HUNTINGDON, PA - For the second straight week the Susquehanna University football team racked up the yardage and points at the expense of a Landmark Conference opponent. The River Hawks traveled Saturday to Juniata, where the offense turned in 689 yards between 417 yards through the air and 272 on the ground towards a 56-7 win. Susquehanna, now 2-0 in Landmark play and 4-2 overall, recorded the second-most total yardage in a game for an SU football program, behind only their 724 yards against Juniata in 2003.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The River Hawks scored the first 42 points of the game, with Juniata's lone touchdown not coming until the third quarter. Susquehanna went a perfect 3-for-3 on its opening drives of the game reaching the endzone, as well as a perfect 5-for-5 on redzone scoring chances.
- Quarterback Josh Ehrlich, fresh of a Landmark Conference Offensive Player of the Week performance after last week's 69-7 win over Lycoming, arguably did one better with 313 yards passing, connecting on 24-of-28 with a career-high five touchdown passes. His arm accounted for the team's first three touchdowns, beginning with finding tight end Michael Robbins on an eight-yard touchdown pass. On the team's next drive Ehrlich found an open Carter McCauley down the field, which the young receiver hauled in and veered past his defender for a 74-yard touchdown connection. The two hooked up again to take a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, this time from nine yards out.
- Sophomore running back Rahshan La Mons logged a 100-yard game with 101 on ten carries. His lone contribution to the scoring was a 35-yard touchdown run, the lone play of a SU drive that started at Juniata's 35 thanks to stifling defense forcing the Eagles to punt from their own ten.
- McCauley's two touchdown catches highlighted a 100-yard receiving day with 105 on just four grabs. Fellow young wideout Daniel Growney caught a team-high seven passes for 75 yards, coming up with two big plays to set the River Hawks up with a 35-0 halftime lead. Susquehanna snuck in an 81-yard scoring drive in the last two minutes of the first half, bolstered by Ehrlich finding Growney for a 33-yard pass, then again for a 14-yard scoring combination with just seven seconds showing on the first-half clock.
- Susquehanna shook up the backfield to start the second half with Drew Hutchins and Tommy Grabowski splitting ball-carrying duties. The results were the same as Hutchins made it 42-0 catching a ball from Ehrlich for a 14-yard touchdown pass. Hutchins finished with seven carries for 19 yards, while Grabowski had 51 yards rushing on nine touches.
- Juniata's Ivan Foreman gave the Eagles their only points of the day on a one-yard touchdown run on a 75-yard drive near the end of the third quarter.
- Susquehanna backup quarterback Tommy Wright entered the game picking up where Ehrlich left off, firing off two touchdown throws of his own. He found Reese Gaughan for a 10-yard touchdown pass near the end of the third quarter, then delivered a 28-yard scoring strike to Frankie Mroz halfway through the fourth quarter. Wright completed 4-of-7 passes for 74 yards.
- Fellow QB Sam McCracken stepped in to complete all three of his passes for 30 yards.
- Ehrlich finished second on the team in rushing with 52 yards on eight carries, as well as recording one punt that went 42 yards and landed inside the 20.
- The defense posted one sack on the day, courtesy of Galen Limantour, who also recorded seven total tackles with four solo. Linebacker Steven Seibert led with nine total tackles, including seven solo.
- Linebacker Luke Hughes came through with five total tackles with four solo, including a solo drop that shut down Juniata on fourth down on its first drive of the second half.
- Kicker Dominic Bourgeois made all eight of his PAT attempts and kicked off eight times averaging 62.9 yards. Chris DeGroote had one kickoff for 65 yards, while Nick Bloss punted once for 30 yards.
- The River Hawks' offense also finished second in the record books with 38 first downs - 12 rushing, 24 passing, and two off penalties. This was two shy of the record they set last week against Lycoming with 40, which stands as the most in NCAA Division III this season and four from the D3 record.
- Susquehanna's D limited the Eagles to just 170 yards of total offense with 135 on the ground and only 35 through the air.
UP NEXT FOR THE RIVER HAWKS
- Susquehanna takes its 2-0 Landmark moniker and 4-2 overall mark into Homecoming Weekend next Saturday when they take on Catholic at 1 p.m.
