ANNVILLE, Pa. – Susquehanna scored 28 unanswered points in the second half and the Crusaders erased a five-point deficit en route to a 49-33 victory over Lebanon Valley in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) action Saturday afternoon at Arnold Field.
Susquehanna (4-5, 4-4 MAC), which trailed 26-21 two minutes into the third quarter before its 28-0 run, snapped a three-game losing streak while Lebanon Valley (1-8, 1-7 MAC) lost its seventh straight.
Senior quarterback Craig Ulrich threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-26 passing for Susquehanna while junior fullback Jason Eck rushed for 107 yards on 11 carries. Senior receiver Mark Bartosic caught seven passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior tight end Scott Marek (Nesquehoning, Pa./Panther Valley) led the Flying Dutchmen with seven receptions for 95 yards and three touchdowns. His second touchdown catch, an 18-yard snag which pulled LVC to within 21-20 just before halftime, gave him over 2,000 yards for his career.
Senior tailback Pete Henning (Souderton, Pa./Souderton) rushed for a game-high 128 yards on 23 carries for LVC. He also hit the 2,000-yard mark for his career, as he reached the career milestone for rushing.
Senior quarterback Roger Poorman (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) threw for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-20 passing, but left the game several times with a knee injury.
The two teams combined for 919 yards of total offense, with 529 coming through the air.
Both teams had trouble holding onto the ball. Susquehanna fumbled three times while LVC coughed it up on four occasions and threw a pair of interceptions. The Crusaders scored 21 points off turnovers.
Lebanon Valley scored the game's only points in the first quarter when Poorman found Marek for a 24-yard touchdown catch to put LVC on top 7-0.
An interception by sophomore quarterback Zach Buffington (Lykens, Pa./Upper Dauphin) set up Susquehanna's first touchdown. Susquehanna took over at the Dutchman-25 after the turnover, and three plays later freshman halfback Anthony Edwards, who finished the game with 94 yards rushing, ran in from seven yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:13 left in the opening half.
LVC went three-and-out on its next possession, and sophomore Kevin Keller's (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) punt went just 14 yards into a driving wind, giving the Crusaders the ball at the LVC-38. Two plays later, Ulrich found Bartosic for a 32-yard bomb down the right sideline, giving Susquehanna a 14-7 advantage with 6:56 to play in the quarter.
The Flying Dutchmen pulled even with a trick play on its next possession. After moving 37 yards on five plays, Henning received a pitch to the right, then passed the ball to a wide open Dan Kelly (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) on the left side of the field. Kelly raced into the endzone from 28 yards out, tying the game at 14-14.
Susquehanna quickly regained its lead. On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, fullback Jason Eck broke through the line of scrimmage and outraced everyone down the middle of the field for a career-long 70-yard touchdown run, giving the Crusaders a 21-14 lead with 4:02 to go in the half.
Lebanon Valley struck back on its ensuing drive, as Poorman's 18-yard scoring toss to Marek capped a 12-play, 82 yard-march. Keller missed his first point-after of the season and LVC trailed 21-20 at the half.
The Dutchmen received the opening kickoff in the second half and Buffington found junior receiver Dave McCullough (New Cumberland, Pa./Red Land), who had six catches for 91 yards on the day, for a 16-yard scoring play that put LVC 26-21 after a failed two-point conversion attempt with 13:17 left in the quarter. The scoring strike was Buffington's only completion on eight attempts for the game.
The Crusaders outscored LVC 22-0 over the rest of the quarter. Junior Kyle Sanders returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards, putting SU ahead for good. A blocked punt on LVC's next possession gave Susquehanna the ball at the LVC-34. Six plays later Ulrich hit Bartosic for the second time, this time from five yards out, with 9:33 still remaining in the quarter as the Crusaders went ahead 34-26.
Susquehanna received excellent field position once again later in the stanza after a Henning fumble gave the Crusaders the ball at the Lebanon Valley-36. The Dutchmen appeared to have stopped Susquehanna on third down after a 4-yard Bartosic run ended at the LVC-16, three yards shy of a first down. But Lebanon Valley was whistled with a late hit out of bounds, giving SU the ball at LVC-8, and two plays later Edwards raced in from four yards out and extended the Crusadars' lead to 41-26.
The Crusaders made it 22 points in a row when, on the Lebanon Valley's first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff, senior lineman Matt Ellis sacked Buffington in the end zone to give his team a 43-26 lead with 3:22 left in the quarter.
Just before the end of the period, Keller fumbled while trying to avoid having his punt blocked, and the Crusaders took over the Valley-10. Ulrich hit junior split end Josh Kleha for a 12-yard touchdown pass two plays later as Susquehanna's lead swelled to 49-26.
Lebanon Valley scored on its final drive, as Kelly connected with Marek from three yards out with 1:37 on the clock. The scoring toss was the first collegiate passing touchdown for Kelly, who racked up 115 yards on 9-of-13 passing in a little over 11 minutes of action.
Junior linebacker Larry Cannon led all players with 11 tackles for Susquehanna. Senior linebacker Eric Miller (Allentown, Pa./William Allen), senior linebacker Brian Andrewsky (Trenton, N.J./Steinert) and sophomore safety Brian Eames (Pine Grove, Pa./Milton Hershey) led LVC with eight tackles apiece.
Lebanon Valley concludes its 2003 season next Saturday when it visits MAC opponent Albright College in a 1:30 p.m. start.
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