The Dickinson football team hung with Juniata for most of the game on Saturday afternoon, September 10, but a 28-point second quarter gave the Eagles a big lead over the Red Devils which they managed to hold until the end of the game.

Jordan Hollander ’20 intercepted a Juniata pass at the Red Devil 41-yard line with 9:54 remaining in the first quarter to give the Red Devils some momentum early in the contest. Dickinson was unable to capitalize on the mistake and The Eagles traded punts with the Red Devils, eventually taking over on their own 36-yard line.

The Eagles’ defense returned a fumble 25 yards for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead with 52 seconds left to play in the first quarter. Dickinson quickly struck back though, as quarterback Billy Burger ’19 connected with Jake Walbert ’19 for a 58-yard bomb to tie the game. Juniata responded with a 78-yard touchdown pass and a 43-yard punt return along with another long pass to set themselves up on the 1 yard line, punching the ball in on the next play to give Juniata a 21-7 advantage with 12:46 left to play in the half. The Eagles scored again, this time on a 35-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 28-7 with 2:57 left in the first half.

The Eagles took advantage of an interception to start the second half as they extended their lead with a 70-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 35-7 at the 11:11 mark.

Burger ran for 66 yards on the Red Devils’ next possession, eventually breaking free for a 48-yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to 35-14 with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter.

The Eagles recovered a muffed punt on the Dickinson 4 yard line and scored two plays later on a 1-yard rush with 8:32 left in regulation. The Red Devils responded with a solid drive, marching 78 yards down the field in 12 plays and finishing things off with a 7-yard touchdown run from Allen Walter ’20, bringing the final tally to 42-21.

Burger completed 16 of his 32 pass attempts, totaling 195 yards and rushing for another 110 on the day. Walbert grabbed 6 catches for 119 yards while Kyle Donahue ’18 caught two passes for 31 yards.

Pat Irwin ’17 led the Red Devil defense with eight tackles while Matt Butz ’19 made seven stops and Tom Dex ’18 added an interception.

With this loss, the Red Devils fall to 0-2 overall on the season and 0-1 in the Centennial Conference. They will return home to face Susquehanna University at Biddle Field next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the Play for the Cure Game.