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area) for a 7-0 lead at 11:12 after Carsley's 41-yard punt return set up Susquehanna at the Wilkes 25.
- After a Wilkes field goal at 5:54 cut the lead to 7-3, Ellington ran it in for two yards and senior linebacker Craig Roumes (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) returned a fumble 22 yards for a 21-3 River Hawk advantage heading into the second quarter.
Second Quarter
- The River Hawks scored on five straight possessions in the second quarter as Ellington scored on runs of 10, 1, and 5 yards while Ruisch hit both Good and DePaola with touchdown passes from 79 and 11 yards, respectively.
- Ellington's 10-yard score was set up by a Carsley 45-yard punt return to the Wilkes 10 while his one-yard TD resulted from Carsley's 27-yard pass to senior wide receiver Robert Marks (Mt. Holly, N.J./Rancocas Valley) after junior defensive lineman Riley Gaughan (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) recovered a fumble on the Wilkes 28.
- Jose Tabora connected with Nate Whitaker and Derek Nelson for 47 and 21 yards, respectively, as the Colonels headed into halftime down, 55-17.
Third Quarter
- Wilkes scored on a 79-yard touchdown pass from Tabora to Whitaker, wrapping up a two-play, 80-yard drive on the Colonels' third possession of the second half.
- The Colonels kept Susquehanna off the scoreboard on its first two drives with a Zachary Weber pick and forcing SU into its only punt of the game.
- Susquehanna got back on track with its next two drives as Ellington struck again with a 1-yard run and Ruisch completed a 16-yard pass to Marks, sending the River Hawks into the final quarter with a 69-24 lead.
Fourth Quarter
- Senior running back Torey Brown (Riviera Beach, Fla./Dwyer) ended his River Hawk career with a 5-yard run into the end zone 21 seconds into the fourth.
- First-year strong safety David Gilchrist's (Upper Marlboro, Md./Wise) second interception of the day at the Wilkes 35 set up Susquehanna's final scoring drive. Sophomore quarterback Hezekiah Patterson (Trenton, N.J./Hamilton West) and Marks connected for a seven-yard touchdown pass with four minutes left in the game for the final score of the afternoon.
Inside the Box Score
- Susquehanna put up a season-best 555 yards of total offense plus a season-high 291 return yards.
- The River Hawks rushed for a season-high 263 yards on 43 carries, marking the fifth time of 200-plus yards on the ground this season.
- The Susquehanna defense had two interceptions for the second game in a row and broke up a season-best five passes for the second time this season.
- The River Hawks scored on nine of 10 red zone opportunities.
Top Performers
- Carsley led the offense with 274 all-purpose yards on 169 punt return yards, 60 kickoff return yards and 45 receiving yards.
- Good finished with 104 receiving yards and two touchdowns on two catches while Marks also had two receiving TDs on three catches for 50 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Samuel Darrell (Plainfield, N.J./Pope John XXIII) chipped in three catches as well for 64 yards.
- Ruisch completed 7-of-15 passes for 219 yards and four touchdowns.
- Senior captain Cole Dixon (Dallas, Pa./Dallas) tallied a game-best nine tackles, including 1.5 TFLs, plus one pass breakup while junior safety Nick Sottile (Taylor, Pa./Riverside) contributed eight tackles and one pass breakup.
- In addition to 10-of-12 on extra points, Hoffman kicked off 10 times for 709 yards for an average of 50.6 yards. He stretched his streak of consecutive extra points made to 30 straight before missing wide left in the second quarter.
Up Next for the River Hawks
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