Second half deluge powers Purple Raiders to dominant victory over Otterbein
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press writer
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
ALLIANCE--Even a motor takes time to rev up. Eventually the motor starts running and the vehicle is finally functional.
Such was the case with the Mount Union football team for the second week in a row.
For a half, a winless Otterbein Cardinals team slugged toe-to-toe with the Division III second-ranked team in the country, a team many expect to return to the Stagg Bowl and a rematch with defending champion North Central.
However in the third quarter, the Mount Union motor that sputtered finally became functional and in the form of a 28-0 third quarter, the Purple Raiders eventually subdued the visitors in a 62-7 decision to improve their record to 4-0 (2-0) in OAC competition while sending Otterbein to a dismal 0-4 (0-2) start to their season.
Both teams scored on their respective first possessions but the Cardinals got a humongous break when Mount Union was penalized for a roughing the kicker infraction that allowed Otterbein to maintain possession and seven plays after the transgression, Otterbein fullback Christian Pataky scored on a two-yard run to tie the score at 7-7.
Whatever momentum that Otterbein garnered was squelched when freshman Purple Raiders quarterback Mikey Maloney connected on a 17-yard touchdown to Shaun Thomas to repossess the lead for Mount Union for good.
Sixth-year Purple Raiders field general Geoff Dartt admitted his team had work to do after Otterbein's first possession.
"We made a bad decision in the first half roughing the kicker but Otterbein went for an onside kick and the same person who recovered the onside kick he corrected himself for us," Dartt said. "So we were happy to see that. "We just had our guys doing their jobs and we talked about getting the ball to start the third quarter and they responded."
Mount Union running back Darnell Williams ran for 163 of the team's 286 yards while scoring twice on the afternoon. Shaun Thomas, Lucas Weaver and Maloney also added touchdown runs for the hosts. Maloney completed only seven passes out of 13 attempted for 107 yards and two touchdowns but the key asset in that is he has yet to turn the ball over via interception as he has now passed for 11 touchdowns without a pick and is rapidly starting to etch himself in the same pantheon of Mount Union quarterbacks who value adept decision-making, something that veteran head coach Larry Kehres stressed in his 27 seasons atop the Mount Union post and a reason why he captured 11 national championships and had a 54 and 55 game winning streaks in the process.
Jason Anderson had a highlight reel 100 yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on the Purple Raiders homecoming victory.
Mount Union will travel to Wilmington for a 1:30 kickoff next week against the Quakers, who was defeated by Ohio Northern 41-35 at press time in a home contest and are on a three-game losing streak. Dartt intends to have his team have a sharper start next week especially in the first half.
"We want to correct the little details. It's about us and not anyone else so we have just got to continue to be efficient and take it one game at a time," he said.
Even a motor takes time to rev up. Eventually, the Mount Union motor finally got started and the Purple Raiders zoomed to another triumph.
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