ANNVILLE, Pa. - Sophomore tailback Charlie Parker ran for a career-high 196 yards and Lebanon Valley College's defense produced two touchdowns as the Flying Dutchmen beat Susquehanna, 27-12, on a sweltering late-summer Saturday at Arnold Field.
Parker also found the end zone twice, while junior Bill Dixon's 24-yard interception return and junior Andrew Shambach's 48-yard fumble return added touchdowns.
The Dutchmen (1-1) stuck to the ground attack, compiling 289 yards rushing to just 45 yards in the air. Freshman quarterback Caleb Fick was 6-of-14 for 45 yards. The Crusaders (0-2), on the other hand, went to the air, with quarterback Derek Pope racking up 245 yards passing.
LVC's defense, which surrendered 49 points last week at Gettysburg, bent but did not break, giving up 371 yards of total offense but just 12 points. The Dutchmen seemingly pressured Pope at will, taking him down six times, including a pair of sacks by junior tackle Anthony Pezzella.
The two sides traded early touchdowns, first for the Crusaders when Dave Paveletz broke free for a 22-yard scamper and then for LVC as Parker capped off a 63-yard drive.
The Dutchmen, however, went on to score the next 20 points of the game. Parker finished a nine-play, 68-yard drive with a two-yard punch-in midway through the second to put LVC up 20-6.
The LVC defense produced a pair of touchdowns on turnovers in the second half. With Susquehanna pinned in their own red zone, Dixon picked off a deflected pass in the third quarter and ran it back 24 yards to score.
Both defenses held in the second half until Susquehanna threated early in the fourth quarter. Pope scrambled toward midfield and fumbled, and Shambach scooped up the loose ball and was never touched as he rumbled 48 yards for the score.
Shambach's fumble return for a touchdown was the first for Lebanon Valley since Ryan Redner did it on Oct. 23, 1998 against Moravian.
The Crusaders added a final late touchdown as Paveletz capped a long drive, but it was too little too late.
Game Notes: Lebanon Valley won its home opener for the second straight year after beating Gettysburg last year ... Parker's 196 yards rushing was the most by a Dutchman since Dave Holland's 187 yards in 2005 ... Parker came just shy of being the first LVC player to rush for 200 yards since 1989 ... With his third and final reception of the game, senior Adam Brossman broke Greg Teter's record of 163 career catches ... Brossman is now 101 yards short of 3,000 for his career ... LVC's last interception return for a touchdown was against Susquehanna in 2004, when Jimmy Holzman had a 10-yard score.
