SELINSGROVE, PA - Considering the storied history of the Susquehanna-Lycoming rivalry, it is only fitting that their return to conference competition would serve as the Landmark Conference championship as the unbeaten #10/11 River Hawks (9-0, 5-0 Landmark) host the Warriors (4-5, 4-1 Landmark) Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Stagg Hat Trophy Game. Susquehanna Football and Cheerleading will also celebrate senior day for 24 upperclassmen prior to the game at 12:30 p.m.

Susquehanna comes off the bye week after an impressive 9-0 start and breezing through their Landmark competition, most recently a hard-fought 33-14 win at second-place Moravian on Oct. 28. Following a bitter 0-5 start and picked to finish last in the Landmark Conference Preseason Poll, Lycoming sprung to life in the second half of the season with four consecutive conference wins, including beating Moravian last week 31-20 to remain standing in the River Hawks' way of clinching the inaugural league title.

The winner of the Stagg Hat Trophy will receive much more with an automatic qualifier to next week's NCAA Playoffs. The selection show will take place Sunday at 5 p.m.

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RIVALRY GAME HEATS UP AS STAGG HAT GAME SERVES AS LANDMARK CHAMPIONSHIP
Many storylines surround Susquehanna's regular season finale versus Lycoming Saturday. For years, the local rivals fought it out in the MAC up until Susquehanna's departure in the late 2000's. The two teams' history lived on in the form of the Stagg Hat Game, with everything coming back full circle this season with Lyco's entry into the Landmark Conference to become conference rivals once again. Judging from the preseason poll, it seemed very unlikely that Saturday's game would serve as the conference championship with Susquehanna ranked first an Lycoming ranked last in seventh. But with the Warriors winning their last four games, including a 31-20 win over Moravian last week, the Warriors come in at 4-1 in the Landmark and Susquehanna 5-0. 

The River Hawks made the most of their bye week resting up for the potential Landmark Championship game, healing the battle scars that earned them a 9-0 start for a school-record 21consecutive regular season wins. Susquehanna moved into position of clinching the Landmark with Week 9's 33-14 win at Moravian in a battle of the first and second place teams. Lycoming flipped the switch after an 0-5 start, including a Landmark loss to Wilkes, with an impressive conference win over Catholic 28-25, followed by runaway victories versus Keystone (34-7) and Juniata (56-10), and the pivotal win last week over Moravian. 

RANKINGS SIDE WITH SUSQUEHANNA WITH NCAA AQ ON THE LINE
The River Hawks are now the proud residents in three critical polls on the eve of looking to lock up the inaugural Landmark Conference crown. Susquehanna earned its highest-ever ranking in school history Sunday at number ten in the D3football.com national poll, followed by a number-11 placement in Monday's AFCA Top 25, then finally number three in the NCAA Region II poll. Despite the bye week, Susquehanna jumped one spot on the D3football.com and AFCA polls due in part to a Top-10 showdown last weekend between #7 UW-River Falls and #4 UW-La Crosse, with the latter coming out on top in a 31-28 decision. 

The NCAA Region II poll pitted Centennial-leading Johns Hopkins first with a 9-0 record, followed by the Liberty League's leader in Ithaca in second with an 8-1 mark in overall play. Beneath Susquehanna is the Empire 8 champion SUNY Cortland in fourth, with the Red Dragons facing Ithaca this Saturday in the annual Cortaca Jug at IC. Fifth in the poll is Grove City (9-0), with Union (NY) in sixth (9-0) and Muhlenberg seventh (8-1). Other region leaders include Springfield (Region I), Randolph-Macon (Region III), Mount Union (Region IV), Wartburg (Region V), Wisconsin-La Crosse (Region VI).