The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Perry grad eager for Mount’s spring slate
As an All-America Division III running back, Josh Petruccelli isn’t afraid to carry the load for his offense.
In his three years at Mount Union, he’s had games of 27 carries as a freshman (vs. Wisconsin Oshkosh in an NCAA semifinal), 35 against Muhlenberg as a sophomore and 41 against Heidelberg as a junior in 2019.
What’s next, a 50-carry game? The Perry graduate might be ready for such an extreme.
He’ll find out in a short while, as Petruccelli and his Mount teammates are preparing for their abbreviated five-game Ohio Athletic Conference spring season. The Purple Raiders began practice last week and open March 12 at Muskingum.
Petruccelli can’t wait.
It’s been about 15 months since he last played a competitive game — a second-round playoff loss to eventual 2019 NCAA D-III national champ North Central (Ill.). He feels refreshed and said the break helped his body recover from years of shots from opposing defensive players.
Life as a running back — no matter the level — is never easy. The pounding seemingly is constant.
Petruccelli has had enough of the extended break. Now, it’s time to get back after it, and even though this is his fourth year at the Alliance campus, Petruccelli isn’t done after this spring. He will extend his course workload to next fall and play one more season after the spring.
“Twenty more games left in my career, and I’m ready to give it my all,” said Petruccelli, referring to the five games this spring, then 10 more in next fall and what he expects another five-game playoff run to a national championship. “The break definitely helped refuel my body. I feel a lot better than I usually do.”
With 3,929 yards the past three seasons, Petruccelli has a chance to catch Chuck Moore for No. 2 on the program’s all-time rushing list by the end of the fall 2021 season.
Nate Kmic is not only No. 1 on the Purple Raiders’ list, but he’s the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher (regardless of division) with a staggering 8,074 yards. Moore is second with 5,871.
Petruccelli would need 1,913 yards to pass Moore. If he plays 20 more games, Petruccelli would need to average about 96 yards to get to No. 2.
“I definitely look at those things,” said Petruccelli about his spot on the school’s all-time rushing list. “If I stay healthy and keep working, I feel I could be up there with all those names. It would be an honor.”
The theme in the spring could be how new everything is for the Mount program. Not only because there will be an unprecedented spring season and games will be on Friday nights. For the first time in three decades, there won’t be a Kehres within the program.
Following the 2019 season, Vince Kehres stepped down as head coach to become as assistant at the University of Toledo. A few months after that, Vince’s father, Larry — the longtime football coach before his son and athletic director — retired. Enter Geoff Dart, the 24th head football coach in school history.
The head coach isn’t the only thing new. There will be a new quarterback — most likely sophomore Braxton Plunk — to replace three-year starter D’Angelo Fulford. A lot is new for Mount, but definitely not Petruccelli.
It’s likely he will be counted more than usual the first few games of the spring, mostly because of Petruccelli’s experience and talent. He wants the ball, and he might just get it — a lot.
“I’m ready and excited,” he said.