Box Score

Junior Nick Palladino threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to classmate Ryan Delaney for the go-ahead score with 5:19 left in the fourth quarter as the Muhlenberg football team rallied past stubborn Susquehanna for a 27-24 win.
 
The Crusaders (2-3, 1-3) took a 21-20 lead midway through the third quarter on a 21-yard touchdown pass and extended their margin to four on a 39-yard field goal with 11:05 to play.
 
The Mules, whose previous four possessions ended with a missed field goal, a turnover on downs, a lost fumble and a failed fake punt, took over on their own 20 with 7:16 left and need only five plays to score the winning touchdown. The key play was the first one, Palladino's 48-yard completion to sophomore Max Cepeda.
 
Susquehanna fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but Muhlenberg failed to convert on fourth down. The Crusaders began their final drive at their own 31 with 3:59 left and drove to near midfield before freshman Luke Wiley picked off a pass.
 
The Mules (3-2, 2-2) gained three first downs, the last coming on Palladino's 7-yard bootleg on third-and-6, and ran out the clock.
 
Palladino finished 19-of-32 for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Cepeda, who had only one carry for a 5-yard loss in the first half, ended with 86 rushing yards and 203 all-purpose yards.

Wiley had seven tackles and a fumble recovery in addition to his interception. Sophomore Thomas Cosgriff recorded 2½ tackles for loss.
 
Muhlenberg opened the scoring on a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore Kyle Wilczynski (pictured at left) with 8:26 left in the first quarter but failed a two-point try. The teams traded offensive touchdowns on their next two drives, with the Mules regaining the advantage when sophomore Nick Savant caught a Palladino screen pass, broke a tackle and tiptoed down the sideline for a 27-yard touchdown.
 
The Crusaders took a 14-13 lead in the final minute of the second quarter four plays after a Mule fumble. Muhlenberg drove inside the Susquehanna 10 with under 10 seconds left in the half, but the drive ended on an interception.
 
The Mules went up 20-14 early in the third on Cepeda's 34-yard burst down the left sideline on fourth down.