SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna University football team completed their non-conference season with a 4-0 start on Saturday via a 26-18 rain-soaked win over Western New England. The River Hawks fought through the elements with a ground game electrified by Tommy Grabowski's two touchdowns, three interceptions and one fumble on defense, then four field goals from Christian Colasurdo to put just enough distance in front of the Golden Bears for their 15th straight regular season victory, one away from the school record set between 1985-87.

Susquehanna countered an early WNE field goal with a 15-play, eight-minute drive capitalized with a six-yard run by Grabowski to take a 7-3 lead. Lineman Jake Schultes, who intercepted two passes on the afternoon, got his first touch of the ball to block a potential scoring drive by the Golden Bears. With WNE threatening inside Susky's 40, Conrad Swanson's pass was broken up at the line of scrimmage by Schultes, which bounced off a lineman and back in the hands of Schultes late in the first quarter. This set up the first of Colasurdo's four field goals for a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. On the Golden Bears' ensuing drive, Swanson mishandled a shotgun snap. Upon recovering the ball, it was forced out by Darrion Rascoe and scooped by Keith Green III who returned it to WNE's five. This set up Grabowski's second touchdown run of the day for a 17-3 lead.

The Golden Bears made a move into Susquehanna's lead by bringing the ball down into the red zone. A touchdown pass was nullified by a chop block penalty that set them back 15 yards. On third down quarterback Tyler Millerick found Larson in the back of the endzone to cut the lead down to 17-10. Later in the quarter the River Hawks got the ball with 12 seconds to go in the half, where quarterback Josh Ehrlich connected with Howes for 21 yards that set up a 39-yard field goal by Colasurdo as time expired for a 20-10 lead at the half.

Susquehanna's Wild Dogs defense made the opening statement for the second half, capitalizing on a WNE miscue. A 20-yard pass from Swanson bounced off the hands of open receiver Tyler Borwhat and landed in the arms of Le'Trey Bond for the team's second pick of the day. The next points of the day came again from Colasurdo, who banged in a 33-yarder to finish off an eight-and-a-half minute drive to open the fourth quarter ahead 23-10. With Western New England backed up deep in their own territory at their own eight, Dominic Winn broke up a pass over the middle that Schultes pulled off the deflection, which set up another Colasurdo field goal to make it 26-10with 6:25 remaining.

WNE would not give up, with Swanson finding Borwhat for a six-yard touchdown pass, followed by a successful two-point conversion from Swanson to Bailey-Cottle to make it a one-possession game at 26-18 with 3:40 left. Left with one timeout, the Golden Bears went for the onside kick, which was recovered by Kyle Howes as the River Hawks ran out the clock.

While the rain impeded either side from establishing a passing game, Ehrlich found the most success between him and WNE's two-quarterback system Swanson and Millerick. The sophomore connected on 11-of-16 for 82 yards, while running 15 times for 88 yards. The starter Swanson completed just 4-of-14 for 41 yards with one touchdown, three interceptions and one fumble, while Millerick's four passes on seven attempts netted 50 yards to lead the team. Ehrlich also added to the punting game, booting a 28-yarder from WNE's 36 on fourth down to the eight yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Grabowski put on another great running display with 26 rushes for 131 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and his longest going for 14 yards. Howes caught a game-high 5 passes for 37 yards, with his 21-yard reception before the half accounting for his longest of the day. Tight end Michael Robbins saw two of his catches go for 30 yards.

Susquehanna's ball control again shined through with a 37:56 time of possession, generating 323 total yards on 65 plays compared to the Golden Bears 264 total yards on 51 plays over 22:04. Penalties were an issue on both sides, as Susquehanna was called on 14 of them for 139 yards, including three consecutive defensive calls that set up WNE's fourth-quarter touchdown. The Golden Bears made five penalties for 60 yards. The River Hawks made 18 first downs to the Bears' 16 and converted 3-of-13 thrid downs to WNE's 4-of-11. Both sides were efficient on fourth-down conversions, with Susky going 3-for-3 and WNE 2-for-2.

Susquehanna's defense, who entered Saturday yet to have an interception despite six turnovers off fumbles, had three on the day, with Schultes' two picks accounting for the firsts of his career and the first time a River Hawk had a pair of interceptions in a game since Keith Green III against Ursinus on October 10, 2022. Bond's pick marked his first in a River Hawk uniform, while Green recovered his second fumble of the year, with both his returns setting Susquehanna up in the red zone.

The victory gives head coach Tom Perkovich's team their third straight 4-0 start and 15th consecutive regular season win, putting them one win away from the school record of 16 set between 1985 and 1987, with the team's previous last undefeated season of 1986 as the cornerstone of that run. The River Hawks are poised to match the mark next Saturday when they host Catholic at 1 p.m. as part of the Landmark Conference's inaugural football weekend and Susquehanna's Ring of Honor induction ceremony. Catholic, now 2-2 on the season, suffered a 9-6 defeat Saturday to Alfred.