Susquehanna Drops Liberty League Opener in Overtime.

Sept. 22: The 2007 Liberty League regular season schedule opened with a bang in Canton, NY on Saturday afternoon, as the conference-newcomer Susquehanna battled back from a 28 point deficit to force overtime against the St. Lawrence University football team. With the score knotted at 42-42 in OT, sophomore tight end John Quartuccio caught a five yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brad Heil to give the Saints a 49-42 lead after the extra point. Susquehanna quarterback Derek Pope, needing a touchdown to tie, forced a throw to the middle of the field that was intercepted by junior linebacker Chris Finch, securing the Saints’ 49-42 victory at Leckonby Stadium.

With the win, St. Lawrence improved to 2-1 (1-0), while Susquehanna fell to 1-3 and 0-1 in Liberty League competition.

Susquehanna didn’t waste much time scoring their first touchdown as a member of the conference, as Dave Paveletz, the team’s leading rusher, rumbled 49 yards a mere 3:32 into regulation to give the Crusaders a 6-0 lead. However, the extra point attempt failed, keeping Susquehanna ahead by only a touchdown.

The Saints didn’t blink, though, as they began to find their stride midway through the first quarter. On the first play of their third offensive series, St. Lawrence turned to trickery to create a scoring chance, as they used a flea-flicker to complete a 41 yard pass downfield to a wide open Carl Festa. The full back’s big reception set up Heil, who scrambled out of the pocket on the following play for a touchdown from five yards out. Junior Matt Popov’s extra point gave the Saints a 7-6 advantage.

Heil’s effort would seemingly open the floodgates for St. Lawrence, as they scored three consecutive touchdowns to grab a 21-7 lead. After forcing a punt from the Crusaders, sophomore Connor Hackett scored his first touchdown of the season on the first play of the second quarter to give the Saints a 13-6 lead, with Popov again adding the extra point.

After senior Matt Sivright intercepted Pope to give St. Lawrence great field position at the Susquehanna 44 yard line on the following drive, the Saints marched 44 yards in six plays, capped off by a 23 yard touchdown pass from Heil to sophomore Anthony Patterson to stretch the cushion to 21-6.

The Crusaders cut into the deficit on the following drive, as they recovered an onsides kick attempt and started from the St. Lawrence 37 yard line. After Paveletz carried the football into striking distance, Pope found sophomore Justin Young for an 11 yard touchdown pass, bringing the score to 21-12. The duo connected again on the two-point conversion, pulling Susquehanna back to within seven at 21-14.

However, the rest of the half belonged to the Scarlet and Brown, as they added 14 more points on to their halftime total to carry a 35-14 advantage into the locker room. Festa, who entered Saturday’s game with three career touchdowns, nearly matched that total in the first half alone, as the Auburn, NY native scored on back-to-back possessions to build St. Lawrence’s lead. Festa carried the ball on a draw play on a 3^{rd-and-4, and thanks to some solid blocks downfield, was able to stretch across the goal line for his first score of the afternoon.}

Susquehanna’s offense came back on to the field, but stayed for only two plays, as senior Ben Buskey delivered a monster hit to JJ Moran, which forced a fumble that was recovered by junior Andy Welkley. After a personal foul on the Crusaders, the Saints set up shop 1st-and-10 at the visitor’s 12 yard line. Facing a 3rd-and-5, St. Lawrence again turned to Festa, who caught a pass out of the backfield and drove over defenders until he reached the end zone. Thanks to extra points from Popov, the Saints held a 35-14 lead heading to the second half.

The momentum stayed with the Saints early in the third quarter, as their defense continued to shut down Pope and the Susquehanna offense, allowing Heil and company to work against the Crusader defense. Facing a 3rd-and-8, Heil turned to one of his most reliable weapons, senior Mike O’Donnell, and the pair connected for a 44 yard pass that set the Saints up on the Susquehanna 35 yard line. The following play, the ball was placed in Hackett’s hands, and the Bronxville, NY native did the rest, as he raced to the end zone untouched to put St. Lawrence ahead, with the extra point, 42-14 with 8:57 to play in the third quarter.

