By Olivia Parke, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna football team defeated Ursinus College 36-0 on Oct. 25 at home in Selinsgrove, Pa, allowing the River Hawks to remain as the No. 2 ranked team in the Centennial Conference.
The River Hawks’ shutout was the first since they beat Juniata College in 2012 and is their eighth total shutout against Ursinus College.
Ursinus was held to 99 yards of total offense and it was the first time Susquehanna held an opponent to less than 100 yards of total offense all season.
Senior inside linebacker Cole Dixon forced a fumble in the first quarter which was recovered by senior defensive lineman Kashief Hyatt, putting Susquehanna’s offense in strong field position.
Junior running back Da’Avian Ellington then had a three-yard rush for a touchdown that capped off of a drive that featured Susquehanna rushing the ball three times for 16 yards.
“Having fun, being focused and full of energy during practice translates into games,” Ellington said. “Coach prepared us by telling us to be the best versions of ourselves and to execute our game plan.”
In the second quarter, sophomore kicker Elijah Hoffman scored on the first field goal attempt following a five-play, 71-yard drive, and sophomore running back Xavier Briggs-DeVore was able to score his fourth touchdown of the season, running from eight yards out to cap off a nine-play, 58-yard drive. Briggs-Devore’s score put the River Hawks up 16-0.
Susquehanna led Ursinus 23-0 going into halftime after sophomore quarterback Michael Ruisch scored his fourth rushing touchdown which was set up by senior defensive back Danial Shelton’s first interception of the season.
Two minutes into the fourth quarter, Hoffman got redemption after missing a 40-yarder when he hit a field goal from 35 yards out to put the River Hawks in the lead 29-0.
Senior wide receiver Mitch Carsley was able to catch a six-yard pass from Ruisch with only six minutes left in the game to score the only receiving touchdown of the contest.
“What led to success this weekend is that we were able to play our brand of football,” Carsley said. “The defense does their thing and completely stops offenses and didn’t allow them to do anything. And on the offensive side, we were able to put plays and drives together and just run down their throat. We didn’t hurt ourselves which we have had problems with in games past. But this weekend we [were] able to be assignment perfect and do our job.”
Throughout the game, the River Hawks earned 24 first downs and 420 yards of total offense, while Ursinus only had seven first downs and 99 yards of total offense.
Following the game, Hoffman was named as the Centennial Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after producing a career-best 12 points and connecting on all three of his field goal attempts. This award marked Hoffman’s first even Centennial weekly award and he currently ranks second in the conference with seven successful field goals.
In terms of the team’s ranking, the River Hawks remained at No. 20 in D3Football.com rankings and remained at No. 22 in the American Football Coaches Association Division III Top 25 polls.
The Susquehanna football team now has three games left in the regular season and will next take on Gettysburg College at 12 p.m. on Nov. 2 in Gettysburg, Pa., in another pivotal Centennial Conference game.
“The team just needs to take it one game at a time,” Carsley said. “We are very well aware of what is at stake for the rest of the season. But we cannot look ahead. Since Coach Perk has been here, we haven’t been able to beat Gettysburg at their place. So we just need to focus on taking it one game at a time and control what we can control and we will be good.”
