BY HERB SMITH, Times-Shamrock Writer

The running Sabers had to air it out Saturday.

Susquehanna’s seldom-used passing game was forced into extra work, trailing by 15 points in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Sean Stanley passed for 148 yards in the fourth quarter as the Sabers scored 26 straight points to rally for a 32-21 win over Holy Cross in a Lackawanna Football Conference Division III game at Monsignor Crotti Field.

“We had to throw the ball because we were behind and maybe it’s my fault for not airing it out a little bit earlier,” Susquehanna coach Dick Bagnall said. “Our option stuff wasn’t working right but our kids settled down. These kids play with heart and it showed.”

Holy Cross built a 14-6 halftime lead thanks to a 3-yard touchdown pass from Rob Heyen to Joe Merli and Heyen’s 24-yard touchdown run.

Merli scored his second touchdown on a 21-yard run early in the fourth quarter giving Holy Cross a 21-6 lead with11:39remaining. At that point, Susquehanna had 85 yards on the ground and 142 total yards.

“We were a running team in the first half,” said Stanley, who finished with 201 yards passing and three total touchdowns. “We tried to run our veer offense but they had it stopped pretty good. At halftime, we had to figure out a new game plan. Putting it in the air was just what we needed.”

Stanleystarted the rally with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Quick. After forcing Holy Cross to go three-and-out,Stanleyfound Austin Cowperthwait on a 44-yard scoring pass. The two-point conversion failed and the Crusaders’ lead was 21-18.

“They were giving us the middle so we ran some deep slants,” Bagnall said. “We were fortunate that Sean was able to get the ball in there and the receivers were able to come up with some catches.”

Holy Cross again failed to get a first down on its next possession after the Crusaders were stopped on fourth-and-one at their own 45.

Stanleyhit Quick on a 41-yard pass on the first play after the change of possession. Three plays later,Stanleyscored on a 1-yard dive and Susquehanna had its first lead, 26-21.

“I’ve been telling them, ‘You get behind, don’t worry about it. We can come back,’ ” Bagnall said. “They did. They believed it. Now they really believe it. Bad things can happen early but we can overcome it. I’m just so proud of these kids.”

Susquehanna    0    6    0  26 – 32

Holy Cross        7    7    0   7 –  21

Team Statistics

                               SUS      HC

First Downs              8          11

Rushing-Yards    25-150   36-92

Comp-Att-Int       8-15-0   8-21-4

Passing Yards         201       145

Total Yards             351      237

Punts-Average      6-29.0  6-28.0

Fumbles-Lost          5-3       1-0

Penalties-Yards      5-35     4-35

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SUS – G. Price 9-96, 2 TDs; J. Pruitt 9-59; J. Murnock 1-(-1);S. Stanley 6-(-4) 1 TD; T. Hinkley 2-6; Team 3-(-30).

Passing: SUS – S. Stanley 8-14-0, 201, 2 TDs; G. Price 0-1-0, 0.

Receiving: SUS – A. Cowperthwait 2-56, 1 TD; C. Quick 2-88, 1 TD; G. Price 2-23; J. Marino 1-10; C. Monks 1-24.