The Dickinson Red Devils football team made an epic second half comeback attempt, but came up just short, falling to the Susquehanna University River Hawks on Saturday afternoon at Biddle Field, with 31-24.

Susquehanna put up the only points of the opening quarter, putting the ball through the uprights for a field goal with 9:43 left in the first. They closed out the half with 2 touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 17-0 lead into halftime.

After intermission, the Red Devils got some momentum and cut the deficit to 17-10 by the end of the third quarter.

Stephen Walker ’19 got the Red Devils on the board with a 35-yard field-goal, 6 minutes into the second half.

Dickinson’s defense came up with a crucial fumble recovery and the offense would capitalize just two plays later as quarterback Billy Burger ’19 hit Jake Walbert ’19 with a 30-yard pass to the Susquehanna one-yard line and followed up with a 1-yard touchdown run, pulling the Red Devils within a touchdown at the 7:46 mark.

The River Hawks used a flea flicker to move all the way down to the Dickinson 16-yard line. They stretched their lead with a touchdown rush, making the score 24-10 with 11:23 remaining in regulation.

The margin was widened further as turnover by Dickinson would lead to a 34-yard strike to the end zone, extending the margin to 31-10 with 9:07 left to play.

The Red Devils’ defense countered with a critical interception by Pat Irwin ’17 on Susquehanna’s next drive, keeping their hopes of a comeback alive. Burger hit Kyle Donahue ’18 on back-to-back to passes and later completed a pass to Walbert in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown with 4:11 remaining in the game, closing the gap to 31-24.

The Red Devils came up with a stop on defense after a failed onside kick attempt, forcing a missed 36-yard field-goal attempt and giving Dickinson the ball with just 1:54 left in regulation.

The Red Devils’ offense responded by driving 71 yards down the field on eight plays, capping off the drive with a score as Allen Walters ’20 ran 1 yard into the end zone to pull Dickinson within a touchdown. The Red Devils tried to convert an onside kick for a second time but failed, and Susquehannah was able to run out the clock, leaving the final score at 31-24.

Burger completed 12 of his 25 pass attempts, totaling 197 yards. For the Dickinson’s receiving corps, Walbert caught 4 passes for 83 yards on the day while Donahue had 5 catches for 46 yards on the day.

James Turner ’20 recorded a game-high 13 tackles, including 5 that went for losses totaling 22 yards. Irwin had 12 stops to go with his interception. Thomas Nocka ’19 and Tyler Heisey ’18 combined for 15 tackles.

With this loss, the Red Devils sink to 0-3 on the season and 0-2 in the Centennial Conference. They are away next Saturday, as they travel to Moravian College for a 1 p.m. kickoff.