SELINSGROVE, PA - All of Susquehanna University's football questions will soon be answered as Friday, Sept. 6 the River Hawks open the 2024 season against Bridgewater under the lights as part of Ring of Honor Night. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET, marking the first night game at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field at Doug Arthur Stadium since Oct. 15, 2021, a 47-7 SU win over Gettysburg. The Ring of Honor pregame reception begins at 5 p.m. and the public unveiling at halftime. This year Susquehanna welcomes to the ring the 2009 Liberty League Championship Team, Jeff Goria, Thomas Shoemaker, Captain George Kirk, Ken Vermillion, and John Vignone. 

Some of the questions asked this year is if the River Hawks can go a third year in a row undefeated during the regular season and conference champions. in 2022 and 2023 Susquehanna posted 10-0 regular-season marks and championships in the Centennial Conference and Landmark Conference, respectively. If successful, the next question posed is if the River Hawks can advance to the NCAA Second Round after disappointing first-round exits the last two seasons. In the case of last year, it came down to the final play against Grove City, who converted a fourth down in the red zone with a jump ball in the endzone in the closing seconds. Susquehanna did, however, turn many heads with last year's undefeated regular-season run, knocking off SUNY Brockport and eventual national champion and #2 ranked SUNY Cortland on last-second field goals from All-Landmark choice Christian Colasurdo, who made 12 on the year tying the school record. Rounding out their non-conference slate with wins against Bridgewater and Western New England, the orange and maroon tore through their Landmark slate to capture the conference's inaugural football championship. The program will have the benefit of their home crowds cheering them on for most of the season with six home games, including the first three at home against Bridgewater, SUNY Brockport, and #2 SUNY Cortland.

Bridgewater and Susquehanna rematch from their season-opening meeting last year down in Virginia, which Susquehanna won by a 51-19 score. While the River Hawks jumped out to an early 16-0 lead the Eagles closed the gap to 23-16 in the second quarter. Susquehanna turned on the afterburners thanks to several heads-up plays by the special teams, as late in the opening half a misplayed snap by the punter caused him to take off and run. He didn't get far as Andrew Wells forced a fumble and was scooped up for a touchdown to enter halftime up 30-16. The offense contributed two more touchdowns in the second half, courtesy of Rowen Hershey and Matt Surtz, with Wells and the special teams again capitalizing on punts. Early in the fourth quarter Wells broke through the line and blocked the punt, going up in the air and snatched for a 44-yard runback. In all the special teams contributed to 16 points on the day, with the remaining score a safety in the first half due to a high snap on a Bridgewater punt attempt that went through the back of the endzone.

QUICK LINKS: VIDEO ($ - FLOFOOTBALL) | LIVE STATS | RADIO (WQSU 88.9 FM, TALENT: JACK BURNS)

GAME NOTES: SUSQUEHANNA | BRIDGEWATER TEAM PAGE

WEAR ORANGE AND MAROON: Susquehanna University and Susquehanna Athletics encourages fans to dress in orange and maroon for Friday's game as part of our campus-wide effort to wear orange and maroon on Fridays!

RANKINGS SIDE WITH SUSQUEHANNA IN THE TOP DOZEN
Both the AFCA and D3football.com agreed on Susquehanna earning a spot in the top half of its Top 25 rankings at number 12. The River Hawks moved up two spots from their end-of-season rankings in both polls thanks in part to a healthy bunch of returning players. This includes receiver and returner Kyle Howes, who was named Landmark Offensive Player of the Year, while racking up all-conference selections at both wide receiver and returns. He had nine touchdown receptions. At quarterback Josh Ehrlich returns following a successful debut as SU's starting quarterback, balancing the pass and the run with 13 touchdown passes and eight rushing touchdowns. On defense linebacker Garrett Carter is back after a D3football.com All-Region 2 campaign where he racked up a team-best five sacks with 55 tackles, including 15 solo and 10.5 tackles for loss, costing offenses 55 yards in the process. Jake Schultes is also back as leverage on the defensive line, registering 4.5 sacks last year with 38 tackles and 16 solo tackles with ten for loss that earned him All-Landmark.

The program selected five team captains entering 2024 in Carter, safety Andrew Wells, linebacker and last year's team-leading tackler Drew Robinson, offensive lineman Eli Kantor and wide receiver Chris Bookter. Robinson, Wells, and Kantor joined Carter as All-Landmark selections in 2023. In all the team returns 13 of its 16 All-Landmark honorees, including Tommy Grabowski (Running Back), Nick Gonzalez (Offensive Line), Christian Colasurdo (Placekicker), Rowen Hershey (Tight End), and Hunter Shimko (Offensive Line), while Josh Buck (Linebacker) earned Honorable Mention.