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| Susquehanna receiver Frank DePaola crosses the goal line with the game-winning touchdown to lead the River Hawks past Johns Hopkins. Susquehanna athletics photo by Bill Wood |
Susquehanna scored three touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to knock off No. 7 Johns Hopkins, Wesley and Delaware Valley went to quadruple overtime and Illinois Wesleyan and UW-La Crosse battled in multiple extra sessions as well in Saturday's early D3football.com Top 25 action.
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- Saturday's Top 25 roundup
- Saturday's national roundup
- Friday: Paterson ends 27-game losing streak
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Michael Ruisch threw two touchdown passes, the second one with eight seconds remaining in the game as Susquehanna rallied to upset No. 7 Johns Hopkins, 28-27. The River Hawks scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Blue Jays for the second consecutive year. Down 24-7 early in the fourth quarter, Susquehanna uncorked drives of 77 yards, 99 yards and 75 yards, the last resulting in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Michael Ruisch to Frank DePaola with eight seconds left. Elijah Hoffman's extra point was the difference-maker.
Ruisch finished the day 25-for-42 passing for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Susquehanna (2-0) outgained Johns Hopkins on the ground, 130-39. David Tammaro was 32-for-53 passing for 370 yards and a score in the loss. It's the first time in the series history that Susquehanna has beaten Johns Hopkins twice in a row.
Rusty Murphy stripped the ball, picked up the fumble and ran it back 86 yards for a touchdown to lift No. 23 UW-La Crosse to a 33-27 win against No. 14 Illinois Wesleyan in double overtime. Murphy picked up the loose ball after it was stripped from Illinois Wesleyan tight end Chrystian Maciorowski, and he was off to the races. "They were moving the ball like crazy," said UW-La Crosse coach Mike Schmidt. "We were able to get around him. He stays up, we strip the football, Rusty Murphy picks it up and goes. ... That's his second fumble return walkoff touchdown in two years. What can you even say about that?"
It was the seventh takeaway for the Eagles defense, which also picked off Illinois Wesleyan quarterback Brandon Bauer six times. The Titans, playing their season opener, racked up 546 yards of total offense, but needed 105 plays to do it.
UW-La Crosse jumped out to a 14-0 lead, including a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown by Zach Pierce, and led 17-7 at the half. But the Titans racked up three consecutive drives of 11 plays, 13 plays and 14 plays to take a 20-17 lead. The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter before Ryan Beirne connected on his second field goal of the day, a 38-yarder which sent the game into overtime and set up Murphy's heroics.
An EJ Lee 7-yard TD in the second overtime was the first touchdown of the game, and that opened the floodgate on offense as No. 22 Wesley eventually survived in quadruple overtime with a 24-18 win at No. 13 Delaware Valley. The Aggies and Wolverines went through 60 minutes of regulation and an overtime with only a field goal apiece to show for it, but the offenses took advantage of worn-out defenses in the extra sessions. The teams traded touchdowns in the second overtime, with Anthony Fontana matching Lee's score to tie it up, and the teams traded TDs with two-point conversions in the third extra session. But it wasn't until Ruhann Peele pulled in a 24-yard TD catch from David Marrocco and Wesley's Coray Williams picked off Anthony Fontana, that the business was settled.
UW-Stevens Point avenged a three-point loss in Crawfordsville last year, defeating No. 21 Wabash 31-28. Wabash stormed back from a 21-7 deficit with three second half Ike James touchdown runs to give Wabash a late lead, but Pointer quarterback Matt Urmanski had the last word, completing six of seven passes on a 75-yard game winning drive capped by an 8-yard touchdown reception by Devin Baldridge. Urmanski finished the day with 329 yards passing and three touchdowns in his return as the Pointers' starter.
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| UW-Stevens Point rallied for the win vs. No. 21 Wabash. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com | More photos from this game |
The Transit Trophy has nothing to do with your morning commute, but the trophy will take a ride tonight as WPI knocked off No. 19 RPI 6-3 to win the traveling trophy. With touchdowns at a premium, it was Bryce Wade who provided the heroics, with field goals of 25 and 26 yards, the latter coming with just 3:52 left in the game to secure the win. George Marinopoulos was able to complete 27 of 42 passes for the Engineers of RPI, but had just 188 yards to show for it, while Julian Nyland had 189 yards and was 14-for-23 passing for the Engineers of WPI. "(Wade) has had some great tutelage in his time here, being able to learn from both Blaine Bursey and Spencer Herrington," WPI coach Chris Robertson said. "That final punt (30 yards, and a kick inside the 20) by Wade was his biggest kick of the day."
Wyatt Smith passed for 283 yards and four touchdowns, and linebacker Brian Pullman made 15 tackles to lead No. 12 Linfield past Rowan 35-14. After the Profs (0-2) rallied to tie the game at 14 early in the third quarter, the Wildcats (1-0) answered with Jacob Calo's 11-yard touchdown catch from Smith, capping a three-play, 47-yard drive that included runs of 21 and 15 yards by tailback Artie Johnson. Less than four minutes later, Smith lofted a deep pass to Keaton Wood, who hauled in a touchdown to put the 'Cats back in front by two scores, 28-14, with 2:16 left in the third.
Defending national champion and top-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor got its season underway, blowing the game open in the second half of a 56-15 win against Albright. Leading just 17-9 at the half, the Cru (1-0) put Luke Poorman into the game at quarterback, and he led the team on three consecutive touchdown drives, putting the game out of reach. Ryan Redding, the starter at quarterback, was 4-for-11 for 55 yards.
Zach Oles completed 19-of-29 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown and he led the No. 3-ranked Warhawks with 56 yards on the ground as well, as UW-Whitewater rallied to win 20-10 at Concordia-Moorhead. Early in the fourth quarter, Concordia drove deep into Warhawk territory, but defensive back Mark McGrath picked off Blake Kragnes in the end zone for a touchback with 11:52 to play. On the ensuing drive, UW-Whitewater drove 80 yards on 14 plays, converting two third downs and a fourth down late in the drive. On second-and-10 from the Cobbers' 14-yard line, Oles took a quarterback draw untouched into the end zone for a 20-10 lead with 4:59 to go. The teams exchanged punts, but the Warhawks forced and recovered a fumble on the punt return with 1:54 remaining to seal the win.
No. 9 Hardin-Simmons survived a defensive battle, holding Trinity (Texas) to 202 yards of total offense in a 16-10 win. The Tigers (1-1) kicked a short field goal to cut the deficit to six points on the first play of the fourth quarter, but turned the ball over on their next possession, and never got out of their own territory on their final two times with the ball. Jamie Pogue kicked three short field goals to help keep H-SU (1-0) on the scoreboard, while Jaquan Hemphill had 91 yards on 17 carries.