UNIVERSITY HTS, Ohio – No. 3 ranked Mount Union scored its second straight road win against a nationally ranked team with a 28-14 win at No. 21 ranked John Carroll in an Ohio Athletic Conference game Saturday at Don Shula Stadium.
Mount Union (3-0, 2-0 OAC) got a season-high 392 passing yards from quarterback
Braxton Plunk (Plant City, Fla.) as he completed 42-of-54 attempts with four touchdowns. Six months earlier in the spring Plunk threw for 521 yards against the Blue Streaks (1-2, 1-1 OAC). It also marks the seventh straight game he has thrown for over 300 yards.
Running back
DeAndre Parker (Crystal River, Fla.) caught 12 passes for 123 yards and also rushed for a game-high 120 yards on 18 carries.
Jesse Vail (Estero, Fla.) had nine stops and
Josh Jones (Akron / St. Vincent-St. Mary) had an interception to pace the Mount Union defense.
Jake Floria threw for 182 yards on 17-of-31 passing for John Carroll.
Mount Union had appeared to hold the Blue Streaks on their first possession, but the punt went off a Raider and gave John Carroll the ball back at the Mount Union 39, but the defense held including a sack by freshman linebacker
Rossy Moore (Lima / Lima Central Catholic).
The Raiders answered with a 16-play, 92-yard drive as Plunk hit
Jaden Manley (Columbus / Bishop Hartley) on a 10-yard strike to make it 7-0.
Again, the Mount Union defense made a play as Jones had his first interception of the year to give the Raiders the back at the JCU 45-yard line. The Raiders turned the turnover into six more points eight plays later as Plunk threw his second TD pass of the day – a two-yarder to
Chase Lawson (Plant City, Fla. / Lakeland Christian). After the
Nick Deack (Alliance) extra point it was 14-0 Mount Union with 14 minutes to go in the second quarter.
John Carroll then got on the board as Floria threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Brennan Fugh to bring the Blue Streaks within a score, 14-7, with 8:34 left before halftime.
The Raiders missed a 35-yard field goal and the Blue Streaks went three-and-out before Mount Union got the ball back with just over two minutes to go. Plunk engineered a nine-play drive and finished it with his third touchdown pass, this time a 14-yarder to
Ulice Gillard III (Orlando, Fla. / Lake Nona) and it was 21-7 at the break.
It looked like Mount Union was going to tack on another touchdown in the first drive of the second half before Nate Leopold intercepted a pass in the JCU end zone. The Raider defense forced a three-and-out after the turnover and three plays later Plunk threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to
Wayne Ruby (Miami, Fla. / Flanagan) and the Raiders pushed the lead to 28-7 with 10:33 left in third quarter.
Floria and Fugh found each other again midway through the fourth quarter on a 20-yard pass and catch and John Carroll closed the gap to 28-14.
The Raiders ran out the clock driving to the John Carroll five-yard line.
Mount Union returns home to host Otterbein for homecoming and alumni weekend next Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1:30 p.m. at Mount Union Stadium.
