#2 Mount Union Mauls Marietta

Mount Union held Marietta to 104 total yards and defeated the Pioneers 62-0 in an Ohio Athletic Conference football game on Saturday, before 4,223 at Mount Union Stadium.

The Purple Raiders (5-0, 4-0 OAC), ranked No. 2 by the AFCA and d3football.com, led 21-0 after one quarter and went on to extend its regular-season winning streak to 58 games, its home-game winning streak to 53 games, and it's OAC winning streak to 46 games.

Marietta is 1-4, 0-4.

Mount Union junior running back Jeremy Murray (Martins Ferry/Martins Ferry) rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.  It was his fifth straight 100 yard game and passed Dave McLaughlin for fifth place on Mount Union's career rushing list, with 2,404 yards.

Purple Raiders quarterbacks Neal Seaman and Matt Piloto combined for 213 yards through the air. Seaman (Louisville/Louisville), a junior, was 7 of 12 for 104 yards and a score, and Piloto (Rotunda West, Fla./Lemon Bay), also a junior, was 6 of 8 for 109 yards and a score.

Seaman also ran for a touchdown.

Mount Union also got a 47-yard punt return for a touchdown by junior wide receiver Jasper Collins (Geneva, N.Y./Geneva), and senior defensive back Alex Ferrara (Independence/Walsh Jesuit) had a fumble recovery for a score.

Collins also caught a touchdown pass.

The Purple Raiders finished with 563 total yards, their third game of the season with over 500 yards.

Defensively, Mount Union had 10 quarterback sacks, including 2.5 by junior defensive back Nick Driskill (Wabash, Ind./Southwood). The 10 sacks is the most since 2003. Senior defensive back Chaz Jordan (Medina/Buckeye) and senior linebacker Jack LaForce (Vermilion/Vermilion) had pass interceptions.

The Purple Raiders held Marietta to minus-3 yards rushing. It was the first game Mount Union held an opponent to minus yards rushing since Nov. 21, 2009 against Washington & Jefferson in a NCAA Division III playoff game. The last time a Mount Union regular-season opponent was held to negative yards rushing was Marietta (minus-35 yards) on Nov. 10, 2007.

For Marietta, quarterback Tom Fulton was 8 of 21 passing for 107 yards and two interceptions in his first career start. Wide receiver Kirby Harris had five receptions for 72 yards, and running back Tevin Dones ran 16 times for 44 yards.

Mount Union forced a punt on Marietta's opening possession, then needed just three plays and 45 seconds to get on the scoreboard. Seaman found Collins, who made a leaping grab at the Pioneers' 36. On the next play, Seaman hit Moore, who got behind the secondary, in stride for the touchdown. Almeida's extra point made it 7-0 with 8:38 left in the first quarter.

The Purple Raiders extended their lead late in the first quarter with a seven-play, 82-yard drive, culminated by an 11-yard pass from backup quarterback Matt Piloto to Collins. Big plays in the drive were a 24-yard run by Murray and a 33-yard pass from Piloto to Collins. Almeida's extra point made it 14-0 with 2:41 remaining in the opening stanza.

Collins added his third touchdown following Marietta's next possession, when he returned a punt 47 yards to the end zone with 29 seconds remaining. Almeida's extra point made it 21-0.

After a Marietta punt, the Purple Raiders drove 62 yards in eight plays to make it 28-0. Murray finished the drive with a 1-yard run, his 11th touchdown of the season, and Almeida added the extra point.

Mount Union extended its lead to 35-0 with 4:55 remaining before halftime. Junior running back Blair Skilliter (Curtice/Genoa) scored his third touchdown of the season on a 16-yard run, and Almeida's extra point finished off a six-play, 85-yard drive.

The Purple Raiders' four first-half offensive scoring drives averaged 2 minutes, 4 seconds.

Mount Union scored its second non-offensive touchdown of the game with 13:56 left in the third quarter. Tom Fulton's pass was intercepted by senior defensive back Chaz Jordan at the Mount Union 23. Jordan returned the ball to the Marietta 7, where he fumbled. Mount Union teammate, senior defensive back Alex Ferrara, picked up the loose ball and ran into the end zone. Almeida added the extra point to make it 42-0.

After a Marietta punt, the Purple Raiders drove 53 yards in five plays, with Seaman running in from 11 yards out. Almeida's extra point made it 49-0 with 9:02 left in the third quarter.

Almeida kicked a 37-yard field goal with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter, giving Mount Union a 52-0 lead.

The Purple Raiders made it 59-0 in the final minute of the third quarter. Freshman quarterback Kevin Burke (Westlake/Lakewood St. Edward) rambled 51 yards for his first career touchdown, and Almeida added the extra point with 52 seconds remaining.

In the fourth quarter, sophomore placekicker Tim Scott (Norton/Norton) booted a 42-yard field goal, the first of his career, with 12:26 remaining, to give the Purple Raiders a 62-0 lead.

The Purple Raiders travel to Heidelberg on October 15, for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.