Interception-happy Watson leads Raiders

Mount Union scored on three consecutive plays to seize control of the contest.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
ALLIANCE -- Mount Union senior defensive back Ross Watson has such a nose for the football that it's like having a receiver on defense.
The Fitch High graduate snared a career-high three interceptions and Mount Union scored on three straight offensive plays to overcome a 17-14 deficit and overwhelm Capital 42-24 Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.
Watson has six picks in four games this season and 11 in his Mount Union career. The Purple Raiders' defense has 14 interceptions in 2005.
"We knew this would be a challenge for our defense and we needed that," said Watson, who added four tackles. "This is why you come to Mount Union, to play in games like this. Our coaches put us in position to make plays today and my teammates pressured the quarterback."
Insider's opinion
Mount Union coach Larry Kehres gave Watson more credit than the senior wanted to take for his part in the defense's performance.
"Oh, scratch that," said Kehres, interrupting Watson. "He draws our opponents' No. 1 receiver every week and he has six picks. He talks about his teammates doing the job, but Ross is doing a great job for us. He gets in better position than their receivers."
After a scoreless first quarter, Watson helped Mount Union seize some momentum. He grabbed his fourth interception of the season, returning it 43 yards to the Capital 17.
Mount Union took advantage of the prime field position and a Capital pass interference penalty. Aaron Robinson scored from 1 yard out to put Mount ahead 7-0 with 12:45 left in the second quarter.
Capital tied the game with a 19-yard TD pass from quarterback Rocky Pentello to wideout Chad Stencil to receiver Kive Kraft.
The Raiders took a 14-7 advantage at the half after scoring on a 77-yard bomb from Mike Jorris to Pierre Garcon on the first play from scrimmage.
Capital engineered an impressive 14-play drive on its opening possession of the second half.
Lead lost
The Crusaders drove inside the Mount Union 10, but settled for a 26-yard field goal from Matt Spitz. The boot cut the Purple Raiders' lead to 14-10 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.
The Crusaders then did something no opponent has done to Mount Union all season -- take the lead. With 5:56 left in the third stanza, Pentello scooted 3 yards for the score after running back Colin O'Reilly flipped him the ball before going down.
The score gave Capital (2-2, 1-2), who came in ranked No. 21 in the nation according to the d3football.com poll, a 17-14 lead.
That's when Mount Union, ranked No. 3 nationally, (4-0, 3-0 OAC) exploded.
The Purple Raiders scored 21 straight points on three consecutive offensive plays -- a school record -- to seize control of the contest.
Jorris and Garcon struck again, this time hooking up for an 83-yard bomb to put the Raiders back in front 21-17 with 14:48 left in the game.
Padding the lead
After a Cameron Rose interception, Kelechi Ibeh bolted 49 yards for the touchdown to pad the lead to 28-17.
A little more than a minute later, Aaron Robinson made it three Mount Union scores in a span of 2:13, breaking free for a 25-yard scoring run to give the Purple Raiders 35-17 advantage with 12:35 left in the final quarter.
"Our defense played great to keep us in the game when we were turning the ball over and making some mistakes. Capital played hard and smart and took advantage of some of our miscues," Kehres said.
The victory was Mount Union's 108th consecutive in the regular season and 97th straight in the Ohio Athletic Conference.