Photo Courtesy of Angela Poole
By Chris Vetrone, Staff Writer
The rainy day could not keep the Susquehanna Football team down for long on Saturday, Oct. 23.
Susquehanna exploded in a decisive victory during the Homecoming festivities over the visiting McDaniel Green Terror 45-16 at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field at Doug Arthur Stadium being led by a strong defensive performance by senior linebacker Craig Roumes.
Roumes earned a very well-deserved Centennial Conference defensive player of the week award, as he totaled 14 assisted tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on the day. He wasn’t the only one on defense making plays.
Senior-linebacker Brendan Krumenacker recorded two solo tackles and 10 assisted tackles to go along with 2.5 tackles for loss.
The defense was complemented by another strong offensive performance for senior quarterback Michael Ruisch.
Ruisch would lead a game starting 14-play drive for 75 yards ending it with a 24-yard strike to senior wide receiver Samuel Darrell in the back of the endzone over the McDaniel defender. Senior kicker Elijiah Hoffman would run the ball in for the two-point conversion to put the River Hawks up 8-0.
McDaniel drove down the field to put up a 31-yard field goal to put them on the board. Susquehanna up 8-3.
The rest of the first quarter brought four punts with two coming from each team.
Susquehanna fumbled with 13:12 left in the second quarter giving the ball to McDaniel at their own 11-yard line. On a weird sequence with a muffed snap McDaniel scored a six-yard touchdown putting them up 9-8 after a blocked extra point by Roumes.
Two Susquehanna drives later senior punter Clay Olley’s punt was blocked and returned five yards for a touchdown. McDaniel led 16-8 with just under four minutes to play in the first half..
Ruisch got his offense back up and running, throwing four times for 35 yards and a 13-yard score to sophomore wide receiver Eddie Nugent. Susquehanna cut the lead to two points at 16-14.
Susquehanna would get the ball right back after a special team’s turnover. Sophomore outside linebacker Josh Parson forced a fumble with a thunderous hit McDaniel kick returner Diondre Carter. Junior outside linebacker Jacob Kamp recovered the ball on the McDaniel 24.
Susquehanna took the lead going into halftime after a 25-yard field goal by Hoffman, giving Susquehanna a 17-16 lead.
The second half brought sunshine to the Grove as it was all Susquehanna in the second half. McDaniel missed a 40-yard field goal to start half giving SU great field position on their own 30.
Ruisch did his thing completing a 52-yard pass on the fifth play of the drive to senior tight end Michael Lefever, to extend the lead to 24-16.
Senior linebacker Anthony Scicchitano recorded the only sack for Susquehanna on second down, bringing down McDaniel’s quarterback for a six-yard loss.
Darrell got his second touchdown of the game on the next drive after setting his team up in the red zone, catching a 47-yard pass from Ruisch over three defenders. He caught the next pass for a four-yard touchdown, giving Susquehanna a 31-16 advantage.
“It felt great. We needed big plays to keep our momentum going and I’m just glad that I was able to make a couple of them,” Darrell said.
On the very next play McDaniel quarterback John Ferguson was picked by junior outside linebacker Keith Green at the McDaniel 37.
Susquehanna’s drive was filled with all rushes by sophomore running back Dashon Bundy. He rushed for five, three, nine yards and finished it off with a 15-yard touchdown.
First-year running back Gavin Coles finished the second half onslaught with a four-yard touchdown run after an impressive 13-play 70-yard drive, giving the River Hawks a45-16 victory.
Susquehanna is on the road next week when they head to Baltimore, MD. to take on the dangerous 6-1 John Hopkins Blue Jays at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
“We are feeling good. Looking forward to this big game coming up and ready to compete as well as play to the best of our ability this upcoming Saturday. We have momentum coming out of our previous game vs McDaniel and we need to carry it into this week,” Darrell said.
