By Matt Guear
Susquehanna University first made the Division III playoffs in 1986 under head coach Rocky Rees. The team defeated Washington & Jefferson University in the first round but ultimately fell to Salisbury State in the quarterfinals.
Now, 37 years after their initial run, the River Hawks are primed to make their best playoff effort yet.
Susquehanna has made the playoffs five times. Once under Rocky Rees, twice under longtime head coach Steve Briggs and now twice with Tom Perkovich at the helm.
Briggs’ 1991 team has gotten the furthest out of any in program history.
“The 1991 team beat Dickinson in the first round at DC. We had an interception returned for a touchdown from cornerback Howie Teitelbaum that turned the game and won it for us. Incredible finish to that one,” said Briggs. “The very next week we played Lycoming at home, and it was a rematch of a game played a few weeks earlier. We won that game late in the fourth quarter to advance to the national semi-final when we lost to the eventual National Champions Ithaca College.”
Briggs spent 25 years as head coach of the football team. In that time, his coaching philosophy never wavered.
“My philosophy was the same when I started as when I finished 25 years later as the Head Coach. My goal was to have teams that were prepared, tough, disciplined, and focused. We tried to pay attention to detail as much as anything,” said Briggs. “But throughout my time here, we respected our players and made sure that we never took the fun out of it all. It’s not a secret, you win with great players, and we had them at SU.”
Briggs also took the program to the playoffs in 2009. Susquehanna was projected to finish sixth in the conference that year but surprised everybody by winning the Liberty League Championship.
“The 2009 team had a similar season (to the 1991 team) but the game that sticks out was the Liberty League Championship played up at Union College. That game featured three or four lead changes that had us winning late in the fourth. This was a tremendous experience for a team that was picked sixth in the conference at preseason,” said Briggs.
After the 2009 season, the River Hawks didn’t return to the playoffs until 2022. The program has been rejuvenated by Perkovich. In 2022, he led the team to a 10-1 record and a first- round matchup against Utica University. That contest didn’t go the River Hawks’ way, narrowly losing 17-10.
Susquehanna now looks to avenge last year’s loss. After another blowout win, this time against Lycoming College by a score of 49-10, they finished their season with a perfect 10-0. That was Perkovich’s best record yet at Susquehanna and the program’s first undefeated season since Bill Moll led the team to an 8-0 record in 1983.
They finished the year as the no. 11 ranked team and will play no. 19 Grove City College at Doug Arthur Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 12 p.m.
“Coach Perk and his staff has built this program back up and has brought them to unprecedented success on a national level. Like the other successful teams here, he has great young men. Just watch them, they really enjoy playing here,” said Briggs. “It’s extremely difficult to make the NCAA D3 Playoffs in football, to go in back-to-back years as undefeated champions is almost unheard of. Perkovich does a fabulous job, and we are all very proud.”
The Susquehanna football program has come a long way in the 37 years since it first qualified for the playoffs. A litany of players has come through as well as a fair share of coaches. However, one thing has remained constant; the unabating desire to win. That has been evident all season and will most definitely shine through on Saturday.
Football Retrospective
