Alliance, OH - Coming off a 74-7 victory against an undefeated (at the time) Muskingum University, the Mount Union Purple Raiders set their sights on the 1-3 Ohio Northern Polar Bears, as they welcomed their Ohio Athletic Conference foe to Kehres Stadium for Homecoming Weekend. What a difference a week can make, as this time, it wasn't until under 1:30 left in the opening half before there was any score, with Braxton Plunk connecting with familiar target Wayne Ruby for a Raiders touchdown. The reception ties Ruby with Cecil Shorts III for the Mt. Union career lead in Touchdown receptions with 63.
The only other true scoring threat in the opening 30 minutes was when Mount Union lined up for a 38-yard field goal attempt. The attempt was blocked by Ohio Northern, giving them the ball with the score still deadlocked at nil.
While turnovers were the name of the game last week, the Mount Union defense took a more traditional approach this time out, relying more on good tackling and the occasional tackle for loss as opposed to the opportunistic change of possession. While Ohio Northern was able to piece together a few first downs on some of their earlier drives, the drives stalled soon after reaching Mount Union territory.
Coming out of the half, the game took a more predictable turn for the men in purple. With 8:48 left in the 3rd, DeAndre Parker rumbled in from 4 yards out for the Raiders touchdown, capping an 8 play, 50 yard drive. Next possession it was Tyler Echeverry busting through the line on a 4th and 3 and taking it in from 33 yards out to extend it to 21-0. DeAndre Parker again found pay dirt to the tune of 1 yard, pushing through after being stonewalled on the previous two attempts, extending the lead to 28-0 with under a minute to go in the 3rd.
It was Parker again in the 4th quarter, running it in from 20 yards out to extend the Raiders lead to 35-0 with 7:29 left in the game. The defense continued their stingy afternoon, halting the Polar Bear offense before they could get anything going.
The victory moves the Purple Raiders to 4-0 overall, and 3-0 in conference play. They are on the road next week as they travel to Heidelberg to face the Student Prince.
Mount Union Stats:
QB Braxton Plunk 17-27 163 yards, 1 TD
RB DeAndre Parker 20 attempts 133 yards, 3 TD
RB Tyler Echeverry 11 attempts 72 yards, 1 TD
WR Wayne Ruby Jr. 3 receptions, 55 yard, 1 TD
WR Ray Williams 6 receptions 48 yards
LB Mason McMillen 17 tackles (career high), 1 sack
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