SELINSGROVE, PA (September 17, 2022) -- The No. 23 Susquehanna University football team dominated defensively on Saturday, allowing just 123 yards of total offense along with just three points in a 37-3 Centennial Conference win over Moravian University in action from Doug Arthur Stadium on Ring of Honor Saturday. 

The River Hawks (3-0, 2-0 Centennial) outgained the Greyhounds 478-123 for the game, while allowing just 2.2 yards per play to the visitors. SU also chewed up a season-best 238 yards on the ground, the most in a contest since rushing for 264 in a 2019 Centennial-MAC Bowl Series win over Wilkes University on November 23, 2019. The rushing attack was handled by many on Saturday, as Susquehanna had four rushers with over 35 yards on the game, led by Hunter Coulter and his career-high 55 yards on eight carries. D.K. Wyche gained 54 yards, a career-high, on 11 carries while Frankie Negrini bowled forward for 50 yards on 12 attempts. 

The River Hawks moved the ball on the opening drive of the game down to the Moravian 19 before graduate student kicker Elijah Hoffman connected from 36 yards to make it 3-0. SU would force two 3-and-outs on the next two possessions for Moravian, and upped its lead to 10-0 on a Michael Ruisch touchdown run from five yards out following a fumbled snap on the punt attempt by MU. 

On the ensuing drive, Moravian moved the ball to the Susquehanna 29-yard line, but Moravian signal called Jared Jenkins was picked off by sophomore Andrew Wells to stop the drive. Susquehanna cashed in on the turnover, as Ruisch hit Rowan Hershey and he broke a few tackles before tumbling into the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown catch to make it 17-0 SU. 

The Greyhounds got back to within two touchdowns on a field goal by Sam Bingaman with 10:50 left in the half, but the River Hawks got a huge play late in the half as Drew Robinson picked off a deflected pass by Edwin Maxwell and rumbled down to the Moravian 3-yard line. Four plays later, Negrini pushed in from a yard out to make it 24-3 at the break. 

At halftime, Susquehanna honored five new inductees to the Susquehanna Football Ring of Honor, as Dave Battisti '91, Larry Isaacs '43, Tom Lagerman '85, Martin Pinter '98 and John Yanuklis '60 were honored for their contributions to the program. 

After the break, Ruisch tossed his second touchdown pass of the game as he found Kyle Howes in the back of the end zone from 31-yards out to make it 31-3 at 12:14 of the third quarter. 

The final score of the game came with 11:40 to go in the contest, as Wyche hit pay dirt from two yards out to put a bow on the scoring. 

Ruisch finished 17-of-33 for 230 and two touchdowns, adding 37 yards on the ground, while Howes posted five catches of 91 yards receiving and a score. Graduate student Michael Lefever pulled in five balls for 62 yards, while Bryce Ellinger made three catches for 32 yards. 

John Nicosia led the defense with 10 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, while Salvatore Gurnari tallied eight tackles and a sack. Garrett Carter added seven stops, while Cameron Noble also posted six tackles and a sack. Robinson finished the day with five tackles and the interception, while Jake Schultes posted five stops as well. SU dominated the time of possession Saturday with over 34 minutes with the ball, and also was stellar on third down going 7-for-14. On the other side of the ball, SU got off the field successfully on 11 of its 12 third-down chances. 

Jared Jenkins finished 8-of-20 for 61 yards and two interceptions, while Nate Boyle finished with 58 yards on the ground on 16 carries in the loss. 

Up Next

• Susquehanna will head back on the road for its first Centennial Conference road game of the 2022 season, taking on Dickinson College September 24 at 1 p.m. in Carlisle, PA. 

Facebook: susquehanna.riverhawks | Instagram: @gosusqu
Twitter: @GOsusqU | Hashtags: #AllIn, #GOSU, #RiverHawkPride Read Full Article