The Dickinson football team earned its first win of the season on Saturday, Sept. 21, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Susquehanna 24-21. Quarterback Cole Ahnell ’15 shined all game. He completed 19-of-21 passes for 153 yards, and set a new school record for completion percentage in a game at 90.4%. He also rushed for 154 yards to lead the team, giving him a total of 307 total yards. Shawn Wilson ’16 had a solid game as well, rushing for 95 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Todd Smolinsky ’14 led all receivers with seven catches for 63 yards.

The visiting Red Devils fell behind early when Susquehanna drove 58 yards on 12 plays to score a touchdown on the first drive of the game. The Red Devils offense then reached the Susquehanna 10 yard line after an impressive opening drive where Ahnell completed all six of his passes; however, a costly red-zone fumble by Wilson gave the ball back to Susquehanna before the Red Devils could score.

After forcing the opposition to punt, the Red Devils gained possession on their own 7-yard line. Led by Ahnell, the Red Devils methodically drove the ball 93 yards down the field for a touchdown to tie the game. Ahnell ran in from 5 yards out to score for the Red Devils. He rushed for 47 yards on the drive alone.

Both defenses then held the opposition for the rest of the half. Kicker/punter Adam Kaminski ’15 hit an impressive 58-yard punt at the end of the first half to send the teams to the locker room still tied 7-7.
The Red Devils started with the ball in the third quarter, but were unable to get anything going on offense. The drive ended with a blocked punt, giving Susquehanna the ball at the Dickinson 25 yard line. Susquehanna running back Ian Richardson then capped off the short drive with a five-yard touchdown run to break the tie. The third quarter ended with the score tied at 7.

With the ball to start the fourth, the Red Devils drove into scoring position led by the strong running of Wilson, who ran for 43 yards on three carries on the drive. He capped the drive with a 21-yard touchdown scamper to tie the game up again at 14. The Red Devils were very efficient on the drive as they did not need a third down attempt. Ahnell also connected with wide receiver Colin Rodgers ’14 twice to keep the chains moving. The Red Devil defense then came up with their biggest stop of the game to get their offense the ball back with a chance to win the game.

With a little over 9 minutes left in the game, Ahnell and the Red Devils put together an 80-yard touchdown drive to take the lead 21-14 with only 3 minutes left in the game. Fullback Mike Capone ’14 finished off the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. The Red Devil defense then stepped up one more time to just about clinch the game. After failing to record a first down after three plays, Susquehanna had no choice but to go for it on fourth down on their own 21 yard-line. With the game on the line, linebacker Connor Thompson ’15 deflected the pass, which was almost intercepted by fellow linebacker Michael Miller ’14.

Dickinson added a 34-yard field goal with a minute and a half remaining to stretch the lead to 24-14, however, Susquehanna did not go down quietly. With less than a minute to go quarterback Tyler Kolmer threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to make the score 24-21. With 31 seconds left, they then attempted an onside kick, but Rodgers recovered for the Red Devils to seal the victory.

Miller, Thompson and Ethan Rayner ’15 led the team in tackles with seven. Miller and Thompson also each tallied a tackle-for-loss. Both Rayner and Matt Giel ’14 recorded 1.5 sacks. After the first drive, Dickinson’s defense as a whole played a great game, allowing only 276 total yards, their lowest of the season.

“This was a big morale booster for the team. No team wants to start the season 0-3. It was the first game where we played well in all three phases of the game. The offensive line played their best game as well,” said Ahnell, who was only sacked once. “We’re looking forward to homecoming next week against Moravian and hope to keep this positive momentum moving forward.”

The Red Devils are now 1-2 on the season, including 1-1 in the Centennial Conference. Their next game is the 2013 homecoming game on Saturday, Sept. 28 at home against Moravian at 1 p.m. Moravian has opened the 2013 season with three consecutive losses, falling to Ithaca, McDaniel, and last week to Johns Hopkins.

Last season, Moravian defeated Dickinson 21-13 on Sept. 22. In last season’s homecoming game, Dickinson lost to Franklin & Marshall, 36-28, in a game that drew approximately 4,875 fans. It was Dickinson’s most attended sporting event of the year and a similar crowd is expected on Saturday.