Photos Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Marquis Frias, Sports Editor
The No. 20 ranked Susquehanna football team outscored conference rival Lycoming 28-0 in the second half to take a 35-10 win last Saturday in Williamsport.
The match was hyped up to be the biggest game of the year in the Landmark conference, with both teams entering the game with an undefeated conference record.
The matchup would also decide the winner of the Stagg Hat trophy, a college football rivalry trophy contested between the River Hawks (7-1 Overall, 4-0 Landmark) and the Warriors (5-4 Overall, 4-1 Landmark) in their annual regular season meeting.
Entering the game, the River Hawks have claimed the Stagg Hat for eight consecutive years, while the all time record is split between both teams with 30 wins and 30 losses.
The game started with both team’s opening drive ending in a three and out. Lycoming was first to get on the board however with a field goal following Susquehanna’s three and out to take an early three point lead.
Later in the first quarter, the Warriors found themselves inside Susquehanna’s 5-yard line with an opportunity to extend their lead, but the River Hawk defense stood tall with a goalline stand as time expired in the first quarter.
Lycoming would get another chance to put points on the board with the River Hawks still at zero, but failed to convert on a field goal. Susquehanna would take advantage of Lycoming’s mistakes as senior quarterback Tommy Wright connected with sophomore wide receiver Carter McCauley for a 19-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive, giving the River Hawks a 7-3 lead.
The Warriors were quick to take back the lead with a scoring drive of their own that saw senior tight end Brendan Clark catch a 18-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Joe Lyons, putting the score at 10-7.
Susquehanna failed to score on their ensuing drive after a missed field goal attempt as the first half came to a close.
The second half saw a different Susquehanna team come out to play, as the River Hawks knew it was time to turn it up to avoid their first conference loss in over 30 games.
“We don’t sit there and preach [at halftime]. We correct things,” Susquehanna head coach Chris Pincince said. “We’ve got a group of grown mature kids that understand that in sports, they coach too, they play too.. At the end of the day, you just got to keep playing hard for 60 minutes.”
McCauley started the third quarter with his second receiving touchdown of the day, this time from 38-yards out to cap off a six play second half opening drive to give the lead back to his team.
Susquehanna then extended their lead on their next drive, this time on the ground with senior running back Matt Surtz who found a crease for a 9-yard touchdown won, putting the score at 21-10.
While the River Hawks’ offense started clicking, their defense punished the Warriors with three consecutive three-and-outs to start the third quarter, helping generate more possessions for their offense.
With the extra generated possessions, Susquehanna started the fourth quarter with another quick strike score with Wright rushing in for a 1-yard touchdown, his sixth of the season. The score extended Susquehanna’s lead 28-10.
After Susquehanna’s defense forced another punt, the River Hawks would ice the game with a 17 play, 82 yard drive that took almost 10 minutes off the clock and ended with McCauley completing the hat trick with his third receiving touchdown of the day.
“I thought [Carter] did a great job of taking advantage of so many opportunities that were in front of him … He did a great job of catching the football with his hands and winning the one on one matchups,” Pincince said.
McCauley ended his day with 13 receptions for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Wright recorded 286 passing yards on 25-36 passing with three touchdowns and a rushing touchdown, while Surtz finished with 25 rushes for 118 yards and a touchdown.
The River Hawks gained 395 total yards and finished with a staggering total of 80 total plays. Meanwhile, the defense only allowed 226 yards all day, highlighted by the unit forcing a punt on every drive in the second half.
Senior defensive lineman Galen Limantour earned Landmark conference defensive player of the week after his three tackles for loss and one sack.
“I’m certainly excited about the way all three phases kind of fed off each other. Defense starting out, then the special teams and then the offense controlling the second half,” Pincince said.
With two games remaining in the schedule, the River Hawks sit at first in the landmark conference. With the conference using a regular season based championship format, Susquehanna will claim their fourth straight landmark conference title if they win out against their final two opponents.
The win also leap frogs Susquehanna one spot in the DIII football rankings, as the team jumped from 20th to 19th after last week according to d3football.com.
The River Hawks will be back in action Saturday, Nov 7 at noon as they host Western Connecticut State at Doug Arthur Stadium.