SELINSGROVE, PA (November 12, 2022) – With a chance to claim their first Centennial Conference championship and to retain the rivalry Goal Post Trophy in their annual game with Juniata College, the Susquehanna University football team showed up for the occasion, putting on an offensive clinic to wrap up a 66-15 victory over the Eagles and finish the regular season a perfect 10-0, Centennial champions, and continued holders of the Goal Post Trophy.
It didn't take long for the scoring to start, as Juniata's opening drive would produce a three-and-out and SU took possession at their own 30. From there, quarterback Michael Ruisch would methodically dissect the Eagle defense, completing four passes including a 22-yard touchdown over the middle to tight end Michael Lefever to open the scoring. That cycle would repeat three more times in just the first quarter, with Juniata not managing to convert a first down until the final minute of the quarter. The second touchdown would be a seven-yard rush for Frankie Negrini, who managed 40 yards and that touchdown on just five carries before taking a seat with the game already well in hand. One of the rushers to relieve Negrini was certainly an unusual candidate, as Susquehanna drove to the Juniata two-yard line on their third drive and then handed the ball off to graduate student center Dalton Simpson, who plowed into the end zone for the 2-yard rushing touchdown, the first carry and first touchdown of his career coming on his Senior Day.
The River Hawks' fourth touchdown of the quarter came on a red zone screen pass, as Ruisch dumped off to running back Hunter Coulter, who then sauntered into the end zone for a score of his own. Juniata would then finally begin to drive the ball, pushing into Susquehanna territory as the first quarter ended and began the second on the SU 19. However, the Susquehanna defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs, keeping Juniata at zero. Meanwhile, the streak of consecutive touchdowns continued for Susquehanna as their first drive of the second quarter ended with a 31-yard pass over the middle from Ruisch to receiver Eddie Nugent, who did well to dodge around the Juniata secondary to reach the end zone and make the score 35-0. The starters got one more drive in the second quarter and the connection between Ruisch and receiver Kyle Howes was on display, as the two hooked up for three straight completions, spanning 45 yards with the final going 13 for a touchdown.
The dominance didn't cease with the second-string entering play, as their first drive with 4:57 left in the second quarter saw them cover 58 yards in five plays for yet another touchdown. Running back D.K. Wyche led the way with some punishing running, setting the tone for the rushing dominance for SU that persisted throughout the game. Wyche covered 38 yards on his own before backup quarterback Brayden Knoblauch completed passes to Rowen Hershey and then Jacob Erb, who covered the final eight yards and reached the end zone. The teams reached the half with the score remaining 49-0.
The second half was closer in comparison, as Juniata scored 15 points in the third quarter while Susquehanna was quieter, though they still managed 17 points in the second half to win the half. Wyche found paydirt early in the third quarter with a 12-yard rush before graduate student Elijah Hoffman kicked a 32-yard field goal later in the quarter, the 32nd made field goal of his career, which establishes a new Susquehanna record for career made field goals. The final touchdown of the day went to another running back, this being first-year Tommy Grabowski, who tallied career-highs of seven carries and 44 yards along with the first touchdown of his collegiate career.
The final statistics further demonstrate the dominance of the SU offense, as the team produced 546 yards of offense and a sizable 241 of those yards coming on the ground. The rushing defense was also absolutely suffocating for the River Hawks, as they held Juniata to -10 yards rushing on 24 carries. Ruisch finished 13 for 20 through the air for 223 yards and four touchdowns in just quarter and a half of play. Knoblauch also did well in his stead, going a perfect five for five on pass attempts and tallying 64 yards and a touchdown. Third-string QB Bobby Croyle did his best work on the ground late in the game, carrying four times for 21 yards. No matter the ball-carrier, SU saw great success on the ground. Wyche reached 100 yards rushing on just nine carries, averaging an incredible 11.1 yards per carry. Grabowski tallied 6.3 per carry while Negrini finished with an 8.0 yards per carry. Another running back in Dashon Bundy matched Grabowski with seven carries, while Bundy had 34 yards, managing 4.3 yards per carry, a solid rate that somehow managed to be the lowest of the SU running backs, just further demonstrating the overwhelming success on the ground. Howes had the high watermarks for the receivers, tallying seven catches for 129 yards and his touchdown.
Jake Schultes had an incredible game on defense for SU, picking up five tackles, all of which remarkably would be TFLs. He also had a career-high three sacks, accounting for 13 yards lost by the JC offense all on his own. Sophomore Andrew Wells would force the defense's only turnover with an interception early in the game.
The River Hawks will now eagerly wait for 5:00 pm tomorrow, when the NCAA will reveal the Division III Championship Playoff Bracket. Susquehanna's conference championship assures them an automatic bid and having entered today's game ranked 15th in the AFCA Top 25 Poll and second in Region II of the NCAA DIII Regional Rankings, SU anticipates a high seed and a potential chance to host their first playoff matchup. Tune in at 5:00 pm tomorrow on NCAA.com to see the selection show.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
