By Ryan Briggs
Grove City SID
Adamson. Ballard. Borchert. Bubonics. Moore. Pugh. For years, Mount Union's offensive standouts have gotten much of the attention and credit for the Purple Raiders' run of success. But Saturday, the Mount Union defense took its turn in the spotlight in front of a Mount Union-record crowd of 8,732.
Using a bend-but-don't-break philosophy on defense, top-ranked Mount Union blanked No. 3 Baldwin-Wallace 24-0, grabbing the inside track to yet another Ohio Athletic Conference title in both teams' OAC opener.
Baldwin-Wallace picked up 274 yards of total offense against the Mount Union defense but could not dent the scoreboard. The Yellow Jackets had scored 45 points in their opening-night win over Allegheny.
Cornerback Mike Miller and middle linebacker Shaun Spisak helped anchor the Purple Raider defensive effort. Miller had nine tackles, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal while Spisak recorded a team-high 10 stops.
"Defensively, we played an outstanding game," Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres said. "Our coordinator, Don Montgomery, and his coaches really had the kids prepared.
"Don't be mistaken, Baldwin-Wallace has an outstanding football team. To hold them down like we did was a real achievement."
Four Yellow Jacket drives ended inside the Mount Union 25 as Baldwin-Wallace missed a pair of field goals and turned the ball over on downs twice.
"We simply didn't do a good enough job in the red zone," second-year Baldwin-Wallace head coach John Snell said. "We had several opportunities and didn't get it done. I have to do a better job of coaching when we get down there and we need to execute better when we get in close."
Mount Union, meanwhile, had no difficulty in finding the end zone. Quarterbacks Zac Bruney and Jesse Burghardt both fired touchdown passes to Nick Sirianni. Bruney also connected with Joe Bugara on a 26-yard touchdown strike in the first half that gave Mount Union a 14-0 halftime lead.
Bruney finished the afternoon 11-for-16 for a career-high 179 yards while Burghardt completed five of nine attempts for 65 yards. Seven of the completions went to Sirianni for 135 yards.
The Purple Raiders picked up an additional 172 yards on the ground as halfbacks Rick Ciccone and Jeff Strauch ran for 71 and 69 yards, respectively.
The victory is the 44th in a row overall for Mount Union. Saturday's win is also Mount Union's 77th consecutive in OAC play and 86th consecutive victory during the regular season.
For Baldwin-Wallace, the Yellow Jackets will likely need to run the table in order to possibly earn a share of the conference title and/or receive an invitation to the NCAA playoffs. That will not be easy in the rugged OAC as after a home date with Heidelberg this Saturday, Baldwin-Wallace hosts No. 18 John Carroll Oct. 4. The following week, the Jackets visit Ohio Northern.
When the Scots go marching in
Wooster improved to 2-0 Saturday with a 69-7 pasting of host Bethany as standout tailback Tony Sutton amassed 295 all-purpose yards, including an 88-yard kickoff return for touchdown against the Bison.
Sutton ran for 193 yards on just 15 carries as Wooster rolled to a 35-0 halftime lead. In all, Wooster gashed Bethany for 367 yards rushing and 494 yards of total offense.
The Fighting Scot defense also got into the act as Kevin Rooker and Brian Kight each returned interceptions for touchdowns. Wooster held Bethany to just 149 yards and seven first downs in dealing the Bison their worst loss in 73 years.
Wooster kicker Richie McNally drilled nine extra points in the win, giving him a school-record 80 for his career.
NCAC: Non Conference A Concern?
Despite 2-0 starts from Wooster and Wittenberg, North Coast Athletic Conference teams are 4-14 in games against non-league foes so far this season.
Time has come today for Thiel's Chambers
But unlike the 1960s group The Chambers Brothers, Thiel sophomore wide receiver Brandon Chambers (no relation) hopes to not be a one-hit wonder after his career day at Bluffton on Saturday.
Chambers, a teammate of Thiel All-American defensive back Kennard Davis at nearby Farrell High School, keyed the Tomcats' 35-7 rout by setting a school record with 283 receiving yards, shattering Jim Kick's previous record of 215 in 1981 against Washington and Jefferson.
