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Mount Union 49 Capital 7 by Ric Brienza |
A record Bernlohr Stadium crowd of 3,649 saw Mount Union take control of the game late in the second quarter when an unforced miscue by the Capital special teams allowed the Purple Raiders to score twice in a 25-second span. First came junior wide receiver Scott Casto's first career rushing touchdown on a 13-yard reverse with 1:08 remaining to make it 14-0. The key to this score might have come three and a half minutes earlier when senior punter Steve Watson got off a 59-yard punt that was downed at the Capital four-yard line. Three plays and a loss of two yards later the Crusaders were punting out of their endzone. So the ensuing touchdown drive was a short one, six-plays, 39-yards, taking just 2:25 off the clock.
The Crusaders then fumbled the kickoff when attempting a reverse on the return. The football was recovered by senior Jesse Clum at the Capital three-yard line. Two plays later senior quarterback Zac Bruney took it in from a yard out and just like that it was 21-0 Mount Union at halftime, and Big Mo went directly to the Raiders locker room. Mount Union opened the game with an impressive 10-play, 62-yard drive that stalled at the Capital four almost five minutes into the contest. Senior place kicker George Wilders missed a 21-yard field goal attempt from a bad angle as the ball was placed on the left hashmark. The Crusaders' first possession ended when senior quarterback Josh Reger intercepted a Rocky Pentello pass at the Raiders' 40. It was the Capital quarterbacks first interception of the season. Mount Union then
got on the board with 39-seconds remaining in the first quarter on senior
running back Rick Ciccone's one-yard run. The score capped a 13-play,
60-yard drive. Ciccone had 87 rushing yards The Raiders defense sacked Pentello five times in the first half and limited Capital's offense to minus six-yards rushing on 17 attempts. Jeff Strauch left the game late in the first quarter after just five carries for 39 yards, a 7.8 yards per carry average. The senior running back's injury is not serious and he is not expected to miss much time. The third stanza was a defensive one in which the teams traded punts. Five consecutive drives ended in a punt until Mount Union began a march with 4:28 remaining in the quarter at the Capital 49-yard line. The good starting field position was set up following senior Jason Cavell's 26-yard punt return. The Raiders went the distance in eight plays, taking 3:05 off the clock. Bruney scored on a keeper from seven-yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the day, and of the year. The senior quarterback finished with 48 rushing yards on eight attempts and was not sacked once. He also completed 12 of 22 passes for 161 yards with one touchdown and a interception.
The touchdown pass came on a 64-yard pass play to Scott Casto when the receiver came wide open on blown coverage with 12:57 remaining in the game. It finished a five-play, 85-yard drive that opened the flood gates as Mount Union turned a respectable game into a blowout, scoring 21-points in the final period. Casto had a game high 85 receiving yards on three catches. Cavell added 22 yards on three grabs and senior tight end Drew Hanley had one catch for 24 yards. The Raiders final two scores both came on long drives in which they did not attempt a pass. Junior running back Aaron Robinson broke off an 81-yard run to the Capital 12. He scored his first career Mount Union touchdown four plays later from a yard out, capping a five-play, 93-yard drive. Robinson finished the day with a game and career high 137 rushing yards on 11 attempts, and added one reception for five yards. The final score
of the day was also a career first, as junior fullback Kelechi Ibeh scored
on a four-yard run with 1:50 remaining. That score finished off a
seven-play, 75-yard drive, making it 49-7. Ibeh tallied 39 rushing
yards on just five attempts in the contest. Capital's lone score came with 5:24 left when Charlie Smith scored from a yard out, finishing off a six-play, 60-yard drive that broke the shutout. For the game, Capital managed just two net yards rushing on 38 attempts. Mount Union rushed for a season high 368 yards on 51 tries. The Crusaders managed 235 total yards compared to the Purple Raiders 529. Mount Union totaled eight quarterback sacks in the contest and was plus one in turnover ratio. Defensively, senior middle linebacker Shaun Spisak led the way with nine tackles and two sacks, while senior defensive end Johnny Josef added six tackles and one sack. The Purple
Raiders move to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play with the win.
