/playoffs/2017/first-round-wrapup-mount-union

Frostburg makes the call; Case sees white; Fulford starts

Snow

Case Western Reserve athletics photo
 
all wet
It was all wet at Mount Union for D'Angelo Fulford and the Purple Raiders in a 21-0 win.
Photo by Dan Poel, ohiosi.com

Frostburg State went for broke, calling for a fake punt on its own 7-yard line, and the ensuing touchdown helped the Bobcats put the game away in a first-round win at Wittenberg. It was one of two road wins in the first round in the Mount Union bracket, the lower left-hand quadrant of the playoff field.

Rather than give the ball back to Wittenberg in decent field position and a 21-7 score midway through the fourth quarter, Frostburg State made the play call of the day, and it paid off. Dante Chinnery ran 93 yards for the end zone on a fake punt and his touchdown all but sealed the upset as the No. 16 Bobcats won at the No. 12 Tigers, 35-7.

It put the capper on a day in which the Bobcats held the ball for more than 40 minutes, outgaining Wittenberg 501-251, including rolling up 385 yards rushing. Jamaal Morant had 26 carries for 168 yards and two scores, while Gavin Lavat added 96 yards and a touchdown in the win.

Frostburg State advances to play at Washington & Jefferson in the second round next week after the Presidents survived at home vs. Johns Hopkins. Mauricio Garibay had just enough leg on a 46-yard field goal attempt, by far his longest of the season, as it bounced off the crossbar and went over for a 31-28 lead with 57 seconds left. And the Presidents' defense made it stand up, sacking David Tammaro on the next three plays to finish off the victory. Alex Rowse threw three interceptions, but also had three touchdown passes, going 36-for-61 for 391 yards in his return to the lineup. Jesse Zubik had nine catches for 114 yards and two scores, while Brandon Barnes had nine catches for 103 and Cody Hearst eight for 101.

Case Western Reserve senior running back Aaron Aguilar battled both blizzard-like conditions and one of the top rushing defenses in the country, running for a career-high 136 yards and three touchdowns to lead the 16th-ranked Spartans to a 28-0 win at 11th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan. Aguilar was the unlikely hero, entering the game with just nine carries for 48 yards in 2017. However, with weather playing a major factor in the game, Aguilar emerged as the primary offensive option for CWRU in the game. Illinois Wesleyan entered Saturday having allowed just one rushing touchdown all year, and ranked fourth in Division III in rushing yards allowed per game. The quarterbacks for the two teams combined to go 15-for-45 passing for 148 yards.

On a wet day at Mount Union, with rain coming down and puddling on the field, Mount Union kept Washington & Lee off the scoreboard in a 21-0 win. Mount Union didn't even convert a third down all day, but didn't need to, as Josh Petruccelli averaged 6.2 yards a carry, going for 118 yards on 19 rushes. D'Angelo Fulford, who was picked up for a traffic violation in Stark County and held for an outstanding arrest warrant out of his home state of Florida late this week, got the start and was 4-for-9 passing for Mount Union for 80 yards, 60 of it on a touchdown pass to Jared Ruth.

 

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
Video Box Score Recap Photos
Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
Box Score Recap
Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
Box Score Recap Recap Recap Photos
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