COLLEGEVILLE, MINN. – A history-making win appeared to be in reach after Rahshan La Mons' 30-yard touchdown run, giving sixth-ranked Susquehanna (10-1) a 38-24 lead on number-three and top-seeded St. John's (11-0) in the fourth quarter of the NCAA Championship Third Round game Saturday. The Johnnies, who are no strangers to the national stage with four national titles, answered the River Hawks' challenge with two unanswered touchdowns to tie the game at 38-38.

What St. John's didn't account for was the three-and-a-half minutes remaining that Susquehanna had to work in a game-winning drive. The maroon and orange converted on two third downs to keep the drive going, each done by a pair of 16-yard completions from quarterback Josh Ehrlich to Michael Robbins. Moving the ball down to the 20 yard line set up a 37-yard field goal from Dominic Bourgeois with two seconds remaining, which he calmly drilled to send the River Hawks to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 1991. There waiting for them is Bethel, with Susquehanna set to host the Minnesota-based Royals Saturday, Dec. 14 at 12 noon from Amos Alonzo Stagg Field at Doug Arthur Stadium. More information to follow. Bethel defeated Wartburg, 24-14, in their Sweet 16 matchup on Saturday.

For the first time all year, Susquehanna did not initiate the scoring, instead having to bounce back from a 10-0 deficit early in the second quarter after SJU quarterback Aaron Syverson found Riley Schwellenbach for a 12-yard connection. The River Hawks finally countered with a 60-yard touchdown drive that resulted in quarterback and Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist Josh Ehrlich running it in from one yard out. The margin didn't remain close for long as SJU needed just one play to regain a ten-point advantage with an 89-yard touchdown pass from Syverson to Schwellenbach again for a 17-7 lead. From here on the River Hawks' defense stood strong to afford the offense a chance at redemption. Following a 43-yard Bourgeois field goal, the longest of his career, to make it a one possession game, the defense stopped Saint John's on a fourth and two conversion at Susquehanna's 29 with 1:12 remaining, leading to a game-defining drive for SU. Thanks to a 46-yard hookup from Ehrlich and receiver Kyle Howes, who had a career day with ten receptions for 113 yards and one touchdown, the River Hawks found themselves on the two yard line with just seconds remaining. Ehrlich ran an option with La Mons in the backfield, pitching it to the fleet-footed rookie who made a great second effort to reach for the pylon and tie things up at 17-17 going into halftime.

The two sides exchanged touchdowns to start the third quarter, with the Johnnies going back in front thanks to another Syverson touchdown pass to Dylan Wheeler, which was countered by a 17-yard touchdown run from La Mons, who turned in a three-touchdown day on the ground, amassing 176 yards on 29 carries for a 6.1 average. The River Hawks forced the Johnnies to go three and out, leading to a six-minute Susquehanna drive that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown coming off true grit. Facing fourth and goal from the one, Susquehanna elected to throw for it, with Ehrlich patiently finding Kyle Howes on a quick slant to the right side and the 31-24 lead, allowing Howes to break the school record for touchdown receptions in a season with 16, beating out Mark Bartosic's record of 15 from 2000. Susquehanna got a huge boost of momentum when defensive end Jake Schultes strip sacked Syverson and a clean exchange of the ball, setting up La Mons for the team's last TD of the day with a 30-yard run that spelled a 38-24 lead with 9:15 to go.

The Johnnies, who hold the all-time NCAA Division III record in all-time wins with 703, showed what they were about to deny Susquehanna any sizable win. The 13-point favorite Johnnies found themselves trailing by one more point than they were favored to win by, though they got even after big plays led to another Syverson touchdown pass to Joey Gendreau to cut the lead in half. After an SU three and out the Johnnies tied the game as the senior QB Syverson threw perhaps his last passing attempt of his career to Marselio Mendez with a 19-yard touchdown strike. This capped a day where the fellow Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist threw 37-of-46 for 466 yards and five touchdown hurls. Though at game's end, it was the work of Ehrlich that set the River Hawks up with the game-winner, completing 25-of-37 for 274 yards and one touchdown pass, as well as one touchdown on the ground.

The River Hawks are 7-of-10 on field goals this season, with Bourgeois a perfect 4-for-4 and kicker/punter Christian Colasurdo 3-for-6. Bourgeois, a kickoff specialist, took over placekicking duties during the season to give Colasurdo full-time punting duties. He punted twice Saturday for 84 yards, an average of 42 yards per punt and a long of 55 with one inside the 20. Only one other time this season have the River Hawks made two field goals in the same game, the other being against SUNY Brockport which spelled out the margin of victory in a 27-21 decision in Week 3.
On defense the River Hawks administered two sacks with one turnover coming off the Schultes strip sack. The one remaining came courtesy of Tim Pherson Jr. Safety Andrew Wells collected eight total tackles to lead the team, including seven solo, while Logan Arnold had five total tackles and one solo.

Howes' career day shot him up to number two on the career receptions list with 197, needing three more to become the second Susquehanna receiver ever to amass 200 career receptions alongside Mark Bartosic, who caught 275 balls from 2000-03. He also reached number two in career receiving yards with 2,825, while standing second with 35 touchdown receptions. Ehrlich moved one spot up with 354 career completions, good for fifth all-time. La Mons became Susquehanna's single-season rushing leader with 1,453 yards, passing Dave Paveletz's record of 1,414 set in the 2009 NCAA Tournament season, while his 18 rushing touchdowns put him one behind Da'Avian Ellington's record of 19 set in 2019.

With eight teams remaining, Susquehanna looks to dethrone a Royals team that finished second to Saint John's for the MIAC title, though were able to handle Wartburg Saturday following first and second round wins over Coe (31-28) and Lake Forest (48-21), respectively. The winner will face the victor of the Springfield-North Central (Ill.) matchup, with North Central serving as the 2022 national champions and 2023 national runners-up. On the other side of the bracket stands Mary Hardin-Baylor and Johns Hopkins, Susquehanna's former Centennial Conference adversaries, along with the matchup between Salisbury and Mount Union. All quarterfinal games will kickoff at noon local time and broadcast on ESPN+.