TIFFIN, Ohio -- Top-ranked Mount Union extended the nation's longest win streak to 23 games with a 44-34 win at No. 9 Heidelberg in an Ohio Athletic Conference game on Saturday.
It was also the 81st consecutive regular-season win for the Purple Raiders (8-0, 7-0 OAC) as they won their 114th consecutive regular season road game dating back to 1991.
Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke tossed four touchdown passes as he completed 16-of-22 passes for 310 yards while freshman running back Bradley Mitchell rushed for 152 yards on 27 carries in his second start to pace an offense that had 654 yards of offense. Jack Nicholls had six catches for a career-best 125 yards and Luc Meacham had three catches for 100 yards.
The Purple Raider defense held the nation's top-scoring team to 20 points below its average while keeping the conference's leading rusher Cartel Brooks to 68 yards rushing on 26 carries.
Josh Scott had a career-best 11 tackles and his interception with eight minutes to play kept the lead at 10 points. Linebacker Jonathan Gonnell had seven stops while fellow linebacker LeShawn Luke had a fumble recovery.
Heidelberg (7-1, 6-1 OAC) got 327 yards passing from quarterback Michael Mees and the 34 points scored was the most against a Mount Union defense in a regular season since John Carroll scored 57-51 in a triple-overtime Raider win in 1999.
No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor 80, Howard Payne 0
BELTON, Texas -- Mary Hardin-Baylor scored a defensive touchdown on the game's opening series and then added another score on its first offensive play as the Cru steamrolled to an 80-0 victory against Howard Payne on Saturday afternoon. UMHB improves to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops the Yellow Jackets to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in ASC play.
The Cru rolled up 323 rushing yards and 531 yards of total offense despite having the ball for just 24:57. UMHB did not turn the ball over while forcing five Howard Payne turnovers. The Cru defense held the Yellow Jackets to just 79 yards rushing, 65 passing yards and 144 yards of total offense in the game.
Anderson finished 2-of-5 passing for 117 yards and two touchdowns and Gallagher went 2-2 for 58 yards and two scores. Anderson also ran for 64 yards and a score. Hudson finished with 69 yards on 10 carries and Walker caught four passes for 59 yards and a score. Deshon Kinsey had eight tackles for UMHB and Eric Allen, Brodrick Crain and Cody Jones added seven stops apiece. Mullins returned an interception for a score for the second consecutve game.
The 80 points scored are the second-highest total in UMHB history, trailing the 81 scored in a victory against Texas Lutheran in 2010. The margin of victory is the highest in the 16-year history of the program. The Cru played all 80 players in uniform in the game with nine players carrying the ball, three quarterbacks throwing passes and five receivers catching at least one pass. Thirty-two different players posted tackles for UMHB in the win.
The Cru has now won 42 consecutive regular-season games and 30 ASC contests in a row.
No. 3 Linfield 56, Williamette 15
SALEM, Ore. -- Quarterback Josh Yoder ran for four touchdowns and passed for two other scores and No. 3 Linfield riddled the 25th-ranked Willamette Bearcats for 451 rushing yards and 622 yards of offense en route to a 56-15 Northwest Conference victory Saturday at McCullouch Stadium.
Yoder gained a career-high 175 yards on the ground and completed 13 of 20 passes for another 171 yards for the unbeaten Wildcats, who improved 7-0 for the season and moved within one victory of securing at least a share of their fifth consecutive NWC crown. The Bearcats lost their second contest in a row after a 5-0 start, both defeats coming at the hands of nationally-ranked teams.
Willamette enjoyed a glimmer of optimism early in the game, snatching a 7-0 lead, before Linfield responded with 42 unanswered points to win handily.
Senior tailback Josh Hill enjoyed his best game of the season, carrying 23 times for 164 yards and one touchdown. He also caught four passes for 37 yards. Tavon Willis added 46 yards on nine carries while Spencer Payne ran for 38 yards on four carries in relief.
Linfield piled up 622 yards on the WU defense, mostly on improvisational rushing plays by Yoder, who carried a game- and career-high 26 times. Willamette ended the game with 256 yards. With 89 yards rushing, the Bearcats became the sixth Linfield opponent to gain fewer than 100 yards on the ground.
No. 4 North Central (Ill.) 46, No. 12 Illinois Wesleyan 17
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- North Central (Ill.) broke open a close game with a fourth-quarter surge and posted a 46-17 victory against College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) rival Illinois Wesleyan at Tucci Stadium on Saturday.
The fourth-ranked Cardinals (8-0, 5-0 CCIW) were pitted against a nationally-ranked opponent for the first time this season, as IWU came into the game ranked 12th in the AFCA coaches' poll. North Central led nearly the whole afternoon and scored the final 24 points, including three touchdowns in a six-minute stretch of the fourth quarter.
North Central owned a 527-283 advantage in total yards, limiting the Titans to 36 rushing yards. Spencer Stanek completed 32 of 45 passes for 337 yards, finishing just one completion short of the Cardinals' single-game record. Ryan Kent ran 20 times for a season-high 143 yards, while Chad O'Kane caught eight passes for 104 yards and Peter Sorenson gained 77 yards on seven catches. Shane Dierking, who is now just one interception short of the Cardinals' career record of 15, led North Central with 11 tackles, while Adam Szudarski totaled three tackles for loss.
Gallik completed 26 of 43 passes for 247 yards for the Titans, throwing seven times to Alex Garvey for 70 yards. Connor Klein made 12 tackles and Chris Simms made 11 stops for IWU.
North Central has now beaten the Titans in 10 of the past 11 meetings, including the last four in a row by an aggregate score of 152-24.
