Photo Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Jacob Miller
The 2026 Susquehanna River Hawks will look a lot different next season with multiple players transferring to new schools for the 2026 season.
Four players have transferred and followed former Head Coach Tom Perkovich to Division I UAlbany, including All-American running back Rahshan La Mons, cornerback Romero Lavalais Jr., and wide receiver’s Aaron Angelo and Daniel Growney.
La Mons was one of the best recruits in the portal as a two-time first team Landmark conference member in his two seasons at Susquehanna La mons had over 3,100 yards and 34 touchdowns in two seasons here at Susquehanna. La Mons’s 2024 season ranks first all-time in rushing yards, fourth in carries, and tied for second in rushing touchdowns in Susquehanna’s all-time records.
Lavalais Jr. was a standout sophomore for the River Hawks this season playing in all 14 games, recording 26 tackles, 7 pass deflections, and 3 interceptions. Lavalais also returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Washington & Jefferson College.
Angelo was a freshman last fall and was a helpful contributor to the SU offense. In his first year, Angelo had almost 700 scrimmage yards and four touchdowns.
“I hope to continue to pursue my degree and continue to grow as a football player here at UAlbany,” Angelo said.
Angelo’s kick return ability is also one of the reasons he was able to move up to Division I, as he averaged 23 yards a return and had a 93-yard touchdown return against Christopher Newport.
“The transition was hard at first, just with being so far away and having to pack everything up and drive 5 hours to get here. Everything else was easy though,” Angelo said about his departure from the team.
Growney was also a freshman and one of the consistent starting receivers for the team. Growney was the Landmark Conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2025, awarded to the conference’s best freshman, and earned first-team all-conference. Growney racked up 544 receiving yards on 44 catches with a team-best six touchdown receptions.
Along with La Mons, Susquehanna suffered another loss in the back field after quarterback Josh Ehrlich transferred to UNC Pembroke, a Division II college in North Carolina. Ehrlich had a very successful career at Susquehanna as he had a total of 106 touchdowns and 9,774 total scrimmage yards in three seasons. These numbers put Ehrlich in the top five for all of Susquehanna’s career passing records, including second all-time in passing touchdowns and third all-time in passing completions.
Susquehanna in the past 3 years with Ehrich under center went 35-6, won the Landmark Conference all three years, and had two meaningful runs in the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs in 2024 and 2025.
“I think every season at Susquehanna has prepared me for the jump up to a highly competitive Division II program,” Ehrlich said. “I feel more prepared than I’ve ever been with 40 college starts under my belt.”
Cornerback Xavier Maple transferred to Merrimack, a Division I college in Massachusetts. Maple was a first-team all-conference sophomore who had 20 tackles, 4 interceptions, 9 pass deflections, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick return touchdown in the playoffs. The loss of Lavalais Jr. and Maple means the River Hawks are losing their two starting cornerbacks from a season ago.
The River Hawks also lost a valuable piece on their special teams with Kicker Dominic Bourgeois transferring to Middle-Tennessee State, an FBS Division I college, the highest level of college football.
Bourgeois was a six-time Landmark special teams’ player of the week, two-time D3football.com team of the week, and was a first-team all-conference player. Bourgeois was 25-25 in field goals here and had a long of 45 yards in three seasons. Bourgeois also served as the team’s punter, totaling 32 punts for 1,170 yards.
“Transferring was a very long process. You talk to lots of coaches and have plenty of visits and it’s all about finding the right place. Going from DIII to FBS, which is the highest level of college football, is a big jump. You look back sometimes and think about how far you’ve come,” Bourgeois said.