SMALL COLLEGES Walsh stays unbeaten; Mount Union rumbles

Westminster and Bethany lost, while Thiel triumphed.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
CANTON -- Walsh University (5-0, 1-0) remains unbeaten with a 29-22 double overtime Mid-States Football Association Mideast win over Malone College (3-1, 0-1).
The 5-0 start ties a school record for the best start in football history.
Walsh's Derek Besgrove rushed for 185 yards and scored both Cavaliers touchdowns in overtime.
He scored on runs of 81, 1 and 5-yards. For the season, Besgrove has rushed for 714-yards in five games.
Malone took a 7-0 lead when Eric Rector connected with Jason Diebler for a 16-yard score at the 4:01 of the first quarter.
Walsh got on the board in the second quarter when QB Winston Woods scored on a 17 yard run. Walsh's extra point was blocked and they trailed 7-6.
Walsh took the halftime lead at the 5:03 mark of the second quarter when Besgrove raced for an 81-yard score. Walsh failed in an attempt for two points and led 12-7 at the half.
Malone regained the lead in the third period on a 4-yard run by Rector at the 7:37 mark. The extra point gave Malone a 22-15 lead.
Walsh tied the game with four seconds to play in the third quarter on a 23-yard FG by Justin Moran.
Each team failed on FG attempts in the fourth quarter. Malone's Jeremy Rininger missed a 41-yarder with 8:28 to play and Walsh's Justin Moran had a 27-yarder blocked with 4:20 to play.
Malone scored first in overtime, as Mike Wiggins caught a three-yard pass from Rector. The point after gave Malone a 22-15 lead.
Walsh came back behind Besgrove and tied the game on a 1-yard run and point after at 22-22.
Walsh scored on their next possession to take a 29-22 lead as Besgrove scored from five yards out. Walsh's Ryan McGraw then intercepted a Rector pass on third and 14 on the 19 yard line to win the game for the Cavs.
Besgrove's 100-yard game was the 16th of his career.
Mount Union 55, Otterbein 0
WESTERVILLE -- Dan Pugh ran for 162 yards and five touchdowns -- all in the first half -- to lead Mount Union.
Pugh scored on runs of 63 and 4 yards in the first quarter, then added TD runs of 15, 1 and 3 yards in the second as the Purple Raiders (4-0, 3-0 Ohio Conference) took a 35-0 lead.
Seven Purple Raiders each ran for more yards than the Cardinals (2-2, 1-2) had as a team. Otterbein finished with one yard on 19 carries, while Mount Union had 384 on 50 attempts.
Rick Ciccone had 80 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Purple Raiders. Jesse Burghardt completed 5-of-5 passes for 98 yards and a 14-yard TD pass to Josh Liddell, who had three catches for 90 yards.
Washington & amp; Jefferson 29, Westminster 21
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Brian Dawson threw for 241 yards including two touchdown passes to pace Washington & amp; Jefferson.
Washington & amp; Jefferson (3-1, 2-0), the defending Presidents' Athletic Conference champions, led 20-7 at the half.
Luke Ravenstahl kicked a field goal in each of the first three quarters for the Presidents, which were ranked No. 23 in the NCAA Division III poll before the game. Joey Nichols rushed for 107 yards.
Westminster (2-2, 0-1) scored 14 points in the second quarter on two passes from Matt Robinson.
Scott Froelich rushed 136 yards for the Westminster.
Westminster70140--21
W & amp;J101036--29
First Quarter
W & amp;J--FG Ravenstahl 34, 12:25.
W & amp;J--Paff 24 pass from Dawson (Ravenstahl kick), 7:27.
WES--Froelich 2 run (Simpson kick), 1:33.
Second Quarter
W & amp;J--Dawson 11 run (Ravenstahl kick), 5:28.
W & amp;J--FG Ravenstahl 36, :03.
Third Quarter
WJ--FG Ravenstahl 25, 7:19.
WES--Froelich 15 pass from Robison (Simpson kick), 4:12.
WES--Steve 36 pass from Robison (Simpson kick) 1:56.
Fourth Quarter
WJ--Friy 9 pass from Dawson (kick failed), 11:59.
Waynesburg 42, Bethany 21
WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- Bethany took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but Waynesburg answered with 42 straight points to overwhelm the Bison (1-4, 0-2) in the President's Athletic Conference game.
The game had a great start for the Bison, as they took the opening kickoff and went 67 yards on eight plays. The drive was capped by a 10-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Jeremy Lacaria of McMurray, Pa., to sophomore wide receiver Zack Merz of Allison Park, Pa.