No. 5 Wisconsin-Whitewater 35, No. 7 Wisconsin-Platteville 16
WHITEWATER, Wis. -- The Wisconsin-Whitewater defense, second in NCAA Division III scoring-against, held Wisconsin-Platteville thirty points under the Pioneers' season average in a 35-16 homecoming win before 12,028 fans in Perkins Stadium Saturday. Sophomore running back Jordan Ratliffe rushed for a season-high 175 yards and sophomore receiver Joe Worth caught three Matt Behrendt touchdown passes for the Warhawks, now 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Wisconsin State University Conference. UW-Platteville suffers its first loss and is 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the WIAC.
Platteville, which came into the game sixth in Division III at 519.6 yards per game, totaled 271 against Whitewater. The Pioneers' previous low output of the season was 378 yards in a win against UW-Stevens Point. Whitewater's defense also caused five turnovers, the most by UW-Platteville this season.
No. 6 Hobart 41, Union (N.Y.) 20
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Senior running back Steven Webb ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 6 Hobart to a 41-20 Liberty League football victory at Union's Frank Bailey Field on Saturday. Webb tied a pair of Hobart career records, while Statesmen special teams broke the game record by blocking three punts.
Webb had 23 carries and recorded his 14th career 100-yard game for Hobart. Junior quarterback Patrick Conlan was 10-of-18 for 194 yards with two touchdowns and an interception and junior wideout Elvin Souffrant caught five passes for 94 yards. Troy Robinson had four catches for 52 yards with a TD and John Fasano had a 48-yard TD reception for the Statesmen (7-0, 5-0).
Senior linebacker Cory Davis led the visitors with eight tackles and sophomore linebacker Trayvon Toney and senior linebacker Devin Worthington added seven tackles each. Worthington was credited with half a tackle for loss, raising his career total to 57.5, 1.5 off of Rob Gould's career record. First-year Gabriel Smith blocked two punts, returning one for a touchdown. He has three blocked kicks this season, one shy of Tom Schmidt's 27-year old record.
Union quarterback Nick Becker was 25-of-41 for 202 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Brian Havlicek caught five passes for 69 yards and was one of 11 Dutchmen receivers. Joshua Callahan added 50 yards on three receptions. T.J. Franzese led the Union ground game with 45 yards on 12 carries. Tyler Valenti posted a game-high nine tackles and Casey Muse had eight with 1.5 tackles for loss.
No. 8 Bethel (Minn.) 55, Hamline 6
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Quarterback Erik Peterson finished Saturday's conference tilt 18-of-23 for 282 yards, zero interceptions and three touchdowns to help Bethel rout Hamline on the road 55-6. Meanwhile, the Royals' (8-0, 6-0 MIAC) defense held the Pipers' (2-6, 1-5 MIAC) offense to just 12 first downs and 252 total yards.
Peterson's day was highlighted with a 55-yard touchdown to Jay Hilbrands on the first play of the second drive, which put Bethel ahead for good 14-0. In fact, Peterson helped facilitate touchdowns on the Royals initial six drives of the game and eight of the total ten possessions. BU's balanced attack put up 20 points in the opening frame, followed by 14 in the second quarter to give themselves a 34-6 cushion at the midway mark.
Bethel's quarterback found eight different receivers, including Hilbrands, who finished with four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown, and Mitch Hallstrom, who hauled in four passes for 57 yards. Freshman tight end Drew Neuville caught Peterson's other two touchdown passes in the first halfâending the contest with two grabs for 48 yards and two scores.
Eight different Royal players carried the ball against Hamline, with Brandon Marquardt leading the pack. Marquardt finished with nine rushes for 71 yards and two touchdowns. Marshall Klitzke carried the rock 11 times for 45 yards and a score. Overall, Bethel rushed for 224 yards on 36 carries with five touchdowns. The Royals averaged 6.2 yards per play on the ground.
Luke Buttenhoff and Daniel Leidall led the Bethel defense with nine tackles each, including five solo stops. Buttenhoff was one of seven BU players to record at least a half-tackle for loss. The Royals ended the day with five tackles for loss, resulting in 15 negative yards. Landen Strilzuk recorded the only turnover on the day, as he intercepted Hamline quarterback Gabe Martinez in the second quarter. In addition to Buttenhoff and Leidall, Seth Mathis and Josh Treimer wrapped up eight and seven tackles, respectively.
With the win, Bethel improves to 8-0 on the season and 6-0 against league opponents.
No. 10 Johns Hopkins 24, Ursinus 18
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Down by eight entering the fourth quarter, 10th-ranked Johns Hopkins got a pair of touchdowns from senior wide receiver Dan Wodicka as the Blue Jays rallied past Ursinus 24-18 at Homewood Field on Saturday afternoon. The win improves the Blue Jays' record to 8-0 overall and 7-0 in the Centennial Conference and secures at least a share of the conference title for the fifth consecutive year.
Johns Hopkins held a 429-323 advantage in total offense as the Blue Jays ran 92 plays to just 65 for the Bears and controlled the ball for nearly 35 minutes (34:56).
Brandon Cherry led a Johns Hopkins ground game that rolled up 242 yards as he posted his third consecutive 100-yard rushing game with 122 yards on the day. Stuart Walters added 66 yards on just nine carries and Abbott chipped in with 33 yards and the one touchdown on eight carries.
Robbie Matey was 20-of-33 for 184 yards with the two fourth quarter touchdown passes to Wodicka, who had five receptions for 65 yards. Bradley Munday had a career-high eight receptions for 54 yards.
