Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
Junior linebacker Cole Dixon led the Susquehanna University Football team with nine tackles including seven solo stops and added two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception as the River Hawks posted a 38-7 victory over Lycoming College in the 2018 season opener Saturday in Williamsport.
With the win, Susquehanna (1-0) retains the Stagg Hat Trophy for the first time since 1994-95 when Susquehanna beat Lycoming (0-1) in back-to-back meetings. The win on the road was the first since 2000 and the 31-point victory was the largest margin of victory for Susquehanna in the series. The next largest win margin was a 27-point win both in 1950 (27-0) and in 1969 (35-8).
Dixon led a stingy defensive effort that allowed just 215 total yards and only 45 yards rushing in the contest. His interception came on the first play of a Lycoming drive in the middle of the second quarter. The turnover led to the third TD of the quarter by the River Hawks as Torey Brown capped the short scoring drive with a two-yard TD run.
Susquehanna opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal by Elijah Hoffman and then tacked on 21 more points with three second quarter scores. Aaron Speight had an 18-yard scoring run early in the quarter followed by the first of two TD catches on the day for tight end Anthony McCoy and then the Brown run as the River Hawks opened up a 24-0 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.
Lycoming scored its only points of the game late in the second quarter on a 17-yard pass play.
In the second half, the Susquehanna defense allowed just 106 yards including a negative 16 yards in the fourth quarter.
Late in the third quarter, after a Susquehanna turnover, the Warriors threatened to score by driving all the way to the Susquehanna two yard line. Dixon made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage on a third and goal play that resulted in a fumble that Dixon was able to pick up and return 21 yards up field to stop the threat.
Offensively for Susquehanna, freshman quarterback Michael Ruisch was 13-for-30 for 143 yards and two scores and also ran for another 37 yards. Speight led the rushing attack with 79 yards on 13 carries with a TD while Da'Avian Ellington added 67 yards on two runs.
Micah Christian led the receivers with five catches for 52 yards and McCoy finished with four receptions for 44 yards and a pair of TDs.
The River Hawks host Johns Hopkins Saturday with the home opener and first Centennial Conference game of the season with a 1 p.m. game on Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in Selinsgrove.