By Pat Delp Staff writer
It was a day for the record books in Selinsgrove. Junior running back Cameron Ott set a program record with five rushing touchdowns on Sept. 24 as Susquehanna earned a 55-40 win over conference foe Gettysburg.
The record had been held by Susquehanna Hall of Famer Dave Paveletz, along with five other Susquehanna alumni, who had all tied with four rushing scores.
Ott finished his record-setting day with 184 rushing yards. The team was able to put up a total of 55 points, which is the most points scored since defeating Gettysburg exactly five years ago.
Ott also took home the Centennial Conference Player of the Week award.
In the air, junior quarterback Nick Crusco threw for 206 yards and a touchdown. He added 75 rushing yards and another touchdown in his first start of the season after missing the first three games.
On the others side, Gettysburg quarterback Justin Davidov had a hard time getting anything going through the air through the first half, but finished the game with 275 yards passing and four touchdowns and added another 129 yards on the ground and two more touchdowns on the ground.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore linebacker Connor Thompson and senior linebacker Marc LeDrappier lead the team with 12 and 11 tackles respectively. Freshman linebacker Juwan Rodriguez and senior defensive lineman A.J. Willard each recorded a sack.
The River Hawks found themselves down 6-0 just two minutes into the game.
It did not take long for Susquehanna to fire back with 24 unanswered points, including a 27-yard touchdown pass from Crusco to senior wide receiver Chris Beals with 9:05 left in the first half. Beals was Susquehanna’s leading receiver on the day with 139 yards and a touchdown.
The River Hawks flew into halftime with a 31-20 lead over the Bullets.
Susquehanna did not relinquish this lead as they scored 24 second half points to hold on for the win. Susquehanna ended with 487 yards of total offense, had possession of the ball for 39 minutes and had 30 first downs. The River Hawks were 11-of-18 on third downs as well as being a perfect 7-7 in the red-zone.
The win was Susquehanna’s first over Gettysburg since 2011, which had been the only time the team beat Gettysburg since 1986.
“We’ve really just executed on all three facets of the game. Special teams has been huge; we probably focus on that more than any team in the league. If you start in good position every drive your chances of winning go up,” senior cornerback CJ Williams said. “We keep ratcheting up our toughness—last week I think that helped us win—and we are continuing to build on the momentum we’re gaining. Our fans help in that aspect.”
Susquehanna improved to 2-2 on the season.
The team will be back in action at home on Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. when they take on conference foe Muhlenberg.