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Purple Raiders score early, often in playoff rout
By Stephanie Storm Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Sunday, Nov 25, 2007
ALLIANCE: Perhaps it was a sign of things to come when host Mount Union scored the first touchdown Saturday on its own punt en route to a 59-7 romp over visiting College of New Jersey.
Unable to maneuver the offense past midfield on the first series of the game, the Purple Raiders (12-0) were forced to punt.
But moments after the Lions' Zach Rinaldi fielded the ball, Mount Union's Daryl Ely stripped it out of his hands, turned and raced 28 yards for the opening score in the second round of the Division III playoffs at Mount Union Stadium.
''When I first hit him, I was just trying to wrap him up,'' said Ely, who also intercepted a second-quarter pass to set up another Purple Raiders touchdown. ''But then I felt the ball and just went after it.''
A little over two minutes after Ely's strip, running back Nate Kmic rushed for his first of two touchdowns, staking Mount Union to an early 14-0 lead.
New Jersey's lone score came less than a minute into the second quarter after the aggressive Lions defense recovered a fumble on a Mount Union punt return. With the
ball at the Mount Union 12-yard line, running back Dan Dornacker capped a quick drive with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to put the Lions on the board.
Trailing just 14-7 after kicker Matt Dalessio's extra-point kick, New Jersey was thinking it could play with the storied Purple Raiders.
''I thought even when it was 21-7, if we could just hang around and keep it close, we still had a chance,'' Lions head coach Eric Hamilton said.
But it turned out to be the last time the Lions would see the end zone, as Mount Union's defense limited them to 46 total yards compared with the Purple Raiders' 508.
The game began to get away from New Jersey in the second quarter when Mount Union scored four touchdowns, taking a commanding 42-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
One of the few highlights for the College of New Jersey on the afternoon was its defense racking up six sacks, a season-high against the Purple Raiders.
''Sometimes sacks are a result of pressure rather than the linemen not picking up the rush,'' Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. ''They were bringing five, six and seven guys at times, and your offensive linemen can only be expected to account for five.''
The flip side of facing a blitzing defense is that when Purple Raiders quarterback Greg Micheli was able to get rid of the ball, he found wide-open receivers.
''The payoff is big plays at the other end if you can get rid of the ball quickly,'' Kehres said. ''We had 368 yards passing on just 20 completions — that's pretty good production.''
Mount Union had nine scores: eight touchdowns and a Mike Zimmerman 30-yard field goal. This, while playing its second team a majority of the second half.
In addition to Ely's score on the fumble recovery and Kmic's pair of touchdowns, wide receiver Bryson Davis (Copley High School) added a career-high three touchdown receptions.
''It's nice to have Pierre (Garcon) out there with you because he runs off two or three guys at times, giving the rest of us some space to work in,'' Davis said.
Garcon, an athletic playmaker who often draws double and triple teams, also tacked on a pair of scoring receptions while tying an Ohio Athletic Conference record with 43 touchdown catches in his career.
Mount Union will make its 16th consecutive trip to the Division III playoff quarterfinals at noon Saturday, when the Purple Raiders face New York's St. John Fisher (11-1) — a 38-7 winner over Curry (Mass.).
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
ALLIANCE: Perhaps it was a sign of things to come when host Mount Union scored the first touchdown Saturday on its own punt en route to a 59-7 romp over visiting College of New Jersey.
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