BRIDGEWATER, Va. (BC Athletics) – The Bridgewater College football team fell to No. 23 Susquehanna 41-14 on Saturday.

Bridgewater got the ball first and got a free five yards as Susquehanna was anxious and jumped the first snap of the game. The drive went backwards from there as a pair of incompletions and a sack forced a BC punt. Susquehanna’s first drive lasted one play as Surtz took the handoff and bulldozed into the end zone for a 47-yard rushing touchdown. The PAT was good, and Susquehanna took a 7-0 lead just over a minute in.

BC got the ball back and drew another SU offside, but another sack forced a punt. The Eagles’ defense came back out for its second shift and forced a three-and-out to get the ball back. The Susquehanna defense came back out and held serve to force a BC punt after three quick downs. The River Hawks broke the punt exchange as a 21-yard connection from Wright to Mroz moved the chains, and on second-and-long, Susquehanna slowly marched down the field before a three-yard rush by Surtz found paydirt to make it 14-0 after the PAT.

The Susquehanna defense continued to excel and forced another quick third down. Parker Burke looked to connect with Brandan Anderson on a deep pass, but the defense from Susquehanna drew a pass interference penalty to move the chains. Burke looked Anderson’s way again on the next play, and it met the same result as the River Hawks got flagged for pass interference again to put BC in SU territory. A false start and a sack pushed the Eagles back on their own side of midfield, and Grefe was brought on to punt in the final minute of the quarter.

The Eagles’ defense forced a Susquehanna punt right after the quarter break. The BC offense was stifled again, and Grefe was brought on to punt. The boot was blocked by the River Hawks as Ben Fleming got a piece of it. The kick traveled 22 yards after the collision, and Susquehanna took over with a short field. The River Hawks moved the ball on the opening play of the drive as a facemask penalty pushed them to the BC 27-yard line. The Eagles’ defense forced SU to a fourth down, but a six-yard pass moved the chains. SU continued to march down the field and added to the lead as Surtz punched it in from three yards out to make it 21-0 after the point-after was good.

The teams traded punts and BC found a spark. Jalin Quintanilla took a handoff on the wide-receiver reverse and found a huge gap all the way down to the SU 11-yard line after a gain of 36 yards. The visitors stood tall and forced a field goal attempt. The kick narrowly missed wide, helping SU take over with 3:41 to go in the half.

The River Hawks added on just before the half as they used their lone conversion on third down on the day to push the ball down the field. An explosive play stretched the lead as a 33-yard connection by Wright and McCauley made it 28-0 after the PAT. BC responded instantly with its first score of the year. Tommy Nelson fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own eight-yard line and took it the distance. A big block by Jamari Lewis sealed a 92-yard kickoff return for a score. Shane Glenn came on and made the PAT to make it 28-7 heading to the intermission.

Susuqehanna added to the lead right out of the break as a pair of 20-yard plays led to a connection from Wright to Mroz to make it 35-7. Three negative plays gave SU the ball back, and they drove down the field. The BC defense did not break as Susquehanna went for it on fourth-and-three at the BC 18-yard line. Wright chucked it to the end zone, but Pierre Harris Jr. knocked the pass away to keep the score the same.

BC’s offense regrouped, and Burke and Anderson connected for the first time all afternoon to move the chains after a 14-yard slant route. Facing third down, Anderson and Burke connected again for a gain fo 43 yards to move the chains in a big way all the way to the red zone. Burke and Anderson did it again on first down and goal as the two played catch for a seven-yard touchdown. Glenn nailed the PAT to make it 35-14 late in the third quarter.

SU responded with a 71-yard drive of their own. A 26-yard pass from Wright to Confer capped off the drive. The PAT missed the mark to make it 41-14 at the end of the third quarter.

BC opened the fourth quarter by moving the football. A pair of catches by Nick Barahona moved BC to midfield, and a snag by Tino Ramirez kept the drive alive on fourth down. BC faced another fourth down, but a false start backed the Eagles up, and the rush by Bradyn Horacek was stopped just short of the line to gain.

Susquehanna replied by driving deep into BC territory. The Eagles’ defense did not budge again with its back against the wall, as a turnover on downs inside the BC 10-yard line gave the Eagles the ball back with under four minutes to play. Ramirez and Brock Miles hooked up to open the drive with a 31-yard completion to move the chains. Another SU pass interference penalty inched BC closer to paydirt. BC faced a fourth down and six to go, nd Miles connected to Walters for a gain of 23 yards to the SU seven. Time ran out on the Eagles’ promising drive as the final horn sounded.

Burke was 12-for-27 passing for a total of 103 yards and a score. Quintanilla led the bC rushing attack with his 36-yard scamper. Jervis was next for the Eagles with 21 yards on six carries. Anderson had the touchdown reception and 64 yards receiving to go with it. Oscar Whitely led BC with 14 tackles to tie for the 10th most in a single game in program history. Strong tossed in 10 stops for the BC defense. Lewis added a forced fumble to his ledger on the day, going along with seven tackles.

Wright tossed a trio of touchdowns for Susquehanna for a total of 208 yards through the air. Surtz rushed for 159 yards to fuel a stout SU ground game. Drammeh led Susquehanna with six total tackles. Half of those stops (3.) came behind the line for a total of 18 negative yards.

The River Hawks outgained the Eagles 463 to 180 on the day fueled by a 255-2 edge in rushing yards. Both teams converted multiple times on fourth down, but Susquehanna’s five sacks set the tone for the No. 2team in Division III.

The Eagles are back at it after the bye week with a long trip to Centre on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.

— BC Athletics —