BALTIMORE, Md. – In a matchup between two nationally ranked teams, the Susquehanna University football team put together a dominant performance Saturday afternoon, racing past Johns Hopkins University, 49-23, at Homewood Field. The River Hawks, ranked No. 19 by the AFCA and No. 24 by D3football.com entering the contest, improved to 3-0 on the season with the victory over the No. 13/15 Blue Jays.
The victory marked Susquehanna's first win over Johns Hopkins since 2022 and came in the third meeting between the programs in the last two seasons. The Blue Jays defeated the River Hawks in the 2025 NCAA Quarterfinals and during last year's regular season.
How It Went Down
- Johns Hopkins opened the scoring with a 27-yard field goal, but Susquehanna quickly answered when quarterback Tommy Wright connected with Noah Confer for a 23-yard touchdown to give the River Hawks a 7-3 lead.
- The Blue Jays responded with a 58-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead, but that would be their final lead of the afternoon.
- Susquehanna took control early in the second quarter when Wright found Drew Hutchins for a two-yard touchdown, putting the River Hawks ahead 14-10. Matt Surtz then powered in from four yards out to cap an 84-yard drive and extend the lead to 21-10.
- The River Hawks continued to pour it on before halftime. Wright connected with Frankie Mroz on a 39-yard touchdown strike with 3:52 remaining in the second quarter before finding Carter McCauley for a 17-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left. Susquehanna took a 35-10 advantage into halftime.
- Wright added his fifth touchdown pass of the afternoon early in the third quarter, finding Jimmy Fusaro for a 30-yard score. Frankie Williams then broke loose for a 29-yard touchdown run, giving the River Hawks a 49-10 lead.
- Johns Hopkins added two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but Susquehanna's dominant offensive performance had already put the game out of reach.
Inside the Box Score
- Susquehanna finished with 485 yards of total offense, including 251 rushing yards and 234 passing yards.
- Tommy Wright completed 15-of-19 passes for 224 yards and five touchdowns, with no interceptions.
- Matt Surtz rushed 16 times for 156 yards and a touchdown, averaging 9.8 yards per carry.
- Frankie Williams added 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on just two carries.
- Frankie Mroz led the River Hawks with 55 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Jimmy Fusaro hauled in three passes for 43 yards and a score.
- Drew Hutchins caught four passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. He added 42 yards to Susquehanna's rushing totals on 12 carries.
- Noah Confer and Carter McCauley each added a touchdown reception for their only catches of the day.
- Defensively, Maksim Godbolt led the River Hawks with 10 tackles, while Brayden Nolan recorded seven tackles. Omari Cofield added four tackles and two tackles for loss.
- The defense forced one turnover to enable Susquehanna's onslaught of 28 second-quarter points. With Hopkins inside SU's 40, a quarterback keeper by Luke Baker was punched out by Galen Limantour and recovered by Jaydon Handy. Limantour finished with one tackle for loss with three total tackles, while Handy also had a tackle for loss for one solo tackle.
- Susquehanna converted 7-of-14 third downs and held the ball for 34:12 compared to 25:48 for Johns Hopkins.
- The River Hawks scored touchdowns on seven of eight drives spanning the first through third quarters, turning a 14-10 deficit into a 49-10 advantage.
Up Next for the River Hawks
- Susquehanna makes it home debut Saturday, Sept. 26 with another marquee matchup against Christopher Newport at 12 p.m. as part of Homecoming Weekend.
- Similar to JHU, the River Hawks and Captains met twice in 2025, with CNU taking the regular season matchup before the River Hawks returned the favor in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
