Top-ranked Mount Union powers past Muskingum

The Muskingum Fighting Muskies fell at home on Saturday afternoon in McConagha Stadium against the top-ranked team in NCAA Division III the Mount Union Purple Raiders, 52-10.

The Purple Raiders got off to a hot start, after the Fighting Muskies were forced to punt on their first drive of the game. Mount Union got the football at the Muskingum 37 yard line and drove down the field for a touchdown on a 22-yard pass from quarterback D'Angelo Fulford to Luke Herrington to make the score 7-0. It was all Herrington and running back Josh Petruccelli in the first half, accounting for all four Mount Union touchdowns. Petrucelli had touchdown runs of one and four yards, while Herrington caught a second touchdown on a nine-yard pass from Fulford.

The Fighting Muskies were able to get a field goal on the board from freshman kicker Gavin Costello, who made a 21-yarder late in the second quarter. This took the game into halftime at 28-3 in favor of Mount Union.

Coming out of the half, Mount Union put 10 points up on the board early in the third quarter. This came before a Costello blocked field goal by Purple Raider defensive back Gabe Brown turned into a 80-yard touchdown return for the Purple Raiders, which made the score 45-3.

Muskingum got a huge play from sophomore wide receiver Jailen Willis on the very next drive for the Muskies, as he was able to break free for a 58-yard touchdown reception from freshman quarterback Jordan Garrett.

The Fighting Muskies had a solid day on offense gaining 299 yards, with 193 of those yards coming through the air and 103 yards coming on the ground. Muskingum also controlled the time of possession, having the football for 32:24 to Mount Union's 27:36. The Muskies picked up 17 first downs in the game as well.

Sophomore quarterback Brody Hahn paced the Muskie offense throwing for 110 yards and adding 31 yards on the ground. Garrett ended the outing with 83 yards passing and one score. Senior running back Warren Wilson led the ground game with 60 yards on 14 totes, while sophomore wide out Terry Geiger had six grabs for 79 yards. Muskingum's defense was paced by senior linebacker Brandon Schon and sophomore defensive back Nehemiah Bowie who each recorded nine stops.

The win moves the Purple Raiders to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Fighting Muskies fall to 4-5 overall and 3-5 in the OAC. Muskingum plays at home in its final game of the season next week against the Capital Crusaders on Senior Day. Game time is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.