No. 3 Mount Union dominates Muskingum in conference opener
NEW CONCORD, Ohio -- Third-ranked Mount Union opened Ohio Athletic Conference football action with a 62-6 victory against Muskingum on Saturday at McGonagha Stadium.
Quarterback Kevin Burke completed 17 of 21 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as the Purple Raiders (2-0, 1-0 OAC) scored on all seven of its first half possessions to lead 42-0 at halftime.
Burke hit seven different receivers with four catching one touchdown apiece. His 56-yarder to junior Roman Namdar was the longest of the day. Namdar led all receivers with three catches for 76 yards and one touchdown.
Sophomore running back Bradley Mitchell had nine rushes for 73 yards and a 14-yard rushing touchdown, while junior Brandon Williamshad five carries for 70 yards including a 48-yard touchdown run.
The Mount Union defense held the Muskies to 94 yards of total offense in the first half with a pair of interceptions on Muskingum's first two drives -- one from junior Will Hiteshue and another from Hank Spencer.
No. 1 Wisconsin-Whitewater throttles TCNJ
EWING, N.J. -- Wisconsin-Whitewater piled up 535 yards of total offense and tallied seven sacks on Saturday en route to a 48-0 victory against The College of New Jersey.
The Warhawks (3-0) started the game with a defensive stand at its own goal line and found the end zone on their first four offensive drives of the game.
Quarterback Matt Behrendt finished 19 of 28 for 265 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Wide receiver Jake Kumerow posted nine receptions for 184 yards and one score, while running back Nick Patterson recorded his second straight 100-yard rushing performance with 101 yards on just 11 carries for two touchdowns.
Eight different players contributed to the team's seven sacks, paced by freshman defensive lineman Hunter Higginbotham, who had one sack. Junior linebacker Justin Dischler led the defense with seven tackles, including one for a loss. Defensive back Zach Nellis totaled five tackles and finished with two interceptions.
No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor tops Wisconsin-La Crosse
LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Mary Hardin-Baylor overcame a sluggish first half to pull away in the second as the Cru posted a 41-22 victory against Wisconsin-La Crosse Saturday night. UMHB improves to 3-0 on the season with the win. The loss drops the Eagles to 1-2 on the year.
The game was scoreless deep into the first quarter before Jacob O'Neill hit a 40-yard field goal to give the Cru a 3-0 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the period. Malcolm Miller's four-yard scoring run capped a 10-play, 88-yard drive to put UMHB up 10-0 with 11:43 left in the second quarter.
Joshua Fischer hit a 30-yard field goal with 6:28 left in the first half to cut the gap to 10-3. UMHB used the hurry-up offense to drive 49 yards in the final minutes and Blake Jackson hit Eric Nelson with an 18-yard scoring pass in the back on the end zone to give the Cru a 17-3 lead at halftime.
No. 4 Wesley cruises past Rowan
DOVER, Del. -- Fourth-ranked Wesley's defense allowed just 106 total yards as the Wolverines (3-0) defeated Rowan 37-7 on Saturday at Scott D. Miller Stadium. The victory was Wesley's first in eight meetings against Rowan. The Profs fall to 1-2 on the season.
The Wolverine defense, led by Sosthene Kapepula's five first half tackles, did not allow a Rowan first down until the third quarter. Leon Jones, Payton Rose and Zane Campbell had four apiece.
Quarterback Joe Callahan had another big game for the Wolverines, completing 30 of 43 passes for 364 yards and three touchdowns while hitting ten different receivers. Callahan's favorite target, Steve Koudossou, hauled in eight passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. Tory Robinson and Xavier Allen also found the end zone on passing plays.
Jamar Baynard tallied 144 all-purpose yards, carrying the ball 23 times for 87 and a score while also catching five passes for 57 yards. The Wolverines totaled 486 yards of offense on the day.
No. 5 North Central (Ill.) downs No. 7 Wisconsin-Platteville 28-7
North Central College treated its supporters to a stellar performance Saturday night, racing to an early lead and defeating seventh-ranked Wisconsin-Platteville 28-7.
The Cardinals (2-0) added the win to the second-round playoff victory they recorded against UWP last season, marking the first time in North Central's history that the Cardinals hosted the same team in two consecutive home games.
Wisconsin-Platteville threatened to turn the contest into a rout in the first period, scoring three touchdowns in less than six minutes. North Central took the game's opening drive 67 yards in nine plays to secure the game's first score, getting third-down conversions on a 16-yard pass from Dylan Wardento Peter Sorenson as well as an 11-yard run by Ryan Kent. Warden later lofted an eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kolton Kuczynski, whose first career touchdown reception gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead with 11:12 on the first-quarter clock.
No. 6 Linfield routs Redlands
REDLANDS, Calif. -- Linfield battered Redlands 36-3 Saturday night as passing combo, quarterback Sam Riddle and wideout Charlie Poppen ran circles around Redlands defenders. Trevor Hoff and the Linfield defense stymied the Bulldogs who had 128 total yards.
Riddle and Poppen combined for eight completions and two touchdowns through the air. A one-man wrecking ball, Hoff was credited with six total tackles, including two sacks and two other stops for negative yardage.
Riddle ended the night with 355 yards passing, completing 26 of 39 throws without an interception. He also rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries. Poppen totaled 106 receiving yards while Evan Peterson caught six balls for 117 yards.
No. 8 St. John Fisher erupts against Brockport
St. John Fisher erupted for 404 yards on the ground, including a game-high 187 yards from Tony Fusco, to defeat Brockport 36-20 in Courage Bowl X in front of an announced crowd of 9,220.
With the win, No. 8 Fisher is now a perfect 10-0 in Courage Bowl contests with this being the first-ever Empire 8 Conference matchup between the two squads.
Fisher improves to 2-0 on the year with the win and 1-0 in Empire 8 play while the Golden Eagles fall to 2-1 respectively.
Fusco gained 187 yards on 21 carries and scored one touchdown in each half. Freshman running back James Chambers was equally explosive and also scored two touchdowns. Chambers rushed for 126 yards on 12 carries and caught one pass for a 59-yard touchdown receptions. He also had 81 yards on kick returns.
No. 10 John Carroll handles No. 16 Heidelberg
Cleveland, Ohio -- John Carroll defeated sixteenth-ranked Heidelberg 43-16 in front of a home crowd of 3,345 students and fans at Don Shula Stadium.
In his first start of the season, senior quarterback Mark Myers was 28 of 41 for 392 yards and four touchdowns.
John Carroll's defense set the tone on the first drive of the game forcing a Heidelberg three-and-out. The Blue Streaks then punched in a score with Brenden Carozzoni and Aramis Greenwood both pulling-in 21-yard receptions to set up a 35-yard field goal from Kresimir Ivkovic.
Heidelberg, which entered the game as the nation's top-ranked scoring offense, was held to 259 yards of total offense and 10 points by John Carroll -- the nation's top ranked defense. Seven of Heidelberg 16 points came off a 100-yard interception return by linebacker Clay Staib.
