GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – Gettysburg College (1-6, 1-5 CC) will aim to play spoiler to Susquehanna University's (4-3, 3-3 CC) playoff hopes in a Centennial Conference football showdown at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field this Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Saturday's game will feature live video and live stats through CentennialConference.TV.
 
THE SERIES
Gettysburg has won five of the last six meetings and leads the all-time series with Susquehanna 10-4-1. The matchup has been an offensive showdown on an annual basis with the two sides combining for at least 50 points in every contest since 2010. The Bullets have won two of the three meetings in Selinsgrove since 2012.
 
LAST MEETING
In arguably its best performance of the 2017 campaign, Gettysburg knocked off playoff-bound Susquehanna 29-21 at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium. Susquehanna, which would go on to beat Albright in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series and finish with an 8-3 record, suffered its worst loss of the season thanks in part to six takeaways by the Bullets. Trailing 21-7 at halftime, Gettysburg ran off a 22-point run to end the game with three field-goals by Justin Geisel '20(Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day), a 78-yard touchdown reception by Kevin Benavente '20 (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel), and a two-yard run by quarterback Justin Davidov '18. The River Hawks turned it over on each of their final three possessions as the hosts forced a pair of fumbles and picked off a pass. Davidov threw for 165 yards and ran for 60, while Nick Rella '19 (Denville, N.J./Morristown-Beard) added 52 yards on nine carries. Mike McKnight '19 (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) picked off a pair of passes, while Glenn Benson '18 forced both fumbles in the fourth quarter. Jake Skinner '19 (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) led the Bullets with 13 tackles. Nick Crusco threw for 248 yards and Cameron Ott rushed for 96 to lead Susquehanna.
 
LAST TIME OUT
No. 25 Johns Hopkins blew open a close game with four consecutive scores over the second and third quarters to beat Gettysburg 51-14 last weekend. The Bullets forced a pair of takeaways early in the game and trailed 13-7 following a 59-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Andrew Howard (Swansea, Mass./Moses Brown School) early in the second quarter. After scoring late in the first half, the Blue Jays capitalized on favorable field position to put up 21 points in the third quarter. Howard finished the game with a career-high 119 yards on 20 carries and added 33 receiving yards on four receptions. Senior Nick Rella picked up 55 yards on 16 totes. Sophomore Mike Welsh (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) connected with nine different receivers for 168 yards. Senior Jake Skinner paced the Bullets with eight tackles.
 
Susquehanna survived an overtime battle with Ursinus 41-35 last Saturday. The River Hawks fell behind in the fourth quarter, but a 45-yard Hail Mary into the end zone by freshman quarterback Michael Ruisch was hauled in by junior Mitch Carsley to tie the game. Junior Aaron Speight polished off the victory with a four-yard touchdown run in overtime. Ruisch completed 19-of-31 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns, while Speight posted 148 yards and three scores. Kyle Good led the River Hawk receiving corps with eight receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown. Senior Connor Thompson posted 14 tackles and junior Cole Dixon added 11 stops.  
 
GETTYSBURG OVERVIEW
Gettysburg has shown significant improvement over the last month despite a rash of injuries to key players. Head Coach Kevin Burke '90 secured his first victory as a head coach in 15 years with the team's win over Juniata, which was also the last program Burke coached to a victory prior to his arrival in Gettysburg as offensive coordinator.  
 
GETTYSBURG OFFENSE
The Bullets have put up over 370 yards of offense in each of their last three outings and are averaging 217.3 yards rushing over that span. Junior Andrew Howard has set career highs in rushing yards in each of the last three games and has scored a touchdown in the last two. Senior Nick Rella continues to pace the squad with 314 rushing yards, while sophomore quarterback Mike Welsh has dashed for 248 yards and three scores. Howard has emerged as the sophomore quarterback's favorite target with 17 receptions for 173 yards, but senior Johnny Davis (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) has become the team's top deep threat, converting a 30-yard reception in each of the last three games. Davis has 13 receptions for 259 yards and is averaging 19.9 yards per catch.
 
GETTYSBURG DEFENSE
Gettysburg's defense ranks second in the conference in interceptions (8) and fumble recoveries (10), and third (tied) in sacks (21). The leader on the line has been senior defensive end Logan Aikey (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) who leads the league with 13.5 tackles for a loss and seven sacks. Aikey has posted 31 tackles for a loss and 15 sacks over his last 17 games. Senior linebacker Jake Skinner leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 64 tackles. Skinner needs 25 more tackles to reach 300 for his career. Sophomore Thomeir Richardson (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) leads the CC in interceptions with four.
 
GETTYSBURG SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) narrowly missed setting the program record by a yard with a 49-yard miss against Johns Hopkins. It was Geisel's first miss of the year and he leads the conference with eight field goals, six of which have come from 30 yards or more. Sophomore punter Evan Tannenbaum (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) is averaging 37.4 yards per punt this season and has placed 10 kicks inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Thomeir Richardson is second in the league with an average of 21.4 yards per kick return.
 
SUSQUEHANNA OVERVIEW
Susquehanna is bidding for a spot in the postseason for the second consecutive year. The River Hawks have lived with plenty of drama this fall, competing in a conference record four overtime contests already. Six of the team's seven contests have been decided by seven points or less. Head Coach Tom Perkovich is in the midst of his fourth season and has accrued a record of 23-15.
 
SUSQUEHANNA OFFENSE
The River Hawks rank third in the Centennial with 29.3 points per game. The team has put up 400 yards of offense twice this fall, including 415 in its recent win over Ursinus. First-year quarterback Michael Ruisch has completed 51.5 percent of his passes for 1,543 yards and a dozen touchdowns. He's also rushed for 194 yards and three scores. Junior Aaron Speight bested his season high for rushing yards by 63 with his output against Ursinus and he's scored a touchdown in five different games. Three receivers have hauled in at least 20 receptions with junior Mitch Carsleyleading the charge with 34 receptions for 640 yards and six touchdowns. Carsley ranks second in the conference with 91.4 receiving yards per game.
 
SUSQUEHANNA DEFENSE
Susquehanna has totaled just one takeaway in its last three games and six of the team's nine forced turnovers came in the season opener against Lycoming. Both junior Cole Dixon and senior Connor Thompson are averaging more than 10 tackles per game, which Dixon ranking second (10.4) and Thompson third (10.0) in the CC. Junior linebacker David Simpson leads the team with eight tackles for a loss and is tied for the team lead with 3.5 sacks.
 
SUSQUEHANNA SPECIAL TEAMS
Freshman Elijah Hoffman has hit 3-of-4 field goals with a long of 34 yards. Senior punter Jake Wiles is averaging 38.4 yards per punt with five boots travelling 50-plus yards. Freshman Kibwe Galloway has returned seven kickoffs for an average of 20.6 yards.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
November brings on a pair of rivalry games for Gettysburg, beginning with the battle for the Old Tin Cup at Muhlenberg College on Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. The Bullets lead the all-time series 43-38-1, but the Mules have won the last six meetings.