/playoffs/2019/first-round-wrapup-mount-union

Mount Union bracket: Del Val rallies, rest roll

John Davis had a big fourth-quarter touchdown to give Delaware Valley the lead.
Delaware Valley athletics file photo
 

Mount Union and North Central set up a powerful second-round matchup, while Delaware Valley rallied to set up a second-round rematch against Wesley in first-round action in the lower right-hand bracket of the 2019 Division III NCAA playoffs.

Delaware Valley flipped a nine-point deficit to a 30-22 victory at Bridgewater and the Aggies earned their first ever road playoff victory and a rematch against Wesley in the second round. Trailing 19-10 late in the third, Delaware Valley quarterback Anthony Fontana threw the ball to Mario Nigro who spun away from two tacklers and ran for a 48-yard touchdown. The Aggies took the lead when Fontana hit John Davis for a touchdown from 19 yards out and then built on the lead when Bridgewater fumbled the ball inside their own 20 and Vincent DiLeo returned it 16 yards for the score.

Delaware Valley used seven ball carriers to out gain the Eagles 170-31 on the ground. Defensive end Michael Nobile had seven tackles, three for loss and two sacks for the Aggies. Bridgewater's Jarrod Denham had 216 yards on kick returns, including an 87-yard touchdown and a 59-yard return to set up a field goal.

Delaware Valley will likely travel to Wesley for the second round, setting up a rematch of the teams that played to a 24-18 quadruple-overtime for Wesley in Week 2. Hosts for each game will be announced officially by the NCAA on Sunday.

Wesley had an easy time of it in the first career start for Wolverines freshman quarterback Drew Fry. Marcellus Pack took back the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown and Fry made it look easy from there, completing 24 of 28 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns in a 58-21 win against Framingham State. Coray Williams had an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown to give Wesley a 58-7 lead going into the fourth quarter, where Framingham scored twice, the last one with four seconds left in the game for the final margin.

Williams had two of Wesley's four interceptions on the afternoon, while Shaq Brittingham had two and a half of the Wolverines' nine tackles for loss. Wesley, the No. 2 seed, improved to 10-1, while No. 7 seed Framingham fell to 8-3.

Ethan Greenfield ran for 301 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries and had four catches for 27 yards as well as his North Central Cardinals ran past Wabash 51-15 in a first-round game in Naperville, Illinois.

Greenfield scored three touchdowns in the first quarter alone, but Wabash stayed in the game. Three Schuyler Nerig field goals kept the Little Giants within shouting distance, trailing 28-15 iearly in the third quarter, but North Central (10-1) scored the final 23 points to win. That included a 30-yard touchdown pass from Broc Rutter to Andrew Kamienski early in the fourth quarter for Rutter's only passing TD of the afternoon. Rutter finished 17-for-19 passing for 230 yards in the victory. Isaac Avant and Ike James combined for 125 yards on 30 carries for the Little Giants (7-4).

"It was a good feeling from the get-go, seeing the huge holes our offensive line was opening up," Greenfield said. "As a collective unit, we all just had a great game. There have been a ton of great backs to come through here, and to see my name up with theirs is really a blessing, because they paved the way for this program and how great it is and how we run the ball. Hopefully, I brought honor to them."

D'Angelo Fulford threw for four touchdowns and Josh Petruccelli ran for three as Mount Union scored the first 21 points and cruised to a 65-14 win vs. Hanover in a first-round game in Aliance, Ohio. Derrick Harvey had three touchdown catches in the first 17 minutes of the game, and Justin Hill caught 10 passes for 175 yards and a score. Mitch O'Hara and Andrew Roesch each had a sack, and Harry Bowker and Craig Jones had an interception apiece for Mount Union (11-0) as Hanover (9-2) was held to 80 yards of total offense, minus-11 on the ground.

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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