WILMINGTON, Ohio – The No. 2 nationally ranked Mount Union football team was a well-oiled machine as it won, 59-0, at Wilmington in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest Saturday afternoon for its first shutout of the season.
Mount Union had the same number of plays as it did points. The Purple Raiders' 59 plays totaled 609 total yards, outgaining Wilmington on the ground 419-108. The Raiders averaged 10.3 yards per play.
The Purple Raiders remained undefeated at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
In just the first half, freshman Mikey Maloney (Concord Township, OH/Painesville Riverside) used his arm, legs, and shoulder for three total touchdowns and a monster of a lead block, resulting in another Mount Union score. Maloney finished with 10 for 15 for 141 yards and two touchdowns through the air, to go along with 70 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground.
Graduate RB Darnell Williams (Cleveland, OH/John Adams) registered his fourth career 100-yard game rushing, matching his career mark he achieved last week with 163 yards (10.2 avg.). That's three of the last four games Williams surpassed the century mark on the ground.
Sophomore Kayden Minner (New Madrid, MO/New Madrid County Central) ran for 120 yards (his second career 100-yard game) and two rushing touchdowns—the first multi-touchdown game of his career.
Today marked the first time Mount Union had two players with over 100 yards rushing in a game since the 2022 NCAA Second Round, when DeAndre Parker (120) and Tyler Echeverry (102) achieved the feat in Mount Union's win over Utica.
Mount Union's defense caused five turnovers, including four forced fumbles. Senior Kaleb Brown (La Plata, MD) had a sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a pass breakup. Brown is now seventh all-time in Mount Union history in career sacks with 25.5. Also with a forced fumble were senior Weston Arthur (Homerville, OH/Northwestern) and sophomore Austin Fancher (Cincinnati, OH/Reading Community).
Wilmington drops to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the league.
The Purple Raiders capitalized on a pair of Mount Union defensive plays to start the game. Brown sacked Wilmington's Isaac Ross on fourth down, leading to a 38-yard touchdown run by Maloney. On the Quakers' ensuing drive, Arthur recovered a fumble. Three plays later, senior Shaun Thomas (Lima, OH/Lima Central Catholic) ran it in from two yards out. Minner capped off the first quarter scoring a 36-yard rushing touchdown as Maloney had an ESPN SportsCenter Top 10-esque lead block de-cleating the pursuing defender. Mount Union led 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Mount Union will next travel to Heidelberg on Saturday, Oct. 18, with a 1:30 p.m. kick.
