(Carlisle, Pa.) – The Dickinson football team made a furious comeback attempt, but came up just short, falling to visiting Susquehanna University, 31-24, on Saturday afternoon.

Susquehanna scored a lone field-goal in the first quarter and Bobby Grigas led the River Hawks to a pair of second quarter scores to lead, 17-0, at halftime.

The Hawks were threatening at the end of the half but a strong goal-line stand by the Devils closed the door as time expired. After the break, the Red Devils got some momentum, cutting the deficit to 17-10, at the end of the third quarter.

Sophomore Stephen Walker (Darien, Conn./Darien) put the Devils on the board with a 35-yard field-goal, with 9:10 remaining in the third. The Red Devil defense came up with a big fumble recovery, just two plays later and Dickinson would capitalize with a two-play scoring drive from the 31-yard line.

Sophomore quarterback Billy Burger (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) hit classmate Jake Walbert (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) with a 30-yard pass to the Susquehanna one-yard line. Burger ran it in to pull the Devils within a touchdown at the 7:46 mark.

The River Hawks used a flea flicker from back-up quarterback Matt Thies to move to the Dickinson 16-yard line. Thies would score on an 11-yard yard run to stretch the lead to 24-10, with 11:23 remaining in the game.

An interception would lead to a 34-yard touchdown pass from Thies to Cameron Ott, extending the margin to 31-10, with 9:07 on the clock.

Senior Pat Irwin (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) countered with a big interception at midfield and the Red Devils were starting to think comeback.

Burger connected with Kyle Donahue (Glenside, Pa./Germantown Academy) on back-to-back to passes and later hit Walbert in the back of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown with 4:11 left to play, making the score, 31-24.

After a failed on-side kick attempt, the Red Devils held on defense, forcing a 36-yard field-goal attempt that fell short, giving Dickinson the ball with 1:54 left in regulation.

Burger drove the Devils 71 yards on eight plays with first-year Allen Walters (Charleston, S.C./Porter Gaud) scoring on a one-yard run to pull Dickinson within a touchdown.

The Devils tried again to convert an on-side kick with just 17 seconds remaining, but Chris Beals covered the ball and Susquehanna was able to run out the clock.

Grigas threw for 217 yards as Tommy Bluj covered 121 yards on eight catches and Beals added 100 yards on six receptions.

Burger completed 12-of-25 passes for 197 yards while Walbert pulled in four catches for 83 yards on the day.

First-year James Turner (Ridgefield, Conn./Suffield Academy) recorded a game-high 13 tackles, including five for losses of 22 yards. Irwin added 12 stops to go with his interception. Thomas Nocka (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and Tyler Heisey (Camp Hill, Pa./Cumberland Valley) combined for 15 tackles.

The Red Devils slip to 0-3 on the season and 0-2 in the Centennial Conference. They are on the road next Saturday, traveling to Moravian College for a 1:00 pm kick-off.