Mount Union returns home to face Wilmington next Saturday at Mount Union
Stadium. The Quakers will enter the contest 2-2 Last year, Mount Union defeated Wilmington 58-0, and has dominated the series that dates back to 1968, winning the first six games by an average final score of 55-2. The closest game in the series came in 2000 when the Raiders won 42-7 at Mount Union Stadium. Scoring SummaryScoring Summary (Final)
2004 Capital University Football
Mount Union vs Capital (10/02/04 at Columbus, Ohio)
Mount Union (4-0,3-0) vs. Capital (3-1,2-1)
Date: 10/02/04 Site: Columbus, Ohio Stadium: Bernlohr Stadium
Attendance: 3649
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Mount Union......... 7 14 7 21 - 49
Capital............. 0 0 0 7 - 7
Scoring Summary:
1st 00:39 MTU - Rick Ciccone 1 yd run (George Wilders kick)
13 plays, 60 yards, TOP 4:38, MTU 7 - CAP 0
2nd 01:08 MTU - Scott Casto 13 yd run (George Wilders kick)
6 plays, 39 yards, TOP 2:25, MTU 14 - CAP 0
00:43 MTU - Zac Bruney 1 yd run (George Wilders kick)
2 plays, 3 yards, TOP 0:20, MTU 21 - CAP 0
3rd 01:23 MTU - Zac Bruney 7 yd run (George Wilders kick)
8 plays, 49 yards, TOP 3:05, MTU 28 - CAP 0
4th 12:57 MTU - Scott Casto 64 yd pass from Zac Bruney (George Wilders kick)
5 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:57, MTU 35 - CAP 0
06:46 MTU - Aaron Robinson 1 yd run (George Wilders kick)
5 plays, 93 yards, TOP 2:34, MTU 42 - CAP 0
05:24 CAP - Charlie Smith 1 yd run (Tyler Kazee kick)
6 plays, 60 yards, TOP 1:14, MTU 42 - CAP 7
01:50 MTU - Kelechi Ibeh 4 yd run (George Wilders kick)
7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:28, MTU 49 - CAP 7
Kickoff time: 1:30 pm End of Game: 4:35 pm Total elapsed time: 3:05
Officials: Referee: Savage; Umpire: Carder; Linesman: Last;
Line judge: Torres; Field judge: Kv Katafias; Side judge: Karabin;
Temperature: 60 F Wind: 0-5 Weather: Partly Sunny
Bernlohr Stadium attendance record (3649)
Mount Union wins 97th straight regular season game
Mount Union wins 88th straight OAC game
Both teams nationally ranked Mount Union No. 1; Capital No.4
Team StatisticsTeam Statistics (Final)
2004 Capital University Football
Mount Union vs Capital (10/02/04 at Columbus, Ohio)
MTU CAP
FIRST DOWNS................... 25 18
Rushing..................... 18 7
Passing..................... 7 11
Penalty..................... 0 0
Rushing Attempts.............. 51 31
Yards Gained Rushing.......... 376 80
Yards Lost Rushing............ 8 78
NET YARDS RUSHING............. 368 2
NET YARDS PASSING............. 161 233
Passes Attempted............ 22 43
Passes Completed............ 12 22
Had Intercepted............. 1 1
TOTAL OFFENSIVE PLAYS......... 73 74
TOTAL NET YARDS............... 529 235
Average Gain Per Play....... 7.2 3.2
Fumbles: Number-Lost.......... 1-0 2-1
Penalties: Number-Yards....... 4-35 2-10
Number of Punts-Yards......... 3-128 6-243
Average Per Punt............ 42.7 40.5
Punt Returns: Number-Yards.... 3-37 2-4
Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards. 2-46 7-74
Interceptions: Number-Yards... 1-0 1-14
Fumble Returns: Number-Yards.. 0-0 0-0
Miscellaneous Yards........... 0 0
Possession Time............... 32:01 27:59
Third-Down Conversions........ 8 of 13 4 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 1 of 1 2 of 4
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 6-7 1-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 8-69 0-0
Individual StatisticsIndividual Statistics (Final)
2004 Capital University Football
Mount Union vs Capital (10/02/04 at Columbus, Ohio)
Mount UnionRushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
--------------------------------------------
Aaron Robinson 11 143 6 137 1 81 12.5
Rick Ciccone 20 89 2 87 1 16 4.3
Zac Bruney 8 48 0 48 2 12 6.0
Jeff Strauch 5 39 0 39 0 16 7.8
Kelechi Ibeh 5 39 0 39 1 24 7.8
Scott Casto 1 13 0 13 1 13 13.0
Brett Jordan 1 5 0 5 0 5 5.0
Totals... 51 376 8 368 6 81 7.2
Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
--------------------------------------------
Zac Bruney 22-12-1 161 1 64 0
Totals... 22-12-1 161 1 64 0
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
-----------------------------------
Rick Ciccone 4 25 0 10
Scott Casto 3 85 1 64
Jason Cavell 3 22 0 12
Drew Hanley 1 24 0 24
Aaron Robinson 1 5 0 5
Totals... 12 161 1 64
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20
-----------------------------------------
Steve Watson 3 128 42.7 59 1
Totals... 3 128 42.7 59 1
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
---------------------------------------------
Scott Casto 0 0 0 1 14 14 0 0 0
Jason Cavell 3 37 26 0 0 0 0 0 0
Aaron Robinson 0 0 0 1 32 32 0 0 0
Josh Reger 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Totals... 3 37 26 2 46 32 1 0 0
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
George Wilders 1st 10:08 21 yds - Missed
FUMBLES: Mount Union-Aaron Robinson 1-0. Capital-Thom Hausler 2-1.
