By Nick Forbes Asst. sports editor
Freshman quarterback Bobby Grigas shone in his Susquehanna debut as he led the visiting River Hawks over the Dickinson Red Devils 31-24 on Sept. 17.
Grigas threw for 217 yards, adding a touchdown strike with no interceptions. He also added another touchdown on the ground for the River Hawks.
“I was so excited [when I found out I would be starting]. When I left the meeting that day, I called both of my parents at work,” Grigas said.
“Later that evening the excitement wore off and the nervousness began. I didn’t want to let my coaches or teammates down,” he added.
To make Grigas’ debut even more impressive, he racked up all those yards through the air without his No. 1 wide receiver, junior Diamente Holloway, who was the 2015 Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year. Holloway was out due to injury.
“It was dissapointing not having [Holloway] because he’s such a great reciever,” Grigas said.
“I wasn’t too worried though with [the other weapons] I knew we would be fine. We also have a great offensive line and [Ott’s] ability to run the ball takes a lot of pressure off the quarterback,” he said.
In the first half, the scoring was all Susquehanna, starting in the first quarter when senior kicker Evan Argiriou booted a 25-yard field goal to give Susquehanna a 3-0 advantage.
Grigas then tallied his rushing touchdown and his passing touchdown in the second quarter to give the River Hawks the 17-0 cushion that helped pave their way to victory.
The lead was the team’s first lead at the half this season.
In the third quarter, the Red Devil’s offense gained traction, as Dickinson scored its first points on a 35-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Stephen Walker.
Then it was the defense’s turn to step up for Dickinson, forcing a Susquehanna fumble on the ensuing possession, which put the Red Devils in excellent field position on the Susquehanna 31 yard line.
Dickinson sophomore quarterback Billy Burger did not take long to capitalize on the turnover, punching it in himself from the 1 yard line after he hit sophomore wide receiver Jake Walbert on a 30-yard completion the previous play.
After having their lead cut to a single possession, Susquehanna went to work again offensively, this time letting junior quarterback Matt Thies take the reins due to a Grigas injury.
Thies led the River Hawks on a 63-yard drive that culminated in Thies finding the end zone with his legs from 11 yards out.
Susquehanna did not waste any time getting the ball back, as sophomore linebacker Connor Thompson undercut a Burger pass and intercepted the ball, giving Susquehanna great starting field position at the Dickinson 27 yard line.
Thies found junior running back Cameron Ott on a 33-yard catch-and-run that resulted in a River Hawks touchdown and effectively ended any chance Dickinson had of coming back.
“It was awesome to get the win; we had a rough start to the year,” Grigas said.
“The players [in college] are a lot bigger, faster and stronger than in high school and I’ll be wearing a boot on my foot for the next three weeks as a reminder,” he continued.
Grigas will be out three to four weeks with the foot injury, but with junior quarterback Nick Crusco expected to return soon, the River Hawks are not worried.
The victory gave Susquehanna its first win of the season, moving the River Hawks to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in conference play. With the loss, Dickinson drops to 0-3 on the year.
After suffering two losses in their first two games of the year, Susquehanna will have some ground to make up in order to achieve its goal of making the Centennial Conference playoffs.
Up next for Susquehanna will be a home game against the visiting Bullets of Gettysburg. Gettysburg holds a similar record to Susquehanna in both overall and conference play.
Gettysburg, led by junior quarterback Justin Davidov, is coming off a close 41-35 loss to Juniata.
The game was a high-scoring affair, with both teams combining for over 1,000 yards of total offense.
The Bullets’ only win this season came on the road against Ursinus on Sept. 10 by a final score of 42-17.
Gettysburg’s high-powered offense will prove to be a challenge for a Susquehanna defense that is still attempting to establish its identity.
The Bullets will pay a visit to Selinsgrove on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. to take on the Riverhawks.
