BETHLEHEM, PA – The Susquehanna University football team already locked up the Landmark Conference title entering Saturday's game at Moravian. The only thing missing was the River Hawks clinching their third consecutive year locking up another unbeaten conference season, which they did successfully with a 48-7 rout of the Greyhounds. Susquehanna will find out its opponent in its fourth straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearance Sunday at 5 p.m. during the selection show on NCAA.com.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Susquehanna scored the first 17 points of the contest, leading 7-0 at the end of the first quarter when quarterback Josh Ehrlich took an option run ten yards in the endzone. Ehrlich took off seven times for 52 yards that featured a 32-yard run in the mix.
- The defense took Moravian for two interceptions on the day. The first came from Jesse Ruisch that halted any momentum the Greyhounds thought they earned after forcing Susquehanna to punt from its own ten and starting at SU's 44.
- Running back Rahshan La Mons notched another 100-yard game with 113 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns. He gave Susquehanna a 14-0 lead hammering it in from two yards out.
- Kicker Dominic Bourgeois added two more field goals to add to his perfect season, now at 16-of-16. To get his first of the day he used some trickery as the punter, faking out Moravian by throwing it to Connor Daly for 19 yards to convert a 4th and 5 near midfield. The junior found his first three-pointer of the day from 28 yards out, capping off a 14-play drive late in the first half that took 5:49 off the clock.
- The River Hawks strung together a series of lengthy drives that contributed to 36:03 of possession time on 77 plays, while amassing 469 yards of total offense.
- Moravian got on the board before the half ended when quarterback Declan McCarthy threw it to Avery Koser for a 17-yard connection just under two minutes to go in the half.
- Susquehanna squeezed in ten more first-half points despite 1:46 remaining when they took the ball back over. The Greyhounds committed a series of costly personal foul penalties that helped the River Hawks get down to the field. La Mons capped this off with his second rushing touchdown with a four-yard run with 42 seconds left in the second quarter.
- The Greyhounds got a good return when Isiah Rico's 38-yard return got Moravian set up at its own 40. Facing 4th and 12, however, after a Brian Layton tackle for loss, they opted to go for it, which proved unsuccessful and got SU the ball back at Moravian's 38 with 14 ticks left.
- A pass interference call got the River Hawks to the 23, where Bourgeois booted his fourth field goal of 40 or more yards, this time 40 on the button, for a 27-7 lead at halftime.
- The defense began the second half with its second interception as Romero Lavalais Jr. earned his second INT of the season taking away a deep ball to put the offense up at its own 26.
- Ehrlich added two touchdown passes in the second half, putting him at 20-of-34 throwing on the day for 240 yards and no interceptions. His first scoring strike went to receiver Frankie Mroz for 27 yards, his only reception of the afternoon.
- The Greyhounds faced a three-and-out to give SU the ball back and where they got cooking again.
- Ehrlich threw and ran his way the 65 yards needed for the team's next touchdown. This time he found a familiar scoring target in young receiver Daniel Growney for a 28-yard scoring reception. Growney finished his day with four catches for 91 yards and a long of 41.
- Susquehanna began the fourth quarter with one more touchdown drive before Ehrlich retired for the afternoon. He called on running backs Matt Surtz and Tommy Grabowski to get the ball moving on the ground, as well as hooking up with receivers Growney and the senior Hunter Morgenroth. At the one yard line, Grabowski was called on for the final score of the day, doing so on his only carry of the afternoon for a 48-7 lead.
- Morgenroth led the game with five catches, totaling 50 yards with his longest going for 19 yards. Surtz had six carries for 45 yards with a long of 16.
- The River Hawks' 469 total yards, against the Greyhounds' 194, was settled between 259 passing yards and 210 rushing yards. Moravian had 182 passing yards and held to just 12 rushing yards.
- Ehrlich's season numbers put him at 185-of-258 passing for 2,150 yards with 25 passing TDs. On the ground he has 609 rushing yards on 110 carries for four touchdowns. La Mons has 640 rushing yards on 118 carries with nine touchdowns.
- Growney's rookie campaign has him with a team-leading six touchdown receptions, catching 44 balls for 541 yards.
- On defense the River Hawks held Moravian to 4-of-13 on third down conversions and empty handed on two fourth-down tries. They also took them for two sacks, with one solo from Ruisch and a combined sack from Omari Cofield and Brennen Miller.
- Ruisch added one tackle for loss for his fruitful day with a sack and an interception.
UP NEXT FOR THE RIVER HAWKS
- Susquehanna celebrates the conclusion of another successful Landmark season at 6-0 in the conference and 8-2 overall. They've won the last three Landmark titles and are set to make their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
- The River Hawks await their fate in the tournament as the NCAA Selection Show takes place Sunday at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com.