With neither team able to get much going in the later stages of the third quarter, it seemed as though St. Lawrence’s 28 point lead heading to the fourth quarter was going to be plenty to help the home team secure the victory.

Susquehanna’s sophomore Josh Simpson had other ideas.

With the Saints pinned back on their own 10 yard line, Popov set up to punt at his own goal line. Simpson broke loose past the offensive line, blocked Popov’s kick and recovered the ball himself for a Susquehanna touchdown. The extra point was added by Bobby Eppleman as the Crusaders pulled back to within three scores at 42-21.

However, the blocked kick did more for the Crusaders than merely get them a touchdown: it swung the momentum clearly in their favor. The defense responded by holding the Saints to three consecutive three-and-out drives, allowing Pope a chance to get his team back in the game. He would do just that with 10:31 remaining in regulation, as he found Jim Owen for a six yard touchdown catch that brought the score to 42-28. The Crusaders got to within one score only 2:23 later, when Pope again found Owen from 24 yards out for his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, bringing Susquehanna to within seven at 42-35.

St. Lawrence, who continued to battle into the breeze in the fourth quarter, needed a first down to get some confidence back and get out of its own territory. However, Susquehanna was having none of it, as Jeff Anderson tipped away a long pass intended for O’Donnell and Chris Ushinski sacked Heil on 3rd down to force another punt from Popov. On the ensuing punt, the Saints were penalized for Illegal Procedure and a Delay of Game, which forced them all the way back to their own 2 yard line. Popov’s punt, due to the wind, would only send Susquehanna back to the St. Lawrence 27 yard line.

With 6:20 remaining in the game, it took Susquehanna only five plays to complete their furious comeback and knot the score at 42-42. With the ball spotted at the St. Lawrence 12 yard line, Susquehanna’s Charlie Henry caught the defense off guard on a draw play, and the full back took the hand-off and ran 12 yards untouched into the end zone. Eppleman’s extra point sailed through the uprights, and the game was deadlocked at 42-42.

Though each team did have one possession before the overtime session, neither was able to put points on the board. Instead, the squads, meeting for the first time, went to overtime, where each team would start from the 25 yard line and try to score. The Saints were on the field offensively first, and Heil turned to his tight ends in the overtime session. First, the Fayetteville, NY native hit senior Brett Young for a 16 yard pick-up to move St. Lawrence to 1st-and-goal at the Susquehanna nine yard line. Two players later, Heil found Quartuccio in the back of the end zone for the back-up tight end’s second score of the season. Popov added his seventh extra point of the afternoon for the 49-42 lead.

Needing a touchdown to extend the game, Susquehanna tried to find room in the middle of the field for Paveletz, but Finch was there to make the stop and force a 2nd-and-long. It was there that Fitch, a Bridgeport, CT native made perhaps his biggest defensive play at the collegiate level, stepping in front of a Susquehanna receiver and picking off Pope to give the Saints an incredible 49-42 win.

The two teams combined for 883 yards of offense on the day, with Susquehanna holding the advantage 490-393. The Saints, however, were able to win the turnover battle, forcing four turnovers, and scored on all five of their red zone chances to earn their second win of the 2007 campaign.

Hackett and Paveletz both eclipsed the 100 yard rushing mark, finishing with 103 and 192 yards on the ground each, respectively. Heil finished 19-of-31 with three touchdown passes and a touchdown run, while Pope was 25-of-42 with three touchdown passes and three interceptions.

The Saints, who won their third consecutive home opener, will now look ahead to next Saturday as the University of Rochester Yellowjackets visit Canton, NY on September 29th. Kick-off between the two Liberty League rivals is scheduled for 2:00pm.