GREAT START, POOR FINISH
Mules take early lead in NCAA Division III quarterfinal but are then outplayed
Muhlenberg led 7-0 at No. 1 Mount Union just three and a half minutes into the game on Saturday.
But the Mules trailed 14-7 by halftime of the Division III football quarterfinals.
Coach Nate Milne joked that he was hoping someone would take a photo of the scoreboard after Muhlenberg quarterback Mike Hnatkowsky hit Thomas Murphy on a 15-yard touchdown pass early.
After all, the Mules were battling the 13-time national champion on their home turf. But as the Ohio rains fell, the Purple Raiders (13-0) systematically advanced their lead in a 38-10 victory that skewed an otherwise competitive contest.
Mount Union advances to the semifinals against Centennial Conference champion Johns Hopkins, a 37-14 winner over RPI. The Purple Raiders reached the NCAA semifinals for the 24th-straight season.
Muhlenberg ends its season 11-2, with its only losses to two NCAA semifinalists — Johns Hopkins and Mount Union — champions of the Centennial and Ohio Athletic conferences, respectively. The 2018 Mules went further this season than any team in school history.
“They’re a team that I would expect to see deep in the playoffs, year in and year out,” said Mount Union coach Vince Kehres, who is now 81-4 since taking over for his father.
Muhlenberg’s downfall was that the Purple Raiders turned the Mules’ strengths into weaknesses. Muhlenberg’s normally stifling run defense allowed a career-high 219 yards and three touchdowns on a career-best 35 carries to sophomore Josh Petruccelli.
One telling statistic: Muhlenberg’s top four tacklers were linebackers or in the secondary.
Playing extensively out of the shotgun Wildcat formation after the starting quarterback left the game to replace a contact lens, Petruccelli built momentum and punished defenders, amassing 103 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter alone.
The 5-foot-9, 210-pound sophomore set the tone early finishing runs by delivering hard hits, something he enjoys.
“Our line was creating a new
line of scrimmage on almost every play,” he said. “We were getting five yards a pop.”
And the Mules’ passing game — which entered the game averaging 260 yards per game — struggled to connect in the rain. When receivers found open space, like when Max Kirin was alone early near the Mules sideline only to have the ball sail over him, Hnatkowsky struggled with accuracy. When he hit receivers, the ball slipped through hands or bounced off bodies, a problem plaguing both teams in the moisture.
The Mules completed 6 of 30 passes for 89 yards.
Mount Union managed just 69 yards on 11 of 24, with several completions coming on short outs. All-American Justin Hill was kept in check, with four catches for 13 yards.
Muhlenberg felt optimistic getting the ball to start the second half, down one score. After a quick three plays and punt, Mount Union rode a 30yard catch-and-run play to Demarco Haynes to the 17. The Mules stiffened, holding the hosts to a field goal and 17-7 lead.
After squelching the Raiders’ big plays in the first half, the Mules couldn’t maintain.
With six minutes left in the third quarter, Hnatkowsky tossed a short pass that allAmerican defensive back Louis Berry jumped, picked and returned 20 yards for a touchdown, his fourth in five picks this year.
Leading 24-7, Mount Union could exhale.
Though the final score revealed domination, the game didn’t play that way.
Muhlenberg will graduate four senior starters on defense and one on offense.
Postseason interceptions
Interceptions have been huge this postseason. The team Muhlenberg played last week (Randolph-Macon College) was coming off a four-pick victory. Last week, Mount Union jumped ahead of Centre 51-7 at halftime with four interceptions.
Muhlenberg turned interceptions into touchdowns the past two weeks.
Berry’s pick was one of three for Mount Union on Saturday. He has three interception returns and one fumble return for a touchdown in the past four weeks.
The Purple Raiders, whose head coach favors defense since he played defensive end, have scored a national-best 13 defensive touchdowns this season, seven on interception returns.
Berry, a savvy senior from Shady Side Academy, finished second in the national indoor 60-meter dash for Division III.
“It’s tough to pass in this kind of weather,” said Kehres. “Tough for quarterbacks, tough for receivers. It becomes a game where you have to run.”
Muhlenberg gained 110 rushing yards, but the Mules also lost 47 on sacks and low snaps against an athletic defense guided by Andrew Roesch (two sacks, three tackles for loss).
Junior Mickey Kober led the Mules defense with 13 tackles. Luke Wiley had two fumble recoveries and seven tackles. He also came close to intercepting two deep passes.
Great start
Muhlenberg couldn’t have asked for a better start on Saturday.
Their defense forced a Petruccelli fumble on the second play. Wiley recovered .
After three running plays and a punt, the Mule defense intercepted quarterback D’Angelo Fulford’s first pass at the Raiders’ 18.
Fulford had only thrown one
interception all year. The team hadn’t fumbled in two playoff games. Petrucelli, a sophomore, had never fumbled at Mount Union.
On third down Hnatkowsky found Murphy on the sideline at the 8. Murphy turned upfield and scored for a 7-0 lead.
Field position punts
Muhlenberg punter Kevin Olifiers alternated with injured Joseph O’Hagan this season. Each punted 24 times.
Olifiers punted six times for 232 yards on Saturday. He boomed a 67 yarder that backed the Purple Raiders up on their own 12. Three of his kicks pinned Mount Union inside the 20.
Kicking from own his end zone, he pounded a 43-yarder that kept Mount Union out of deep Muhlenberg territory.
Diggs it
James Diggs ran 14 times for 69 yards to give him 1,047 on the year. On one burst, he collided with a wall of defenders then carried them an additional 20 yards.