OAC FOOTBALL Yellow Jackets can't foil Purple Raiders

Defense dominated Mount Union's 17-3 win.
BY ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
ALLIANCE -- All of a sudden, the Mount Union football program looks mortal.
One week after their 110-game regular season winning streak was snapped by Ohio Northern, the Purple Raiders suffered through another lackluster offensive performance against Baldwin-Wallace Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.
But like it has been all season, the Mount Union defense was stellar, limiting the Yellow Jackets to just three points in three opportunities in the red zone, as the Purple Raiders salvaged a 17-3 victory.
Tank running low
"That's all we had today," said Mount Union coach Larry Kehres. "Our objective was just to win, no matter how pretty it looked. Our defense was really the key because our offense has really been up and down the last few weeks.
"We're really missing No. 1 [receiver Pierre Garcon], but our offensive line really came through in the second half today and we were able to run the ball when we needed to."
Mount Union (7-1, 6-1 OAC) played for the third straight week without Garcon, the team's leading receiver who is suffering from a lower leg injury. He leads the Ohio Athletic Conference with 127 yards receiving per contest.
Without Garcon's big-play potential, the Purple Raiders' offense has struggled. Against Baldwin-Wallace (3-5, 2-5), Mount Union earned just 301 total yards, after averaging over 550 per game this season.
Top tacklers
On the other side of the ball, things couldn't get much better than Saturday. Mount Union, led by Mike Gibbons (13 tackles) and Buddy Wolf (11), surrendered just a first-half field goal.
The defense turned the Yellow Jackets away three times in the red zone, including a huge defensive stand on fourth-and-1 at the Mount Union 26 in the third quarter.
The Purple Raiders were clinging to a 10-3 lead and Baldwin-Wallace was threatening. When the Yellow Jackets passed on a 42-yard field goal attempt and went for the first down, Mount Union stuffed running back Brandon Hedges.
Sensing a turning point, the Purple Raiders' offense finally manufactured a big play. On the next possession, Mount Union scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 42-yard pass from Mike Jorris to Scott Casto.
That score put Mount Union in front by two scores at 17-3 with 14:53 remaining.
Nothing fancy
"We just tried to come out and run the ball for the most part in the second half," said Kehres. "When nothing else is working, you have to try something different. Fortunately, we were able to get that big pass play and our defense came up with some big plays at the goal line.
Mount Union running back Aaron Robinson rushed for 103 yards to lead the Mount Union offense. It was his sixth straight game over 100 yards on the ground.
Senior defensive back Ross Watson (Fitch High) picked off his seventh pass of the season to move into a tie for the top spot in the OAC in that category. He also leads the conference with 12 passes defended.