Stellar defense helps Mules advance
Muhlenberg will play perennial power Mount Union in DIII quarterfinals.
By advancing to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals, the 2018 Muhlenberg football team became the most successful in school history.
The Mules (11-1) advanced with a 35-6 romp over Randolph-Macon Saturday at Scotty Wood Stadium in Allentown.
Muhlenberg's defense was up to the task of stopping Randolph-Macon, which was averaging 250 yards rushing per game. The Yellow Jackets (9-3) gained just 21 yards on 29 carries, and totaled less than 100 yards total offense on 55 plays.
Muhlenberg will play unbeaten defending national champion Mount Union in the quarterfinals Saturday in Ohio. Mount Union has won 13 NCAA Division III national championships.
Muhlenberg All-American defensive end Frankie Feaster stalked Randolph-Macon with nine tackles, a whopping seven for loss, including four sacks. The Bergen Catholic product has 28 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks this year.
When he was considering colleges, Feaster followed older brother John to Muhlenberg. John earned all-Centennial Conference honors four years as a defensive back.
“Muhlenberg was the only school I applied to,” said Frankie, a 6-2, 240-pound junior. John's team lost to Widener in his NCAA experience.
“I can tell he's a little bit jealous,” Frankie said.
Mules' defensive back Nick Sirico, whose late interception return for a touchdown won the opening-round game at Delaware Valley College, picked off two more passes Saturday, including a 73-yard return for the game's last touchdown.
“The kid tipped it up in the air,” said Sirico. “I just trusted myself there and made the play. I was just worried about not getting caught (from behind on the return).”
With Yellow Jacket starting running back Tre Frederick aggravating his ankle injury and leaving the game, RandolphMacon was finished.
“I thought they thoroughly, thoroughly outplayed us in pretty much every phase,” said Randolph-Macon coach Pedro Arruza.
The Mules took the opening kickoff and marched 74 yards in six plays. Quarterback Mike Hnatkowsky passed four times for 63 yards, ending with a 12-yard touchdown to tight end Ryan Curtiss.
Not everything went to form, however. Two pass interference calls and a fumbled punt return set up Randolph-Macon early. The Yellow Jackets scored on a three-yard run by quarterback Burke Estes, but Muhlenberg's John Washington blocked the extra point.
The 2002 and 2007 Muhlenberg teams advanced to the second round, but lost.
With experience, says assistant coach and former standout playmaker Josh Carter, comes loftier goals.
“I think the level of expectation has changed,” Carter said. “Our guys aren't just happy to be there. Our guys expect to have success. We were an up-andcoming team (in the past). The program's built up now.”
Running back Mark Riggio only carried the ball on one series. The 5-10, 205-pound bull toted it eight times for 42 yards with James Diggs (17 carries, 105 yards) scoring from the 1 at the end of the first quarter.
Riggio aggravated a sore left knee and left the game, but his second- and third-effort runs set a tone after Hnatkowsky threw an early interception.
Hnatkowsky, a left-hander, showed persistence on the Mules' next score. With the ball at the Randolph-Macon 3, Hnatkowsky ran back to retrieve a ball snapped over his head, collected it near the 28 after a few bounces, and calmly fired a touchdown to Nick Ugarte for a 21-6 lead.
“He knew our guys had body position on the defensive back,” Muhlenberg head coach Nate Milne said.
Randolph-Macon opened the second half with a three-and-out series. Muhlenberg drove 82 yards on 16 plays for a touchdown and a 28-6 cushion.
The Mules converted three third-and-long plays when Hnatkowsky connected with Ugarte (16 yards), Curtiss (8) and Curtiss again (11).
Hnatkowsky found favorite receiver Max Kirin (4 catches, 60 yards) for a nine-yard touchdown on a play that looked just like the Mules' first touchdown to Curtiss.
Sirico's interception return with 8:52 remaining closed the scoring.
“We definitely got exposed today,” said Arruzo. “Their DBs were much more physical than our wide receivers. They did a great job and we couldn't get off press coverage. We couldn't get separation. … They have a really good football team. I know they were one of the last teams to get into the playoff field, and hats off to them, they deserve to be here. We got outplayed. I knew they were going to be good on defense. We didn't underestimate them.”
Mount Union up next
Mount Union (11-0) won its opening-round game 60-3. Though they only beat Centre 51-35 on Saturday, they actually led 51-7 at halftime.
The Purple Raiders needed two defensive scores to beat league opponent John Carroll, 23-10, on Sept. 22.
Last week Randolph-Macon upset John Carroll 23-20.
When it comes to postseason play, Mount Union has the winning formula.
“They don't lose at home often,” Milne said. “They don't lose ever … often. This is an opportunity for us to test ourselves against absolutely one of the best programs — bar none — in all of college sports. This is a program that has been at the top of the mountain for almost 30 years now.”
Common loss
No. 14 Johns Hopkins defeated both Randolph-Macon (63-31) and Muhlenberg (27-16).
Hopkins advanced to the Elite Eight, too, giving the Centennial Conference one quarter of the remaining field. The Blue Jays blew out No. 6 Frostburg State, 58-27.
Bradley A. Huebner is a freelance writer.