Mount Union blanks B-W to extend streak

The Purple Raiders' 24-0 win was their 77th straight in the OAC.
By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
ALLIANCE -- If there were any doubt about where Mount Union College stands in the Ohio Athletic Conference, it has been erased.
The Purple Raiders continued their domination in the OAC, recording their 77th straight conference win, 24-0, over Baldwin-Wallace (1-1, 0-1) Saturday before a Mount Union Stadium record crowd of 8,732.
Wide receiver Nick Sirianni caught two touchdown passes, one from junior quarterback Zac Bruney and another from senior quarterback Jesse Burghardt, to lead the winning charge.
Sirianni, who caught seven passes for 135 yards, put Mount ahead in the first quarter when he caught a 11-yard TD strike from Bruney, who completed 11 of 16 passes for 179 yards and two TDs.
Blocked FG attempt
On the second play of the second quarter, Mount Union blocked Kevin Hille's 28-yard field goal attempt.
The Raiders' defense then thwarted a Yellow Jackets' march with 6:40 remaining, when Mark Anders was stopped for a 5-yard loss and quarterback Dan Larlham was sacked by Justin Stickey for a 4-yard loss. Mount took over on its 21-yard line.
"That was big. It set us up to get another score," said Mount Union coach Larry Kehres.
Bruney, who alternated with Burghardt, connected with Sirianni for a 51-yard gain. With 4:25 remaining in the half, Joe Bugara, on fourth and 20, caught his first career pass from Bruney for a 26-yard TD. Chad Teague made his point-after kick and Mount Union led 14-0 at intermission.
Plagued with penalties
Mount Union was plagued with penalties at crucial times. A touchdown was nullified because of holding and the Purple Raiders made some mistakes that caused two interceptions.
"Offensively, we shot ourselves in the foot with some mistakes and penalties, but we played better defense," said Kehres.
Larlham, B-W's option quarterback, said, "I held on to the ball too long and didn't make the right decisions.
"They had some holes in their defense and I didn't do what I needed to do."
The Raider defense allowed Larlham only 160 yards on 16-for-32 passing, and they intercepted him once.
Drives repelled
"We couldn't finish any drives off," said Baldwin-Wallace coach John Snell. "We drove well, got into scoring position and couldn't finish it.
"All the hype before this game and we didn't execute when we got down in the red zone."
The Purple Raiders (2-0, 1-0) have won 44 consecutive games, and 86 consecutive regular-season contests.
Burghardt completed five of nine passes for 65 yards, including a 14-yard toss to Sirianni for the final score. The Raiders finished with 416 total yards.
Ross Watson, an Austintown Fitch High graduate, and Josh Ludwig, an East Liverpool native, each had three tackles for the Purple Raiders.
The old attendance record of 8,397 was set against John Carroll in a NCAA Division III semifinal playoff game Dec. 14, 2002.
miller@vindy.com