ALLIANCE Mt. Union claims share of Ohio Conference title

The Purple Raiders routed Ohio Northern, 55-7, for their 51st straight win.
By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
ALLIANCE -- Junior running back Rick Ciccone ran for three touchdowns and caught a pass for another score, leading Mount Union College to a 55-7 victory over Ohio Northern Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.
A sellout crowd of 6,237 watched the Purple Raiders (9-0, 8-0) clinch at least a tie for the Ohio Athletic Conference championship for the 12th straight year.
It was the 221st game Larry Kehres has coached at Mount Union, the most in the history of the school, and he guided the Purple Raiders to their 51st straight win, three away from their own NCAA Division III record.
On its first two possessions, Mount Union put 14 points on the scoreboard as Ciccone, who gained 66-yards on 18 carries, tallied on runs of 4 and 10 yards.
Within seven
With 5 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the first quarter, ONU junior wide receiver Rob Dellaposta caught a 23-yard pass from senior quarterback Jeff Soliday to conclude a six-play, 66-yard drive.
The Polar Bears (3-6, 3-5) then stopped Mount on its next possession and took over on their own 29 following a punt.
"We have a lot of respect for Ohio Northern," said Kehres. "They have played us tough over the years and when they scored that TD in the first quarter, we expected them to make a game of it.
"But we were on top of our game offensively and defensively in the first half," said Kehres.
What the Purple Raiders did during the first 30 minutes of competition was take a 41-7 lead while accumulating 362 yards of offense and limiting the Polar Bears to 100 yards.
Ciccone also scored on a 1-yard run and caught a 12-yard TD strike from junior quarterback Zac Bruney, who was 18-of-26 for 355 yards and three TDs.
"Our offensive line opened up huge holes for us and [fullback] Brian Miller blocked ahead of me and he took out the rest," said Ciccone.
Miller, a senior, carried seven times for 61 yards and scored on a 14-yard run in the third quarter.
More to practice
About the big lead at halftime Kehres said, "We talked about running the ball inside in the second half and using up the clock.
"Part of what we wanted to do worked and part of it didn't, so we'll practice on what didn't work at practice next week."
Senior wide receiver Nick Sirianni caught four passes for a career high 164 yards, one of which was a 73-yard TD strike from Bruney in the second quarter.
Questioned about depth, Kehres, who started to substitute freely in the third quarter, said, "We practice two units that match up well at the skilled positions and that creates spirited competition."
Running back Michael Deitrick, in a backup role, rushed for 25 yards on two tries and he caught two passes for 24 yards, and junior E.J. Lilly gained 16 yards on seven attempts.
Kehres said Mount Union's first goal every year is to first win the league championship and go on from there. The Purple Raiders have won 84 straight OAC contests.
Mount Union finished with 618 yards of offense, compared to 175 for the Polar Bears.
Sophomore Ross Watson, a native of Austintown, had three solo tackles for Mount Union, while East Liverpool's Josh Ludwig assisted on four.