Bethany (3-1, 1-0) made it 14-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter on a trick play.
A five-play, 52-yard march ended in a 23-yard scoring strike from senior running back Will Anderson of Oakmont, Pa., to sophomore side receiver Chad Eimer of Cokesburg, Pa., to put the hosts down by two touchdowns.
Waynesburg wasted little time in getting back in to the game. On the ensuing drive, the Yellow Jackets moved 55 yards on seven plays, with the final one being a 16-yard touchdown run by Ivan Hawkins to slice the Bethany lead in half to 14-7.
The Green and White had a chance to add to their lead in the second quarter by junior kicker Paul Barsotti of Ellwood City, Pa., missed a 34-yard field goal and Waynesburg was quick to take advantage.
The Yellow Jackets covered 80 yards in just three plays, finding the end zone on a 45-yard run by Greg Shannon to tie the game at 14.
A Bethany turnover midway through the quarter gave Waynesburg the ball at the Bison 15. On the next play, QB Jeff Dumm threw the first of his four scoring passes on the day, a 15-yarder to Ivan Hawkins that made it 20-14 after the extra point was missed.
The Dumm-to-Hawkins connection worked again just before halftime for another Waynesburg score.
An 81-yard, seven-play scoring drive finished when the duo hooked up on a 25-yard scoring pass, with just 31 seconds left before intermission. The two-point conversion was good, and the Yellow Jacket lead was 28-14 heading into the locker rooms.
The barrage of Yellow Jacket points continued in the third quarter. On their first drive of the second half, Waynesburg took 11 plays to move 83 yards. Dumm fired his third TD pass of the day, a three-yarder to Jared Plisko to make it 35-14 Waynesburg.
After Bethany failed to convert on its next possession, Waynesburg put its final score on the board. A 73-yard touchdown pass from Dumm to Dominick Hunter made it 42-14 Yellow Jackets midway through the third quarter.
Bethany did manage one more score before the day ended. Following Waynesburg's final score, the Bison took over five minutes on an 18-play drive that ended on an 11-yard scoring run by freshman Mike Doyle of Pittsburgh. But that was close as the Bison would get as they fell for the third consecutive game.
The Bison offense, which had averaged 513 yards over the past three weeks, was limited to 285. Bethany's main problem was converting on third downs, as the Bison were successful on just two of 17 third downs.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets rolled up 416 yards of offense and scored on three plays of 20 or more yards, bringing the total to nine that Bethany has allowed over the past three games.
Bethany, W.Va.14070--21
Waynesburg721140--42
First Quarter
Bet--Merz 10 pass from Lacaria (Barsotti kick), 11:47.
Bet--Eimer 23 pass from Anderson (Barsotti kick), 4:50.
Way--Hawkins 16 run (Cence kick), 3:02.
Second Quarter
Way--Shannon 45 run (Cence kick), 12:27.
Way--Hawkins 15 pass from Dumm (kick failed), 3:09.
Way--Hawkins 25 pass from Dumm (Hunter pass from Dumm), 0:31.
Third Quarter
Way--Plisko 3 pass from Dumm (Cence kick), 11:07.
Way--Hunter 73 pass from Dumm (Cence kick), 9:55.
Bet--Doyle 11 run (Barsotti kick), 4:31.
Thiel 23, Grove City 3
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Daryl Moore ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yarder.
Grove City (2-3, 1-1 Presidents' Athletic Conference) managed just 177 yards of offense and a 20-yard field goal by Mike Titzel for a 3-0 first-quarter lead.
Thiel (2-3, 1-1) took a 7-3 lead when Kennard Davis returned a Todd Smargiasso interception 82-yards for a score late in the first quarter.
Moore's 79-yard touchdown late in the second quarter gave Thiel a 13-3 halftime lead.
Moore completed just 1 of 10 passes for eight yards and an interception as Thiel did most of its damage on the ground, rolling up 268 yards rushing.
Smargiasso ended the day 10-for-20 for 62 yards and three interceptions.
Paul Stibich added a 42-yard-field goal in the third quarter and Moore added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth to round out the scoring.
Thiel7637--23
Grove City3000--3
First Quarter
Gro--FG Titzel 20, 7:15.
Thi--Davis 82 interception return (Stibich kick), 1:14.
Second Quarter
Thi--Moore 79 run (kick failed), 2:28.
Third Quarter
Thi--FG Stibich 42, 6:58.
Fourth Quarter
Thi--Moore 1 run (Stibich kick), 5:07.