ALLIANCE, Ohio – No. 4 ranked Mount Union clinched a share of its 32nd Ohio Athletic Conference football title with a 73-7 win against Muskingum Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.

The Purple Raiders (8-0, 7-0 OAC) have won 32 of the last 36 conference titles since 1985 and claim the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Football Playoffs.

Mount Union scored 42 points in the second quarter and 63 points in the first half as the defense held the Muskies to 67 yards for the half.

Josh Petruccelli (Perry) ran for four touchdowns and his 69 yards rushing pushed him into third place on the school's all-time rushing list. DeAndre Parker (Crystal River, Fla.) also ran for three touchdowns pn 76 yards rushing.

Braxton Plunk (Plant City, Fla.) completed 11-of-12 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown, Wayne Ruby (Miami, Fla. / Flanagan) had 111 yards receiving on four catches as the starters played in just the first half.

The defense held the Muskies to 122 yards for the game, along with four sacks while Kordell Ford (Massillon / Massillon Washington) and John Roland (Northville, Mich.) each had an interception for the Raiders.

Jordan Garrett was 11-for-26 for 101 yards and two interceptions for Muskingum (4-5, 3-5 OAC)

The Raiders got the ball and went 75 yards on four plays with a 10-yard rush from Parker giving Mount Union a 7-0 lead 1:20 into the game. Mount Union forced a three and out from Muskingum and marched 76 yards with 26 yards coming on a fake punt from Petruccelli and a 44-yard pass from Plunk to Ruby. Plunk threw his first touchdown pass of the day, a one-yard strike, to Jaden Manley and the Raiders extended the lead to 14-0.

Muskingum then answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive as Gannon Unger had a two-yard rush for a score and the Muskies cut the deficit to 14-7.

Mount Union finished the first quarter with an eight-play possession and Petruccelli had a three-yard rushing touchdown and the Raiders led 21-7. The Raiders scored on their first drive of the second quarter when Parker ran it in from 20 yards out and Mount Union pushed the lead to 28-7.

Mount Union then got it first punt return for a touchdown since 2018 when Ray Williams (Clearwater, Fla. / East Lake) scampered 73 yards for a score.

The Raiders finished the half with four more rushing touchdowns – three from Petruccelli and one from Parker and it was 63-7 at the break.

Mount Union's second half scores came on a 36-yard pass from backup quarterback Todd Simonds (Tiffin / Columbian) to Williams and a 27-yard field goal by Nick Deack (Alliance).

Mount Union closes out the regular season next week at Marietta kicking off at 1:30 p.m. at Don Drumm Stadium.