GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Gettysburg College took the ball away from Susquehanna University on its final three drives and finished with six takeaways in the game on the way to a thrilling 29-21 victory over the River Hawks in front of a packed crowd at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
Gettysburg (3-5, 3-4 CC) trailed 21-7 to Susquehanna (5-3, 4-3 CC) after the first quarter, but the Bullets never blinked against the River Hawks, who came into the contest riding a three-game winning streak.
 
"If anybody has watched us at all, they know our kids aren't going to back down," said Head Coach Barry Streeter. "I was so proud how our kids played. When you play hard and you trust what you're doing, you can play anybody."
 
Gettysburg picked off four passes, including two by junior Mike McKnight (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin). Senior Glenn Benson (North Plainfield, N.J./North Plainfield) also forced a pair of fumbles that were recovered by the hosts. The six takeaways were the most by the team since achieving the same tally against McDaniel College in 2012.
 
Playing in front of its largest crowd of the season as part of Family Weekend on campus, Gettysburg jumped out of the gate with the first score. A 38-yard return by sophomore Kevin Benavente (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) on the opening kickoff helped set the stage for a one-yard touchdown run by senior Ryan Thompson (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills).  
 
Despite two interceptions by McKnight in the opening quarter, the hosts found themselves trailing in short order. The River Hawks posted 208 yards of offense in the opening period and converted three scores, including a 43-yard touchdown pass from Nick Crusco to Mikah Christian which put Susquehanna in front 21-7.
 
Gettysburg stayed in the hunt with a pair of field goals by sophomore Justin Geisel (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Country Day School) in the second quarter. Geisel hit from 31 yards and 37 yards to pull his team within eight (21-13) by halftime.
 
The Bullets came out of the locker room following the half with a renewed determination on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the hosts halted Susquehanna's opening drive of the third quarter with junior Matt Graziano (Pennington, N.J./Hopewell Valley) stopping Crusco on a fourth-down conversion attempt.
 
"We needed to make an adjustment, we needed to dig deep, we needed to take control of this game, and we answered the call," said senior defeensive back Nick Corbi (Medford, N.J./Shawnee). "Everyone was working on all cylinders the rest of the game."
 
Gettysburg came right back up the field with Geisel booming a career-long 47-yard field goal through the uprights. It was the longest made field goal by a Bullet in nine years and the longest in the Centennial Conference this fall. The kick was just one yard shy of the longest in program history set by Richard Eppleman '79 against Bucknell University in 1976 and Josh Huson '09 against McDaniel in 2005.
 
Senior Kamau Bridges (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) recorded his second interception of the season and returned it 39 yards into Susquehanna territory later in the third quarter. Gettysburg was unable to take advantage as senior Justin Davidov's (Ossining, N.Y./Ossining) pass was picked off by Ryan Ganard in the end zone.
 
The Bullets completely dominated the fourth quarter, holding the River Hawks to just two first downs and winning the yardage battle 137-54.
 
It didn't take long for the offense to match the defense's second-half intensity as Davidov and Benavente hooked up for a 78-yard touchdown with 11:39 left in the game to give Gettysburg a 22-21 lead.
 
"Right away before the snap, I knew they were man and all I had to do was beat the guy across from me," said Benavente. "I had a wheel rout, gave him a little jab step right away and tried to beat him with speed. Fortunately I was open and Justin threw a perfect ball."
 
Susquehanna would not fare well on its final three possessions of the game. Benson knocked the ball out twice, first jarring the ball loose from Crusco on a sack and then poking it away from Christian following a completion. The Bullets used up nearly four minutes of clock time on the next drive, which ended with Davidov scampering two yards into the end zone for the final score.
 
Corbi put the finishing touches on the victory by picking off Crusco with 1:18 remaining.
 
Davidov finished with 165 yards passing and 60 yards rushing. Freshman Reggie JeanCharles (Galloway, N.J./Holy Spirit) led the ground game with 78 yards on 22 carries, while junior Nick Rella (Denville, N.J./Morristown-Beard) picked up 52 yards on nine rushes. Benavente totaled 83 yards on a pair of receptions and added 69 yards on four kickoff returns.
 
Junior Jake Skinner (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) finished with 13 tackles, while Benson added 11 stops and a pass break-up to his stat line.
 
Cameron Ott picked up 96 yards on 22 carries for Susquehanna. Crusco finished with 248 yards passing and Christian totaled 142 yards on seven receptions. Cole Dixon and David Simpson each posted 11 tackles for the River Hawks.
 
Gettysburg closes out the home schedule against Muhlenberg College (5-3, 4-3 CC) next Saturday at 1 p.m. The two teams will be vying for the Old Tin Cup. The Bullet senior players, cheerleaders, and band members will also be recognized.