Chambers caught touchdown passes of 48, 49 and 57 yards from quarterback Daryl Moore. Moore finished the afternoon 12-for-21 for 302 yards and four touchdowns as Thiel evened its record at 1-1.
No letdown for Kalamazoo
One week after upsetting visiting Wabash 28-21, one could have expected Kalamazoo to possibly overlook Kenyon on Saturday. But exactly what didn't happen as Kalamazoo led 24-0 after one quarter and cruised to a 54-7 win over the Lords.
Kalamazoo amassed 591 yards and 30 first downs on the afternoon and only punted once. Quarterback Bryan Gnyp threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns in one half of action as the Hornets substituted liberally in the second half.
This week, the Hornets go on the road for the first time, as they visit Mount St. Joseph.
Spartans and Tartans stay undefeated
Both Case Western Reserve and Carnegie Mellon improved to 3-0 Saturday with wins over NCAC squads. Case Western edged Oberlin 17-10 while the Tartans rolled Hiram 59-6.
Case Western's Brandon McDowell carried the ball 39 times for 222 yards as the Spartans kept Oberlin winless.
Carnegie Mellon sprinted to a 45-0 halftime lead and coasted to the lopsided win. The Tartans ran for 435 yards and gained 578 yards in total offense.
Unlike last year, Case Western is not simply outscoring teams this year. The Spartans are holding opponents to 120 fewer yards per game so far and only 18 points per game.
On the other hand, Carnegie Mellon is using its tried-and-true formula for success -- a punishing ground game that is averaging more than five yards per carry. CMU's run-to-pass ratio is over 4-to-1 this year.
Both teams face stiff tests at home this weekend. CWRU hosts undefeated Wooster while 3-0 Johns Hopkins visits Carnegie Mellon.
Safety-first mentality
Alma picked up a pair of safeties in the first half of the Scots' 60-7 win against Manchester Saturday.
Alma opened the game's scoring when Brad Hovinga recorded a safety just 1:43 into the game. The second safety came with just 10 seconds left in the first half.
In between, Alma's Scotgun offense fired few blanks as the Scots' balanced attack chewed up 575 yards, including 311 through the air. Quarterback Josh Brehm completed 26 of 37 passes for 272 yards in leading the Scotgun.
Alma's defense limited Manchester to -41 yards rushing and just 47 total yards of offense. Manchester also went 0-for-12 on third downs against the Alma defense.
Game of the Week
Wooster (3-0) at Case Western (3-0), Cleveland: Wooster looks to enter NCAC play undefeated while Case Western seeks to make a big splash on the national scene.
Wooster tailback Tony Sutton ran for 264 yards on 30 carries in last year's meeting, a 27-22 home win for Wooster. Meanwhile, Case's Brandon McDowell ran for 108 yards and added 149 yards receiving as the Spartans out-gained Wooster 458-375.
Another shootout is certainly possible, and in all likelihood, a probability. A victory for Case Western would bolster the Spartans' hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs while Wooster wants to maintain its momentum as conference play begins Oct. 4 for the Fighting Scots.
Other games of note
Westminster (0-2) at Allegheny (0-2), Meadville, Pa.: Two proud programs are looking to avoid an 0-3 start. Neither has had an easy schedule to open the season. Westminster, six-time NAIA national champion, lost to NAIA Walsh (43-20) and Division II Mansfield, 50-17.
Allegheny, the 1990 Division III national kingpin, fell at Baldwin-Wallace in the opener 45-26 Sept. 6 before dropping a 28-23 heartstopper at Washington and Jefferson the following week. Saturday's game is the Gators' first in the Tool City this year.
Johns Hopkins (3-0) at Carnegie Mellon (3-0), Pittsburgh: Two of the nation's premier academic institutions are showing they can play some football, too. CMU is home for the third week in a row and hosts a Blue Jay squad that whipped CMU 28-7 in Baltimore last year.
This weekend also is the start of conference play in the Presidents' Athletic Conference as Grove City hosts Bethany and No. 18 Washington and Jefferson hosts Thiel. The NCAC begins conference play next Saturday, Oct. 4.
