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| Josh Petruccelli came up big in the fourth quarter as Mount Union got past Ohio Northern. Mount Union athletics photo by Haley Hunt |
Ohio Northern took No. 4 Mount Union down to the wire, the ranked Liberty League teams got a split, Johns Hopkins handled Susquehanna and Cortland secured a playoff spot in Division III football Top 25 action on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021.
The Purple Raiders game was in doubt into the final minute of the game, before Derrick Bradley picked off a ball in the end zone and helped Mount Union survive. In a season where Deandre Parker has looked at times to be the new No. 1 running back for the Purple Raiders, it was the previous RB1, Josh Petruccelli came up with the plays on the game's biggest drive. After not having had a carry since the second quarter, Petruccelli came in with the Purple Raiders sitting first-and-10 on their own 14-yard line and and picked up 32 yards on the ground, including a 1-yard touchdown run with 2:14 left to give Mount Union a 42-35 lead.
Ohio Northern quarterback Brody Hahn went 10 yards on a draw and Brock Martin took a screen pass 28 yards into Mount Union territory, but the Polar Bears were unable to finish it off, as Hahn's seeming attempt to throw the ball away ended up in Bradley's hands for an interception with 53 seconds left. The Purple Raiders picked Hahn off four times but he completed 26 of 45 for 326 yards and three scores, plus ran for a 9-yard touchdown himself that tied the game in the fourth quarter on his way to 39 yards on the ground.
Backup quarterback Matt Petercuskie threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Riley Conboy early in the fourth quarter and RPI survived when a last-minute 35-yard field goal attempt by Ithaca sailed wide left and the No. 15 Bombers were defeated 14-11. Petercuskie entered the game in the second quarter following an injury to starter George Marinopoulos and connected with an open Conboy in the right corner of the end zone with 9:16 to play in the fourth. The long pass was the final play of a six-play, 66-yard drive that featured a 30-yard, high-arching completion to Sterling Walker-Sutton down the right sideline that put Rensselaer on the 27 yard line.
Leading by three points with 2:23 to play, Rensselaer punted the ball to Ithaca, which started the drive on its own 37 yard line. Jalen Hines rushed for 10 yards and A.J. Wingfield completed passes of 14 and 9 yards for a second-and-1 at the RPI 30 yard line. Hines and Wingfield were held to a combined 12 rushing yards on the next four plays, which made it fourth-and-3 at the Engineers' 18-yard line with 34 seconds remaining. Following consecutive timeouts, the Bombers lined up for a 35-yard field goal, but the attempt by Nicholas Bahamonde hooked left and Rensselaer ran out the clock.
Rob DiGregorio kicked a 24-yard field goal with six seconds left in regulation and No. 12 Union scored first in overtime and held on to defeat Hobart 27-20. Ike Irabor ran for two touchdowns for the Dutchmen, including the game-winner, helping overcome a day in which Will Bellamy was just 9-for-25 passing for 203 yards. But Union limited Rayshawn Boswell to 33 yards on 12 carries, helping the Dutchmen improve to 8-0, 4-0 in the Liberty Leagues. Hobart fell to 6-2, 2-2. Union had the first shot of overtime and the Statesmen got a steady dose of senior Ike Irabor, as his number was called five straight times, including for 3 yards on a critical third-and-3 that moved the chains. After a pass interference call on third down gave Union new life, Irabor took the direct snap and plunged in from 2 yards out to take a 27-20 lead. Then it was Hobart's turn, and after two plays the Statesmen had first down at the 13-yard line. Three short rushes set up fourth-and-3 from the 6, and seniors Connor Fitzgerald and Austin St. Pierre combined to keep Hobart quarterback David Krewson 1 yard short to set off a celebration in Schenectady.
No. 20 Johns Hopkins jumped out to a 24-0 lead less than 21 minutes into Saturday's showdown with No. 18 Susquehanna, held off a mid-game rally by the River Hawks and picked up a crucial 38-17 win to set up a three-way tie for first in the Centennial Conference. With all but seven points of the early 24-point margin erased, the Blue Jay offense went to work and responded with a crucial 79-yard drive that Danny Wolf closed with his fourth touchdown of the game – this one from 2 yards out – that pushed the lead back to 13 (30-17). The decisive play in the game came on the 10th play of Susquehanna's ensuing possession as the Blue Jay defense came up with another forced turnover. Luke Schuermann forced a fumble that was recovered by senior Joe Tischler and converted into a final touchdown. Wolf finished with 26 carries for 140 yards and the four TDs.
