SU off to best start since 2000
Sep. 26—SELINSGROVE — With a little more than three minutes left and his team winning by 17 points, Susquehanna defensive back Andrew Wells dropped an interception in his own end zone.
Immediately after the play, his teammates shouted at him that they needed to finish the game and make plays.
"We as DBs, we hold each other accountable," Wells said. "We need to be great all the time. I've got great guys in this room with me. They're pushing me to be the best that I can. When I don't make the play that I should, they're on me, which motivates me to be better the next play, which clearly worked."
On the next play, Wells intercepted a pass and returned it 24 yards. Dickinson's next drive ended with an interception in the end zone by linebacker Drew Robinson.
"Those were huge turnovers," Susquehanna coach Tom Perkovich said.
The River Hawks ran the final 44 seconds off the clock following Robinson's interception to secure a 31-14 win over the Red Devils. Susquehanna moved to 4-0 overall, its best start since 2000, and 3-0 in the Centennial Conference.
"We've got control of our destiny," Wells said. "If we keep winning, we can do great things this season. We've got to keep doing our thing, keep winning and we'll see what happens."
Both Perkovich and senior quarterback Michael Ruisch were pleased with the way the River Hawks offensive, at least in the first half. Susquehanna scored touchdowns on three straight possessions spanning the first and second quarters, and ended the half with a 39-yard field goal by Southern Columbia graduate Elijah Hoffman as time expired.
"We started off great," Ruisch said. "That was an emphasis all week — come out hot, jump on them early.
"The whole offense was clicking today. We were executing all first half."
Frankie Negrini opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run after Susquehanna forced a turnover for a short field. Then Ruisch connected with Kyle Good on a 14-yard touchdown pass to put the River Hawks 14-0 with 1:26 left in the first quarter.
After Dickinson (1-3, 1-2) scored, Ruisch scored on a 1-yard sneak to cap a six-play, 78-yard drive. Hoffman's field goal as time expired gave the River Hawks a 24-7 halftime lead.
Ruisch marched the River Hawks 53 yards in eight plays on their first drive of the second half, hitting Good on a 2-yard scoring pass for a 31-7 lead. Susquehanna scored on five consecutive drives, but went three-and-out on three of its final four drives.
"We've got to execute better in the second half, but the first half was great today," Ruisch said.
Dickinson scored on a 97-yard touchdown pass, and then drove the field twice before the Susquehanna defense came up with key interceptions.
"Thank God it was too little too late," Perkovich said. "We had enough of a lead early, but we didn't execute well enough in the latter part of the game."
Perkovich said he was certainly pleased with the win, but there were a lot of things to clean up from the second half.
Wells said the two late interceptions as well as the forced fumble that set up Susquehanna's first score play into the defense's identity.
"The wild dog mentality is we've got to keep hunting throughout the game, keep hunting," Wells said. "Today, we let them drive on us, which is unacceptable. Ultimately when it mattered the most, when they got into the red zone, we were there and we finished. But we've got to be better."
The River Hawks travel to Ursinus (3-1, 2-1) next week, aiming to match the 5-0 start from 2000.
"Starting off like this is great," Ruisch said. "We're just focused on going 1-0 each week, that's all it is."
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SUSQUEHANNA 31, DICKINSON 14
Dickinson (1-3, 1-2);0;7;7;0 — 14
Susquehanna (4-0, 3-0);14;10;7;0 — 31
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
S-Frankie Negrini 4 run (Elijah Hoffman kick)
S-Kyle Good 14 pass from Michael Ruisch (Hoffman kick)
Second quarter
D-Bryce Baylor 1 run (Raleigh Wynot kick)
S-Ruisch 1 run (Hoffman kick)
S-FG, Hoffman 39
Third quarter
S-Good 2 pass from Ruisch (Hoffman kick)
D-Robert Geiss 97 pass from Tim Graham (Wynot kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
;D;S
First downs;20;19
Rushes-yards;22-22;36-124
Passing;25-49-2;17-28-0
Passing yards;358;170
Total offense;380;294
Fumbles-lost;2-1;0-0
Penalties-yards;7-77;6-67
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Dickinson: Robert Geiss 4-14; Diante Ball 8-13; Bryce Baylor 5-10, TD; Princeton Douglass 2-7; Caleb Pruitt 1-(-8); Tim Graham 2-(-14). Susquehanna: Frankie Negrini 17-78, TD; Dashon Bundy 11-34; Michael Ruisch 3-8, TD; Kyle Howes 3-6; Mikey Giancaspro 1-(-1); TEAM 1-(-1).
PASSING — Dickinson: Graham 14-23-0, 247 yards, TD; Pruitt 10-22-2, 99 yards; Geiss 1-4-0, 12 yards. Susquehanna: Ruisch 17-27-0, 170 yards, 2 TDs; Giancaspro 0-1-0.
RECEIVING — Dickinson: Geiss 7-147, TD; Douglass 7-117; Johnny Knight 6-61; Daniel Bathon 2-21; Zyon Jenkins 1-11; Bryce Peterson 1-5; Ball 1-(-4). Susquehanna: Kyle Good 5-77, 2 TDs; Eddie Nugent 3-29; Jacob Erb 2-22; Bryce Ellinger 2-12; Samuel Darrell 1-8; Negrini 1-8; Michael Lefever 2-8; Warren Griffith 1-6.
