SELINSGROVE, PA - The No. 4/5 Susquehanna University football team had the eyes of many Division III football pundits with their Saturday afternoon matchup against number-three Johns Hopkins. The River Hawks got the ball first and used a six-and-a-half minute drive to score the game's first touchdown to lead 7-0. The Blue Jays, however, pulled away with 33 straight points before Susquehanna answered with 15 points in the fourth quarter as JHU maintained its top-three status with a 40-22 victory. The high-profile matchup handed Susquehanna its first defeat of the season at 2-1 as they hit the road for the first time this year down to Christopher Newport next Saturday. The Captains received votes in the latest AFCA and D3football.com national rankings.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
- Susquehanna 7, Johns Hopkins 0 - Johns Hopkins won the toss, but elected to defer. Susquehanna opted to get the ball first, which proved to be a good decision as the River Hawks strung together an 11-play, 79-yard drive that spanned 6:26 leading to the game's first touchdown. Quarterback Josh Ehrlich found wideout Hunter Morgenroth down the right sideline for a diving catch and a 7-0 leadwith 8:27 to play in the first quarter.
- Susquehanna 7, Johns Hopkins 3 - A promising kick return set Johns Hopkins up at SU's 49 to start its drive. The Blue Jays made it down to the 12 yard line as kicker Brad Paxton nailed a 29-yard field goal for the Blue Jays' first points of the day.
- Susquehanna 7, Johns Hopkins 10 - Susquehanna went three and out on its next drive. Johns Hopkins started at its own 17, turning in an 83-yard, 11-play drive that melted 5:53 off the clock and the first score of the second quarter when running back Geoff Schroeder found the endzone on a three-yard run.
- Johns Hopkins 17, Susquehanna 7 - The Blue Jays got a boost when they turned in a quick score covering 83 yards. Quarterback Bay Harvey found an open Cole Crotty down the sideline to take a two-possession lead with 9:03 to play in the half. This would be the halftime score.
- Johns Hopkins 24, Susquehanna 7 - The Blue Jays' decision to defer the coin toss proved beneficial as they got the ball to begin the second half to add to their score. On their opening drive Harvey connected with Josh Moore for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 12:27 to play in the third.
- Johns Hopkins 26, Susquehanna 7 - Both sides exchanged scoreless possessions. Johns Hopkins' punter Chase Alley placed a 48-yard punt on Susquehanna's 1 yard line. The River Hawks tried to get some breathing room, but it broke down on just one play. Ehrlich tried to run the ball out on a keeper, but facing tremendous pressure he threw a desparation screen pass to Morgenroth who got swallowed up by Tyler Dasilva in the endzone for a safety.
- Johns Hopkins 33, Susquehanna 7 - JHU took advantage of their next possession with another three-yard touchdown rush from Schroeder, cementing their run of 33 straight points to end the third quarter.
- Susquehanna 14, Johns Hopkins 33 - The River Hawks broke their silence, while also celebrating the return of All-American running back Rahshan La Mons. After missing the first two games due to injury, La Mons got the crowd back on its feet with a 37-yard touchdown run to end SU's scoring drought.
- Susquehanna 22, Johns Hopkins 33 - Johns Hopkins fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Griffin Semrad's return was upended when Berkeley Wagner forced a fumble that Maksim Godbolt jumped on to start Susquehanna up at JHU's 24. After a pass interference gave SU first and goal at the 2, La Mons celebrated his second touchdown of the game to cut the deficit to 11 with 5:48 to play. SU completed the two-point conversion as Ehrlich found Robert Stolfa on the run towards the right sideline.
- Johns Hopkins 40, Susquehanna 22 - The number-three team put away any comeback chances as Schroeder broke off his longest run of the day for 38 yards and his third touchdown.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Susquehanna led in time of possession for the third straight game, edging out Johns Hopkins holding the ball for 30:19. The River Hawks also went for it on fourth down four times, converting on two of them.
- Johns Hopkins led in total offense 455-384, including 258-199 in passing yards and a slim 197-185 lead on the ground.
- The Blue Jays sacked Ehrlich five times, amounting to 33 yards. They also caused him to throw his first interception of the season as Kevin Olah did the honors to freeze and early fourth quarter drive.
- Ehrlich's touchdown pass to Morgenroth highlighted his 18-of-30 day for 199 yards passing. He also took off 17 times for 64 yards. The Blue Jays' Bay Harvey completed 17-of-24 for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
- La Mons' much-anticipated return to the field generated a team-high 110 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns, including a long of 37 yards with his first TD of the game. JHU's Schroeder led all ball carriers with 120 yards on 17 carries. La Mons also had one punt return for eight yards on the day, despite the Blue Jays' attempts to punt the ball away from him, along with a team-high six catches for 28 yards.
- Defensive back Ben Fleming and linebacker Jesse Ruisch each totaled eight tackles to lead the defense, with Ruisch getting six solo tackles. Wagner's forced fumble added to his four-tackle day, while safety Dominic Winn had six tackles with four solo. Winn returned three kickoffs for 42 yards.
- First-year receiver Daniel Growney led the River Hawks receivers with 80 receiving yards on three catches and a long of 35 yards. Running back Matt Surtz also had three catches netting 30 yards.
