Box Score Mikah Christian,
Michael Ruisch,
Aaron Speight and D'avion Ellington all had touchdowns while
Cole Dixon recorded 19 tackles for a stingy River Hawk defense as the Susquehanna University Football team defeated Gettysburg College 27-9 Saturday afternoon at a rainy Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in Selinsgrove.
The River Hawks (5-3 Overall, 4-3 Centennial) gave the Bullets (1-7, 1-6) quality scoring opportunities early, giving away good field position on Gettysburg's opening two drives.
On the opening kickoff, the Bullets carried the ball back to midfield to start their drive, but the team missed on a lengthy field goal attempt and the River Hawks took over on downs.
After a three and out by the River Hawks, punter
Jake Wiles had his punt blocked. Fortunately for Susquehanna, the ball still managed to roll forward and settle at midfield once again.
This time, the Bullets were able to take the ball into field goal range and make the kick, taking an early 3-0 edge.
The remainder of the quarter continued without scoring from either side, until
Nick Sottile pounced on a fumble on the Bullets 1-yard line.
Two plays later, Speight converted a one-yard run and the River Hawks took a 7-3 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.
The second quarter would not see a score by the Bullets and the River Hawks as defense began to play a large part in the contest.
Kashief Hyatt, Thompson,
Cole Dixon and
Jason Brougham came through with big defensive stops time and again as the lead was preserved at 7-3 going into halftime.
After a three and out by Susquehanna and another fumble by Gettysburg to start the third quarter, the River Hawks were able to score another touchdown to make it a two possession game.
Starting at midfield, a ten-yard completion to
Mitch Carsley and a pass interference call allowed the team to enter the red zone before Ruicsh completed a 13-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 14-3.
In a quarter that saw another forced turnover by Susquehanna, the lead remained the same going into the final quarter of action.
Continuing a drive that began at the end of the third quarter, Ruisch connected with Christian on the longest pass completion of the day for a 27-yard touchdown and the River Hawks took a 20-3 lead into the closing minutes of action.
Following another unsuccessful drive by Gettysburg, the Bullets capitalized on a fumble by Susquehanna deep in its own territory and scored to make it a two possession game once more.
Cole Spencer was able to intercept the two-point conversion attempt to keep the game at 20-9.
Leading comfortably throughout the final quarter, Susquehanna was able to score once more and cement a 27-9 victory on a 36-yard rushing touchdown by Ellington.
On a rain-filled afternoon, the team was able to make the key plays when they counted, causing five fumbles by Gettysburg, recovering four of them.
Craig Roumes had two sacks while Dixon, Brougham,
Jhemir Stanley and Hyatt all added one sack.
With the win, the River Hawks moved into a third place tie with Moravian and Ursinus in the Centennial Conference Standings.
The team continues play Saturday when they take on McDaniel at 1 p.m. in Westminster, Maryland.
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