SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Catholic football opened up Landmark Conference play at 12th-ranked Susquehanna, falling 50-21 to the River Hawks. Catholic drops to 2-3 on the season and 0-1 in the Landmark. 

Senior quarterback Madden Lowe threw for 228 yards and three scores, leading three separate scoring drives of 66 yards or more. Lowe, the nation's leader in completions per game coming into Saturday, completed 20-of-31 throws on the day. Preston Jeffrey, Malachi Hansen, and Nole Henry each found themselves on the receiving end of a touchdown pass in the contest. 

For the River Hawks, Josh Erlich was responsible for three scores, throwing two and rushing for one, while Tommy Grabowski gained 109 yards on the ground and found the end zone. 

Susquehanna scored on the first drive of Saturday's game, getting a 20-yard connection from Erlich to Kyle Howes for the opening score. Both teams moved the ball through the remainder of the quarter, but neither found a scoring opportunity as the River Hawks held a 7-0 lead after 15 minutes. Susquehanna found the end zone for the second time early in the second, capping off an 11-play drive as Erlich found Howes again. 

Trailing 16-0, Catholic took over on its own 34-yard line with 1:50 left in the first half. Back-to-back completions to Hansen set up first-and-10 from the Catholic 46. Lowe dropped back to pass, and let it fly down the left side, finding a streaking Jeffrey on the numbers for a 54-yard score, narrowing the deficit to 16-7. 

Howes took the kickoff back 32 yards to set up solid field position for the River Hawks who added a field goal at the halftime horn to go into the locker room in a 19-7 game. The Catholic defense held Susquehanna to three on what looked to be a touchdown scoring drive with 10:57 left in the third quarter. Susquehanna broke through the Cardinals defense in the third, scoring two more touchdowns to take a 36-7 lead into the fourth. 

With 9:11 left, Lowe found Hansen for a 23-yard score, narrowing the gap to 36-14. Hansen was banged up in the season-opener after catching a 10-yard score against McDaniel. He returned to the field on Saturday and caught five passes for 43 yards and the score. 

Susquehanna returned a kick for a touchdown and added one final offensive score with 6:39 left to make it 50-14. Henry capped off a six-play, 75-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown catch with 4:05 remaining to set the final score at 50-21. 

Carson Henry continued an impressive year on the defensive side of the ball, making nine tackles, adding two more TFLs to his tally, and adding a PBU. Samuel Dumas also added two TFLs in the losing effort. Michael Hopkins was the leading tackler for Catholic with nine. Luke Brautigan broke up a pass and added eight tackles. 

Catholic returns home next weekend as Moravian comes to town for a 12 p.m. kick.