By Rachael Cataldo, Asst. Sports Editor
Junior wide receiver Mitch Carsley caught 45-yard Hail Mary pass into the end zone in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to force overtime and junior running back Aaron Speight rushed for the game winning touchdown as the Susquehanna football team defeated Ursinus College 41–35 on Saturday, Oct. 20 in Collegeville.
“It felt great [to score the game winning touchdown],” Speight said. “Going from not being able to get 100 yards rushing to being that confident in our run game to go back to it in overtime is a big turnaround. I was proud of the team for that performance.”
The Bears (4–3, 3–3) secured an early lead as the River Hawks (4–3, 3–3) gave up two touchdowns and trailed 14–0 with 13 minutes to go in the second quarter.
Susquehanna began to catch up and advanced on great field position after a short punt in the second quarter. Speight rushed for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 14–7 with 6:39 remaining in the half.
Senior quarterback Nicholas Brotzman threw a 29-yard completion to sophomore wide receiver Kyle Good. Speight then scored another touchdown, rushing for 30-yards into the end zone. The game was tied at 14–14 heading into halftime.
The River Hawks came out of the locker room and were able to score the lone touchdown of the third quarter.
After a 12-yard punt return by Good, Susquehanna was positioned at the Ursinus 38-yard line. A pass interference penalty was called on the Bears and Speight had an array of running attempts to put the ball on the four-yard line.
Freshman quarterback Michael Ruisch connected with junior tight end Anthony McCoy to give Susquehanna its first lead of the game 21–14.
The Bears advanced their score to 21–20 after a 14-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore running back Kyle Wiggins, but Ursinus failed on the following extra point attempt.
Susquehanna answered and scored a touchdown of their own on a 5-yard pass from Ruisch to Good.
Ursinus scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to retake the lead 35–28.
Both touchdowns were scored for the Bears by junior running back Samuel Ragland. Ragland’s first touchdown was an eight-yard run and he rushed for two yards in the second touchdown.
Freshman wide receiver Mike Brown gave the River Hawks an opportunity to get into the end zone by reaching midfield on the ensuing kickoff.
After a few short gains, Ruisch connected with Carlsey on the 45-yard Hail Mary pass to tie things up 35–35 and force the game into overtime. Carsley secured the catch despite being surrounded by several Ursinus defenders.
“Before the play I told Ruisch ‘Do not throw the ball out of the end zone’ because everyone knows he has a really big arm. So, when he threw it I was nervous that it went too far and to be honest I blacked out when the ball was coming,” Carsley said.
Junior linebacker Cole Dixon and freshman defensive back L’Trell Bradley recorded tackles in a key defensive stop.
Ursinus went for a first down on fourth-and-3 but were unable to convert.
Speight carried five of the teams six plays. On first and goal, Speight rushed the ball into the end zone from the four-yard line to secure a 41– 35 River Hawk victory.
Speight led the offense with 148 rushing yards and Good recorded 74 receiving yards. Carsley contributed 56 receiving yards in the win.
Ruisch threw three touchdown passes and had 215 total yards.
Senior linebacker Connor Thompson led the River Hawk defense with 14 tackles and Dixon added 11.
The River Hawks return to action with a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 27 against the Gettysburg Bullets in Selinsgrove.
“This game is extremely important for us to have any hopes at a bowl game,” Carsley said. “We owe these guys bad from last year considering they beat us.”
