Photo By Evie Stiner
By Logan Moyer, Assistant Sports Editor
The Goal Post Trophy is staying home for another year.
With its 56-0 shutout of Juniata in a Landmark Conference matchup on Saturday, the football team won their eighth straight contests against the Eagles. SU now leads the all-time series 46-34-3 over its rivals.
“Obviously it’s great to handle our goal of winning the week in a big way,” said SU coach Tom Perkovich. “This game has a lot of history, and our guys understand that it is important to our alumni and program to take care of business.”
It was a chilly, wet Saturday afternoon at Knox Stadium in Huntingdon – not that the River Hawks (7-0 overall, 3-0 Landmark) are not used to that. It was the fourth game this season that they have dealt with rainy conditions.
The weather did not seem to affect junior wide receiver Kyle Howes, who hauled in seven receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
“In most games he is the most athletic player on the field,” Perkovich said. “Our philosophy has always been to get those types of players the ball as much as possible. It was great to see him and the QB hook up early and often in the game, especially for a big gain.”
Howes – recognized as a member of the D3football.com All-Region second team last season – is by far the team’s leading receiver this season, registering a total of 44 catches for 589 yards and seven total touchdowns.
“Even when he doesn’t look open, trust me, just throw it out there,” said quarterback Josh Ehrlich after a game earlier this season. “He’s going to get it.”
For the second straight week, the defense pitched a shutout. The Eagles (1-5, 0-2) were limited to 77 total yards and negative 4 yards on the ground.
“What they have done this season, and especially the last two weeks is pretty crazy,” Perkovich said. “The players have been playing hard and executing at a high level. We need to keep it going as we will play better teams down the stretch.”
The River Hawks – ranked as the #12 team in the nation by D3football.com – controlled the line of scrimmage on the offensive end as well, rushing for 281 yards as a team. QB Josh Ehrlich led the team with 105 yards, followed by Tommy Grabowski with 102. Grabowski found the endzone twice while Ehrlich, Matt Surtz and D.K. Wyche all ran for one score. As a team, SU gained 7 yards per rush.
“We talk about how an efficient run game will open up the offense,” Perkovich said. “I am very pleased with how the run has really carried us in these bad weather games.”
Once again, the River Hawks dominated with time-of-possession, maintaining the ball for nearly 37 minutes in the win. SU leads the nation in time-of-possession with an average of 36 minutes per game.
Up next for the River Hawks is another Landmark Conference opponent in Wilkes. The game is part of the homecoming weekend festivities on campus.
