Photo By Logan Moyer, Sports Editor
By Marquis Frias, Assistant Sports Editor
With a new season on the horizon, the football team looks to fill the large shoes of the 2024 team that is widely regarded as the best team in program history.
The River Hawks went 9-1 in the regular season in 2024, losing to only the defending national champions in SUNY Cortland. In this stretch, Susquehanna scored an average of 57.5 points while only allowing their opponents to score on average 17.2 points.
Susquehanna’s dominance in the regular season earned them their straight conference title and Division III playoff appearance. It is here where the magic would truly begin for the River Hawks, as dramatic finishes against both St. John’s (MN) and Bethel (MN) propelled SU to a match against North Central in the semi-finals, the farthest the River Hawks ever reached in the national bracket. However, Susquehanna’s magic would run out against the Cardinals in a 66-0 loss that ended SU’s historic campaign.
The River Hawks now step into 2025 as one of the best teams in the nation, ranking fourth in D3football.com’s national poll. An impressive feat, considering that Susquehanna lost 15 of their starters from last season, including 3 in the secondary.
“We’ve adjusted our personnel after losing 15 starters a year ago,” SU coach Tom Perkovich said. “I think it’s best to work our system around our players and not the other way around.”
A big part of why Susquehanna is still considered one of the best teams in the nation is because of the star-power left from the 2024 team, most prominently running back Rahshan La Mons and quarterback Josh Ehrlich. La Mons busted onto the scene as a rookie, breaking the school record in all-purpose yards (2,587). He was named a pre-season All-American by D3football this season.
Ehrlich, a Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist last season, is also looking to continue his success from a year before. The junior threw for 3,092 yards in 2024 with a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 33 to 7.
The defense also features a preseason All-American talent in senior lineman Brian Layton. In 2024, Layton totaled 56 tackles with 6.5 sacks and one forced fumble.
“We are expecting to be better than we were last year,” defensive back Romero Lavalais Jr. said of the unit. “We are a young team, but we still have that experience from last season that I certainly think will carry us forward for this season.”
SU will begin the season against Union at 12 p.m. on Saturday. The biggest game on the schedule is against former Centennial Conference foe Johns Hopkins, the No. 3 ranked team in the nation that rolls into Selinsgrove on Sept. 20.
“We’re just trying to be 1-0,” Perkovich said. “I take it one day at a time, and I don’t ever try to get ahead of myself. We just have to be ready to play every week like we did last year.”