By Evin Caswell, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna football team dominated McDaniel College with a 49-7 victory at home on Nov. 9, moving the River Hawks up the national rankings to No. 16 in the country.
“It feels great,” senior wide receiver Mikah Christian said referring to Susquehanna moving up in the national rankings. “It’s a testament to the team’s hard working attitude and buying-in to a culture of winning.”
McDaniel started the game with a 72-yard drive that ended with the McDaniel quarterback, Kevin Sheckells, rushing five yards for the team’s only touchdown of the game.
Susquehanna responded immediately with a 97-yard drive that ended with junior wide receiver Kyle Good rushing in for a nine-yard touchdown.
The first quarter ended with a River Hawk fumble recovery that led to senior linebacker Craig Roumes running in 29 yards for the touchdown, leading 14-7.
The second quarter started with a 44-yard drive by the River Hawks that ended with a 14-yard touchdown run by junior running back Da’Avian Ellington, the first of his four touchdowns on the game.
His second touchdown of the day came on the next River Hawk possession as Ellington ran three times for a total of 61 yard, extending the lead 28-7.
The River Hawks finished the half with another Ellington touchdown, coming off of a six-yard run, adding more momentum and putting them up 35-7.
Susquehanna didn’t hold back in the second half, coming out guns blazing as they capped off their first drive of the half with a 13-yard touchdown from sophomore quarterback Michael Ruisch to senior wide receiver and captain Mitch Carsley, leading 42-7.
With a 42-7 lead at the end of the third quarter, the River Hawks scored their final touchdown of the day on a one-yard rush from Ellington to put the team up 49-7.
Neither McDaniel nor Susquehanna scored in the fourth quarter to finalize the 49-7 score.
Susquehanna finished the game with a total of 517 yards of offense while holding McDaniel College to just 172 yards of total offense. Susquehanna’s offensive yards displayed 279 yards in the air and 238 yards on the ground.
Ellington was the standout player for Susquehanna with 157 yards rushing on 20 carries with a total of four touchdowns.
Ruisch went 17 for 22 with 223 passing yards and one passing score. Christian had five catches for 72 yards and Carsley had three for 26 yards and his touchdown in the third quarter.
Sophomore kicker Elijah Hoffman successfully completed all seven PATs during the game while also average 55 yards and eight of Susquehanna’s kickoffs.
Ellington’s performance against McDaniel earned him the title of Centennial Conference offensive player of the week. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry during the game, surpassing the 1,000-yard milestone with 1,005 yards so far.
Ellington is also currently leading the conference in total rushing yards with a 111.7 average per game. He is ranked second in rushing touchdowns with 10 for the season.
A previous Centennial offensive player of the week from Susquehanna was Ruisch who earned the honor on Sept. 15 and 29.
Susquehanna moved up three places in the top 25 rankings by D3football.com to secure the No. 16 spot. They are also ranked No. 18 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III top 25 rankings.
The River Hawks’ final game of the regular season will be against Juniata College at 1 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa.
“This is a rivalry game so it means a lot to the team,” Carsley said of the upcoming game against Juniata. “This is their Super Bowl so we know we are going to get their best and we need to be prepared for it.”
