Wesley Downs Muhlenberg 53-14
Courtesy of Wesley Athletics
DOVER, Del. - Wesley College piled up 649 yards of total offense in a 53-14 win over Muhlenberg in the first round of the NCAA Division III Football Championships.
Justin Sottilare (Columbia, Md./Oakland Mills) threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns, including three to Ellis Krout (Dallas, Texas/Roosevelt) and Askia Jahad (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) and Brandon Wright (Clayton, N.J./Clayton) both rushed for over 100 yards in the game.
The Wolverines forced a punt on the first possession by the Mules and on the third offensive play of the game for the offense, Sottilare went deep to DeAndre Fowlkes (Paulsboro, N.J./Paulsboro) for 45 yards and a 7-0 lead.
The Wolverines' next two scoring drives were each 11-play marches down the field. Sottilare and Krout hooked up for their first score of the day to give Wesley a 13-0 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Wright rushed for a 19-yard touchdown and a 19-0 lead.
Another big play extended the lead to 26-0 at the half. Sottilare hit Krout for a 58-yard touchdown after a fourth down conversion by Muhlenberg failed.
Wesley opened the second half with a 10-play drive that ended with a two-yard strike from Sottilare to Krout and a 40-0 lead.
Chris Cummings (Newark, Del./Newark) opened the fourth quarter with a 63-yard touchdown to Fowlkes.
Muhlenberg got on the board midway through the fourth quarter with a big play of their own. Dan Dieghan hit Isaiah Vaughn for a 45-yard touchdown. The Mules then recovered an onsides kick and scored six plays later on a three-yard run by Terrence Dandridge.
A 58-yard touchdown run by Jahad capped the scoring.
Jahad rushed for 140 yards on just 12 carries, while Wright tallied 104 on 17 rushes. Sottilare went 21-of-27 on the day and both Krout and Fowlkes topped 100 yards receiving.
Chris Mayes (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) had four tackles on the day, all for loss and a sack.
Deighan finished strong, completing 11 of his last 14 passes to finish 18-of-33 for 172 yards. Vaughn ended the day with 97 yards. He finished the day with a team-high 70 rushinhg yards. Dandridge was held to just 27 yards on 11 carries.
Patrick McDonough led all players with nine tackles for the Mules.
The Wolverines will host Montclair State on November 27 in the second round. The Red Hawks defeated Hampden-Sydney 16-14 in the first round.
