By Kayla Brown, Staff Writer
Thanks to two late interceptions, the Susquehanna football team secured a 14–11 win against the Muhlenberg Mules on Saturday, Sept.16 in Allen- town, Pennsylvania.
Junior linebacker Connor Thompson had a strong performance on the day with 10 tackles, two fumbles, an interception, and a sack. His performance netted him Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
On the first drive of the second quarter, Muhlenberg managed to get on the board first from a field goal from kicker Todd Spirit to make the score 3–0 Mules.
The game went back and forth, scoreless for the rest of the quarter, until junior line- backer Connor Thompson recovered a fumble on a botched punt return to give the River Hawks prime field position at the Muhlenberg 24-yard line.
Susquehanna was able to move to the Muhlenberg 5-yard line off of a pass interference penalty. With four seconds left, senior Nick Crusco managed to get the needed yardage on a quarterback keeper to give the River Hawks their first score of the game. Freshman kicker Connor Lustenberger would miss the ensuing extra point attempt however, so the River Hawks would take a 6–3 lead into halftime.
On the third drive of the third quarter, Muhlenberg was able to respond with a touchdown of their own on a Matt Gibbon’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Max Kiren. The play was set up thanks to a 35-yard pass completion earlier in the drive to Thomas Murphy.
Muhlenberg also added a two-point conversion after the touchdown to make the score 11–6, and making it so Susquehanna would have to score a touchdown to take the lead.
In the first drive of the fourth quarter, Muhlenberg would drive down the field once again, but this time Spirit would miss his field goal attempt, keeping the score at 11–6 Muhlenberg.
Off of that drive the River Hawks would storm down the field thanks to two consecutive long connections from Crusco to sophomore wide receiver Mikah Christian.
Christian would haul in the first pass for 39 yards to put Susquehanna onto the Muhlenberg 31-yard line. On the very next play, Crusco would find Christian again for a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Susquehanna would go for a two-point conversion of their own, and would convert making the score 14–11.
The River Hawks would control the tempo for the rest of the game thanks to strong special teams performances and dominant defensive play.
On the first drive after the River Hawk touchdown, junior defensive back Jason Brougham would pick off Gibbon and give the River Hawks the ball back.
Although the River Hawks would have a quick three-and- out on that drive, Crusco would drill a punt deep into Muhlenberg territory, forcing the Mules to start with the ball on their own 3-yard line.
The Susquehanna defense would hold out to only allow 19 yards on the ensuing drive, and they would get the ball back. However, they would be forced into another swift three-and-out.
Senior tight end Neil Caruso would punt the ball away, and once again an offensive player for Susquehanna would pin Muhlenberg deep in their own territory. This time the Mules were stuck on their own 9-yard line with only 1:52 left to play in the fourth quarter.
Thompson would then intercept a Mike Hnatkowsky pass to seal the 14–11 win for the River Hawks. It was Hnatkowsky’s first pass in the game on his first play of the game.
With this win, Susquehanna improves to 2–1 (1–1 Centennial) while Muhlenberg suffered their first loss of the season, dropping them to 2–1 (1–1 Centennial).
The River Hawks will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. when they take on conference-foe Franklin & Marshall. The Diplomats have started the season off strong at 3-0 (2-0 Landmark) with wins over Lebanon Valley, Juniata, and McDaniel.