SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 27, 2024) – The Western New England football team will welcome ninth-ranked Susquehanna University to Golden Bear Stadium on Saturday, September 28 for WNE's Salute to Service game starting at 1:00 PM. Both teams will enter Golden Bear Stadium with a 2-1 record, with Western New England coming off a 28-14 victory last week over St. Lawrence University while Susquehanna was defeated narrowly last week by second-ranked SUNY Cortland, 40-38.

Last Week's Win:
The Golden Bears fell behind early in the contest last week, seeing a 14-0 score set them back for the third week in a row. Despite that score, Western New England would roar back, picking up 28 unanswered points while holding the St. Lawrence Saints to zero points in the second, third, and fourth quarters combined, picking up their third straight victory in three meetings over SLU. On offense, Western New England came away with 382 yards of total offense, 148 net rushing yards, and 234 yards of offense through the air. The Golden Bears picked up a game-high 21 first downs, seven on the run, and 14 passing first downs. The Western New England offense threw for three touchdowns in the win while running home their fourth to collect the 28-14 victory.

Defensively, Western New England would give up the first 14 points of the game for the third straight week, seeing all of Springfield College, Salve Regina University, and St. Lawrence University get out to the fast 14-0 start, though all three times, Western New England would come back to take a lead, and two of three games would result in victories for the Golden Bears. The Golden Beas defense tallied 52 tackles against St. Lawrence in the win, five of those tackles coming for lost yardage and two total sacks in the game. The Golden Bears also collected one interception, and two breakup passes to lead the way on defense. Following two touchdowns to open the game for the Saints offense, the Golden Bears forced two turnovers on downs, four punts, and one interception to close out the victory, shutting out the home team in the final three quarters overall.
The Western New England special teams did not attempt a field goal in the game, though John Moss connected on all four extra-point opportunities for the Golden Bears. The first year also launched three punts, averaging 30 yards per punt. Jova'n Hill returned two kickoffs for 39 total yards, with a long of 25 yards in the win.

Western New England's Offense:
The Golden Bears picked up 17 completions on 26 attempts from their senior quarterback, Brady Lafferty, who also threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. De'Andre Harris led the way in total reception yards for Western New England last week, catching three passes for 65 yards while collecting a touchdown. Ryan Larson would also see one of the three Lafferty touchdowns in his hands, catching two total passes for 40 yards in the victory. For the second straight week, Western New England graduate student Callaghan Daskam would put six points on the board for WNE, this time grabbing one catch for five yards for a WNE touchdown.

On the ground, the Golden Bears were led by sophomore Matt LaMontagne, who came away with 16 total rushing attempts for 73 total yards, picking up the one rushing touchdown that Western New England picked up in the game. LaMontagne averaged just under five yards per carry in the win. Ryan Carlson churned the legs 17 times for the Golden Bears in week three, coming away with 68 total yards. WNE gained 382 yards of total offense in the win.

Susquehanna's Offense:
The Riverhawks put up 38 points in their week three defeat against second-ranked SUNY Cortland, though it would not be enough to come away with the victory, falling 40-38. Josh Ehrlich, who is expected to lead the Susquehanna Riverhawks on Saturday against Western New England, completed 19 passes on 33 attempts, throwing for 314 yards in the game. Ehrlich threw for four touchdowns, tossing a 45-yard pass as his longest for the game while being sacked twice. Kyle Howes received six passes from Ehrlich, gaining 135 total yards in the game while picking up one touchdown, leading the receiving core. Chris Bookter caught two touchdown passes for the Riverhawks in the game, totaling four catches for 81 yards overall. Hunter Morgenroth was the other recipient of a touchdown pass, also totaling four catches, notching 45 yards in the defeat. Susquehanna picked up 21 first downs in the game, 14 through the air, and averaged over 16.5 yards of offense per play when throwing the ball.

The Riverhawks run game was led by Rahshan La Mons, who ran 16 times for 122 yards, picking up a touchdown in the game, a 61-yard score. La Mons ran more than half the times for the Riverhawks, with quarterback Josh Ehrlich running nine times for five total yards in the game, the next leading rusher for Susquehanna.

Western New England's Defense:
The WNE defense played a big part in their victory over St. Lawrence University, collecting five tackles for loss and two key sacks to force the Saints to no points in the second half along with the second quarter, shutting out SLU for over 49 minutes in the game. The defense was led by graduate student Jason Shumilla, who recorded a game-high six solo tackles while assisting on three, good for nine total tackles in the victory. Shumilla came away with one tackle for loss and one breakup pass for the Golden Bears. Thomas Gasbarro, Western New England football's team captain, showed up in a big way, picking up three solo tackles and four assisted tackles while picking up one tackle for loss. Rogan Wotherspoon collected one of two solo sacks in the game, a loss of 12-yards, while Maurice Henlon got to the Saints quarterback for a loss of five yards. Ben Caulfield picked up the lone interception for the WNE defense while also picking up a solo tackle and a breakup pass in the game. 

Susquehanna's Defense:
The Riverhawks defense could not hold on to an early 24-7 lead, seeing SUNY Cortland shoot back for two late touchdowns to end the half and an early third quarter score to go ahead. Despite the loss, Susquehanna recorded 89 total tackles in the game, 27 solo tackles, and 62 assisted tackles. SU recorded one forced fumble and a fumble recovery while notching three breakup passes and two quarterback hits. Drew Robinson picked up the forced fumble for Susquehanna along with one solo tackle and ten assisted tackles, good for a team-high 11 tackles in the game. Right behind him was Garrett Carter, who also picked up one solo tackle and had nine assisted tackles, good for ten total tackles in the game. Carter picked up one of four tackles for loss in the game, which was one of two sacks for the Riverhawks, a four-yard loss. Jake Schultes picked up eight total tackles for Susquehanna while recording two tackles for loss, one being a seven-yard sack. The graduate student also recorded one QB hit in the game.

Western New England's Special Teams:
John Moss converted on all four extra point attempts for Western New England in their victory while punting three times, averaging 30 yards per punt, picking up a 29-yard boot, 30-yard boot, and 31-yard boot in the game. Rhys Suprenant made his Western New England debut on the field at St. Lawrence, averaging just under 54 yards per kickoff. This season, Western New England has made one field goal on one attempt while punting 13 times.

Susquehanna's Special Teams:
Suquehanna's Christian Colasurdo made his lone field goal attempt in the loss against SUNY Cortland last week, a 36-yard attempt. Colasurdo also punted four times for the Riverhawks last week, averaging 36.5 yards per punt, picking up a long of 41 yards in the loss. Colasurdo picked up one punt inside the 20-yard line. Hunter Morgenroth returned four kickoffs for Susquehanna for 100 yards, picking up a long of 28 yards.

The Game:
The ninth-ranked Riverhawks will visit Golden Bear Stadium for the first time in program history on Saturday, September 28 at 1:00 PM. The two teams will meet for the second time overall, with their last meeting coming last year in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, where the Riverhawks pulled out a 26-18 victory over Western New England.
To watch Saturday's showdown, click here. 
To view the live statistics, click here.