University of Mount Union Football
#1 Mount Union Purple Raiders (8-0, 7-0 OAC) vs Muskingum Fighting Muskies (3-5, 2-5 OAC)
Nov. 5, 2016 - 1 PM - McConagha Stadium - New Concord, Ohio
Radio: WDPN 1310 AM (Alliance), WRMU 91.1 FM (Alliance)
The matchup:
- Mount Union travels to Muskingum to play its sixth and final regular season road game in 2016 Saturday at 1 p.m. in New Concord.
- No. 1 ranked Mount Union bested its own NCAA record winning its 111th consecutive regular season game with a 66-7 win at Otterbein last Saturday.
- Freshman quarterback Dom Davis (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary) made his third start, threw for three scores and ran for another as he completed 16-of-19 passes for 208 yards. Davis hit eight different receivers with three scoring touchdowns led by senior Tim Kennedy (Hudson/Hudson), who had five catches for 61 yards and a score.
- Senior running back Dwayne Aaron (Cleveland/Lakewood St. Edward) rushed for a game-high 75 yards on six carries as Mount Union rushed for 319 yards.
- Senior linebacker Charlie Dear (Massillon/Massillon Jackson) had five tackles, a sack, tackle for loss and a 92-yard return of a blocked field goal for a touchdown to lead the defense
- Muskingum lost to then No. 21 ranked John Carroll 31-3 at home last Saturday. John Carroll ran out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back. Muskingum went 0-of-13 on third down and was out-gained 416-117 in total yards. Griffin Degenger was 9-of-21 passing for 71 yards and rushed for a team-high 11 yards while on defense Mick Fishel had a game-high 14 tackles with a forced fumble.
The series:
- 71st meeting between the teams with Mount Union holding a 39-29-2 lead in the series that dates back to a 23-0 Muskingum win on November 3, 1906.
- The Raiders have won 27-straight meetings since a 17-17 tie in 1988 in Alliance.
- The last Muskie win in the series came in a 24-19 victory in 1984 in Alliance.
Staying Regular:
- Mount Union bested its own record with its 111th consecutive regular season win last week. The Purple Raiders are 221-1 in their last 222 games dating back to 1994 as they won 110 games from 1994-2005 then after a loss ran off its current 111-game streak.
Raiders on the Run:
- Mount Union chewed up 319 yards on the ground at Otterbein marking the fifth time this season that the Raiders had over 300 yards on the ground.
- On the season, Mount Union averages 307 yards per game on the ground which is fourth best in NCAA DIvision III.
- Senior Bradley Mitchell (Detroit, Mich./South Lake) leads the OAC in rushing yards (1,083), rushing yards per carry (7.37) and rushing touchdowns (12).
- On defense, Mount Union is holding its opponents to an OAC-best 62.8 yards per game which is ranked ninth in the nation in rushing defense.
Three is a Charm:
- Mount Union is the third best team in the nation on third down converting 55.8-percent of its third downs. The Raiders are also fourth in the naton in third down defense holding opponents to 22-percent (28-of-117) on third down.
Block Party:
- Mount Union blocked its fifth kick of the season when Austin White (Wadsworth/Wadsworth) blocked a field goal attempt at Otterbein.
Scouting the Muskies:
- Muskingum is fourth in the OAC in total defense (353.8 yards allowed per game) and ninth in total offense (273.8 yards per game).
- Junior linebacker Mick Fishel is among conference leaders in tackles with a team-best 68. He also has 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks. Freshman linebacker Tim Ousley leads the Muskies with 11.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks while senior Dorian Maynard has two interceptions.
- Senior quarterback Griffin Degener has completed 60-percent of his passes for 1,298 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Five different Muskies have caught touchdowns with senior Jordan Scanlon leading the way with three. Scanlon is also the team's leading rusher Sophomore tight end Granger Long has a team-best 33 catches.
- The Muskies also feature the OAC's top punter in senior Samuel Green, who averages 41.1 yards per punt.
Three of a Kind:
- Freshman Dom Davis made his third straight start at quarterback for the Raiders last week and completed 16-of-19 passes for 208 yards and three TD's while also running for a score.
- For the season, he has completed 72.3-percent of his passes for 782 yards with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. While he does not have enough attempts to qualify, his passer rating of 217.98 would lead the nation in the catagory.
Radio and TV:
- All Mount Union football games will be broadcast on the radio on WDPN 1310 AM and WRMU 91.1 FM and simulcast online along with a LIVE STATS game tracker.
- You can also hear the WRMU 91.1 FM feed on any phone by calling (330) 445-7900.
- Students Noah Hiles (play-by-play), A.J. Gioglio (color) and Joe Mertens (sideline) make up the WRMU 91.1 FM crew.
- Longtime area sports broadcaster Sam Bourquin and former Ohio State football player T.J. Downing will call the action on WDPN 1310AM.
- On the television side, Mount Union will have two home games -- Oct. 8 vs. Heidelberg and Nov. 12 vs. John Carroll shown on television via tape delay on regional sports cable channel SportsTime Ohio and WIVM TV39 (Stark County), WIVN TV29 (New Philadelphia), Time Warner Cable (ch. 989-Stark County, ch. 99-Tuscarawas County), Massillion Cable (ch. 21) and Clear Picture Cable (ch. 21-Wayne County).
- Image Video produces the broadcasts while Jim Clark will do play-by-play and Harry Paidas on color. Clark, the longtime voice of the Akron Rubberducks, takes over for retired hall of famer Joe Tait while Paidas begins his 31st year on the telecast.
Up Next:
- Mount Union hosts nationally ranked John Carroll in the regular season finale, next Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1:30 p.m. at Mount Union Stadium.
- No advance tickets will be sold until gameday.
- Ticket windows will open at 11 a.m. with the gates opening at noon.