Cortland improved to 8-0 overall and clinched the automatic bid from the Empire 8 as the Red Dragons rolled past Alfred 47-3. Cortland has a one-game lead on both Alfred and Brockport and has one conference game left before the regular season-ending Cortaca Jug game against Ithaca. The Alfred-Brockport game could clinch a tie for the title if Cortland loses, but Cortland has beaten each of them head to head. Jaden Alfanostjohn ran for two touchdowns and Brees Segala ran for one and threw for two in the win.
UW-Stout hadn't even had a lead against UW-Oshkosh since 2012, but the Blue Devils nearly came away with the win before the No. 21 Titans rallied for a 43-36 victory in a wild finish in Menomonie, Wisconsin. The teams combined for four touchdowns and three two-point conversions in the final four minutes of the game. After Stout took a 28-27 lead with 3:44 left, Oshkosh's Kobe Berghammer took matters into his own hands, running for a 42-yard gain and a 28-yard score to help his team retake the lead at 35-28. Stout quarterback Sean Borgerding returned the favor, going 5-for-5 on the ensuing drive. He hit Tyler Seymour for a big gainer up the left sideline to get the Blue Devils to the 4, and Borgerding found Arthur Cox out of the backfield with 1:12 left, then floated one to him again for the two-point conversion, up for grabs in the back of the end zone for the 36-35 lead. Berghammer had the answer, however. He hit Tony Steger wide open over the middle on the next possession, and Steger stiff-armed a defender en route to a 68-yard touchdown pass, allowing Oshkosh to survive, 43-36.
Blake Rybar racked up four and a half tackles for loss and the Linfield defense registered seven sacks as the No. 7-ranked Wildcats cruised past George Fox by a 38-7 score. The Bruins managed just 136 yards of total offense, including just 1 yard on 27 rushing attempts. Nearly half of those yards came in the final six minutes of the game, leading up to GFU's touchdown with 2:05 remaining. Wyatt Smith was 29-for-40 passing for 239 yards and two touchdowns.
Belhaven dominated the time of possession and used that to keep the score low, but No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor never let the Blazers get on the board in a 29-0 win. With Ryan Redding at quarterback, UMHB compiled just 291 yards of total offense, including 8-for-20 passing, and the Cru defense racked up 10 tackles for loss.
Freshman backup Brady Ketchum combined with starter Blaine Hawkins to fire a team record nine touchdown passes as Central sprinted past winless Luther 76-13. Central, 8-0 overall, is 6-0 in American Rivers play with two league games remaining and holds a two-game lead in the standings over Buena Vista, Coe, Dubuque and Wartburg, who each stand 4-2. Hawkins had his usual six touchdown passes in the first half — the fourth time in five games he's reached that number before intermission — then ran for a score before calling it a day following the opening drive of the third quarter.
Marietta scored the first 14 points of the game, but No. 23 Baldwin Wallace rallied to tie the game on the final play of the first half, then kicked a 36-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to get past the Pioneers 24-21. The Yellow Jackets (7-1, 6-1 OAC) got 139 yards on the ground from quarterback Reese Wamer and another 130 and a touchdown from Jon Murray Jr. in the win. After Dean Sarris' 36-yard field goal gave BW the lead with 14:57 to play, Marietta (3-5, 3-4) had two possessions but never got closer than the Yellow Jacket 46.
Justin Huss accounted for a pair of first half touchdowns and the W&J defense picked off Grove City quarterback Josh Ehst four times in a 28-24 victory. Huss returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to push the Presidents' lead back out to 14 midway through the second quarter and Grove City kicked a field goal in the third and put a touchdown up in the fourth but could get no closer as Ehst was picked off twice down the stretch. The loss knocked Grove City out of the four-way tie for first in the PAC, with W&J, Carnegie Mellon and Westminster (Pa.) each at 6-1 in league play.
No. 10 Delaware Valley's defense held Lebanon Valley to 23 yards on 38 plays and and the defense outscored the Flying Dutchmen by itself in a 31-3 victory. Anthony Nobile returned a fumble 19 yards for a score and the Aggies held Lebanon Valley to no yards on 28 rushes. The win gives Duke Greco 67 in seven seasons and makes him the Aggies' all-time winningest coach, passing Jim Clements, who immediately preceded Greco and went 66-24 in eight seasons.
No. 11 Salisbury has hardly missed a beat without Jack Lanham under center, as Billy Gant threw for 116 yards and the Sea Gulls' option offense rolled up 431 yards at more than 8 yards per carry in an 84-14 win against Christopher Newport. Eleven players got carries for Salisbury, with nobody getting more than eight. Eight players scored touchdowns in the win.