Susquehanna starts strong in victory over Holy Redeemer

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News

John Kotsko | August 28, 2022

The Sabers started the scoring with a punt return and then scored on their first two possessions of the season and didn’t look back from there as Susquehanna got past Holy Redeemer 43-12 at King’s College. After the Sabers forced a punt, JJ Rosa received the punt and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 9:52 remaining in the first quarter. After another 3 and out by the Royals, Susquehanna got great field position, starting at the Royals 41 yard line. The drive ended with a six yard touchdown run by Layne Fisk and a 12-0 Saber lead with 5:39 remaining in the first quarter.

The Royals drove down the field to the Susquehanna 25 yard line. However a penalty called back a touchdown run and Holy Redeemer ended up punting the ball away. The Sabers started the drive at their own two yard line. On second and 10, Colton Stone found Rosa for a 38 yard reception. Susquehanna faced a fourth and 1 but an offsides by the Royals gave the Sabers a first down. Stone found Cooper Payne for an 18 yard catch then William Marcy scored on a 28 yard touchdown run and an 18-0 lead with 11:40 remaining in the second quarter.

Holy Redeemer once again drove down the field thanks to runs by quarterback Jacob Hunter and running back Josh Wesneski to get the Royals to the Susquehanna 37 yard line but JJ Rosa got an interception to end the drive. After the Royals forced a Sabers three and out, they got on the board with a Jacob Hunter 31 yard touchdown run to cut Susquehanna’s lead to 18-6 with 2:24 remaining until halftime.

Susquehanna would answer on their next drive just before halftime, facing a fourth and 5 on their own 45 yard line, Fisk ran for nine yards for a first down. On a third and 10, Stone found Marcy for a 21 yard completion. On the very next play, Marcy finished the drive with a 16 yard touchdown run for a 24-6 Sabers lead with 25.1 seconds left in the second quarter and it ended up being the score we headed to the half.

The Royals tried to back into the game with an onside kick to start the second half but the Susquehanna defense forced a three and out. However, the Sabers were unable to score on their next possession. The defense got involved in the scoring with a fumble that was recovered by Zachary Norton in the end zone for a 31-6 lead with 6:11 remaining in the third quarter. Rosa recorded his second interception on the game during the next Holy Redeemer drive. Susquehanna head coach Kyle Cook on JJ Rosa’s performance tonight. “Super athletic kid. He just knows the game. He studies it and he played a heck of a game tonight.”

On the next Royal possession, it took one play for Hunter to find Jake Griffin for an 82 yard touchdown to make it 31-12 with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter. The Sabers added a couple of scores during the fourth quarter. Fisk added an eight yard touchdown run for his second of the game then Marcy returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown. Cook on Marcy’s performance. “He’s a sophomore who bought into the weight room his freshman year at the end of the year and it’s paying dividends for him so we’re excited having him moving forward.”

Cook on tonight’s game. “We knew we had to come in and limit the big plays and for the most part, we really kept them under control.” The Sabers had several players get carries on the night. “We try not to be one dimensional and try to spread it around. We got guys we’re trying to get a look at too.” Cook said.

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