CapitalRushing No Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg
--------------------------------------------
Charlie Smith 7 31 4 27 1 20 3.9
Colin O'Reilly 9 30 5 25 0 11 2.8
Jeremy Mulkey 4 10 0 10 0 4 2.5
Jason Bainum 1 8 0 8 0 8 8.0
Michael Kernik 1 0 3 -3 0 0 -3.0
Rocky Pentello 9 1 66 -65 0 1 -7.2
Totals... 31 80 78 2 1 20 0.1
Passing Att-Cmp-Int Yds TD Long Sack
--------------------------------------------
Rocky Pentello 42-21-1 228 0 29 7
Matt Friesner 1-1-0 5 0 5 0
Michael Kernik 0-0-0 0 0 0 1
Totals... 43-22-1 233 0 29 8
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
-----------------------------------
Matt Cesaratto 5 73 0 25
Matt Friesner 5 56 0 29
Kyle Rankin 4 38 0 17
M. Niedzwiecki 3 20 0 9
Ricky Shafer 2 25 0 15
Charlie Smith 2 16 0 8
Rocky Pentello 1 5 0 5
Totals... 22 233 0 29
Punting No. Yds Avg Long In20
-----------------------------------------
Andrew Gerber 6 243 40.5 49 1
Totals... 6 243 40.5 49 1
Punts Kickoffs Intercept
All Returns No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg No.Yds.Lg
---------------------------------------------
Kyle Hausler 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 14 14
Tyler Kazee 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Jeremy Mulkey 0 0 0 1 18 18 0 0 0
Thom Hausler 2 4 3 5 56 25 0 0 0
Totals... 2 4 3 7 74 25 1 14 14
Field goal attempts
----------------------------------------
FUMBLES: Mount Union-Aaron Robinson 1-0. Capital-Thom Hausler 2-1.
Defensive StatisticsDefensive Statistics (Final)
2004 Capital University Football
Mount Union vs Capital (10/02/04 at Columbus, Ohio)
Mount Union
## Player Solo Ast Tot TFL/Yds FF FR-Yd Intc BrUp Blkd Sack/Yds QH
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
44 Shaun Spisak 6 3 9 1/9 . . . . . 2/9 .
99 Johnny Josef 6 . 6 2/13 . . . . . 1/8 .
28 Anthony Frate 5 . 5 1/18 . . . . . 1/18 .
9 Wade Kirk 5 . 5 . . . . 1 . / .
97 Jesse Wells 4 1 5 2/10 . . . . . 1/8 .
20 Ross Watson 4 . 4 . . . . . . / .
1 Jamoni Robinson 4 . 4 . . . . . . / .
40 Mike Gibbons 3 1 4 . . . . . . / .
10 Jesse Clum 3 1 4 . . 1-0 . . . / .
5 Justen Stickley 3 . 3 2/7 . . . 2 . 1/5 .
31 M. DeAngelis 3 . 3 1/3 . . . . . 1/3 .
90 Josh Ludwig 3 . 3 1/14 . . . . . 1/14 .
17 Ken Whitfield 3 . 3 . . . . . . / .
84 Greg Brauer 1 2 3 1/4 . . . . . 2/4 .
3 Josh Reger 2 . 2 . . . 1-0 . . / .
6 Michael Jorris 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
42 Joe Culler 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
38 P. Dannemiller 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
75 Derek Blanchard 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
19 Robert McDavid . 1 1 . . . . . . / .
Capital
## Player Solo Ast Tot TFL/Yds FF FR-Yd Intc BrUp Blkd Sack/Yds QH
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Joel Ruetty 9 2 11 . . . . . . / .
91 Joel Sickmeier 9 1 10 1/2 . . . . . / .
24 Thom Hausler 7 1 8 . . . . . . / .
51 Bart Sparhawk 6 1 7 . . . . . . / .
44 Matt Evans 5 . 5 . . . . . . / .
19 M. McDonough 5 . 5 . . . . . . / .
42 Sam Abdullah 3 2 5 . . . . . . / .
99 Zac McKenzie 3 . 3 . . . . . . / .
11 James Hairston 3 . 3 . . . . . . / .
92 Marty O'Malley 2 1 3 . . . . . . / .
26 Kyle Hausler 2 . 2 . . . 1-14 . . / .
14 Michael Kernik 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
93 Blake Evans 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
54 Sean Grinch 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
86 Aaron Basha 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
33 Ben Barlow 1 . 1 . . . . . . / .
34 Evan Circle . 1 1 . . . . . . / .
35 Josh Knoop . . . . . . . 1 . / .
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The talk of Mount Union's football team
becoming mortal after its loss to St. John's in last year's Stagg Bowl is
officially over following its 49-7 victory over Capital Saturday.
The Crusaders, ranked as high as fourth in one Division III football poll
entering the contest, suffered its worse home loss since dropping a 58-7
decision to Mount Union in 1998. 
on 20 carries and added 25 receiving yards on four receptions on the day.
overall and 2-1 in
conference play following its 26-14 victory over Heidelberg Saturday.
Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.