SELINSGROVE, PA (October 29, 2022) – In a marquee matchup on the Saturday of Homecoming Weekend, the 18th-ranked Susquehanna football team welcomed 6th-ranked Johns Hopkins University to Selinsgrove for a clash of Centennial Conference titans, with both teams undefeated entering the day. In a game that will undoubtedly be remembered long into the future as one of the most exciting iterations of the matchup between these two teams, SU came out on top by a score of 26-24, stopping a final minute 2-point conversion attempt to protect the victory.
The teams began slowly on offense, feeling out their opportunities against the respective vaunted defenses. The teams traded punts on their opening possessions before JHU turned the ball over on downs to give SU the ball at their own 43-yard line. Two massive third down penalty calls against the Blue Jays got Susquehanna into the red zone, where a 2nd and goal from the 7 saw Michael Ruisch carry the ball into the end zone for the opening touchdown of the game with just over three minutes left in the first quarter.
The score remained 7-0 until the second quarter, when Ruisch got a touchdown through the air on a nine-yard pass to Kyle Howes, who notched his eighth touchdown of the season. Now down two scores with nine and a half minutes left in the second quarter, JHU would finally respond with their first score, starting a drive from their own 49-yard line after a short kickoff and eventually completing a 25-yard touchdown pass to get on the board. However, their extra point attempt would be blocked at the line and the score stuck at 14-6. That would appear to be the likely score heading into the halftime break, but a late interception for the Blue Jays have them a chance to score again with just 47 seconds left in the half. They managed the clock well using the sidelines and single remaining timeout to reach the SU 1 yard line, then scoring a second passing touchdown to make the score 14-12. Their two-point conversion attempt would fail so the River Hawks carried the two-point lead into halftime.
The second half saw Susquehanna receive the opening kickoff and look to reestablish a larger advantage, driving from their own 38 to the JHU 20 before stalling and having to attempt a field goal. The first attempt saw the Blue Jays penalized for running into the kicker, so Susquehanna would move five yards closer, and Elijah Hoffman was up to the task, hitting the 32-yard field goal to put Susquehanna up five points. JHU would quickly muster their own response beginning a drive at their own 17-yard line with 10:36 left in the third quarter and covering the length of the field in less than two minutes, capping the drive with a 24-yard rushing touchdown and taking the lead for the first time in the game. They would again attempt a two-point conversion and again have it fail, so the score remained 18-17.
That score did not last long as Susquehanna's next drive would take up more than five minutes of the third quarter and again see two key defensive penalties against JHU give them two free first downs, eventually reaching the Hopkins' 2-yard line, where Hunter Coulter took a handoff and punched it in for a touchdown. SU's two-point attempt in order to go up seven would also fail, and their advantage remained five points with the score 23-18.
The next score would also be Susquehanna's and would prove to be critical, as the drive ate up the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and produced Hoffman's second field goal of the game, this one good from 37 yards and restoring an eight-point advantage. Those three points would be decisive at the end of the game, as JHU would manage one final touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, eating up more than eight minutes of clock and ending in a passing touchdown. But once more, the Blue Jays were forced into a two-point conversion attempt, this one to potentially tie the game at 26-26. But a brilliant, diving pass break up from Keith Green III dashed those plans and ensured the win for Susquehanna.
The win is Susquehanna's third in the last four iterations of this matchup after losing the prior eight. Now 8-0 overall and 7-0 in the Centennial, Susquehanna has sole possession of first place in the conference and will be in prime position to move up in the upcoming Top 25 rankings. Their next game will take them back on the road, as they'll travel to face Muhlenberg College next Saturday, November 5 at 1 pm.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
