Area college roundup \ Saturday’s other games

Mount Union 56, Marietta 0

ALLIANCE — Quarterback Kurt Rocco matched his career-high with five touchdown passes to lead No. 1 ranked Mount Union to an undefeated regular season in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup. After Mount Union was forced to punt twice and stopped on downs to start the game, Rocco completed a 52-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kyle Miller with 16 seconds left in the first quarter to get the offense going. Rocco would throw four more touchdown passes on the day as he finished 16-of-23 for 372 yards and led an offense that outgained Marietta 597-114. Jasper Collins had the longest punt return in school history as he ran one back 89 yards for a score. The defense held the OAC’s top running back, Marietta’s Lamar Hunter, to 71 yards on 28 carries as the Pioneers had just 54 net yards on rushing and 60 through the air. Mount Union (10-0, 9-0 OAC) won its 43rd consecutive regular season game and closed out its fourth straight undefeated regular season. The Purple Raiders hold the nation’s longest winning streak at 25 straight games and wait for today’s announcement to find out who they play next week as they begin defense of their 10th NCAA Division III National title in the NCAA Playoffs. Marietta finishes its season with a mark of 3-7 overall and 2-7 in the OAC.

Westminster 31, Geneva 28

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — The Westminster College football team ended its season in dramatic fashion with a win at home over its archrival Geneva at Harold Burry Stadium. The game included eight lead changes, including the Titans scoring with 11 seconds left. The Titans finish the season with a record of 4-6, only its seventh losing season since 1951, but the Titans’ win over Geneva (7-4) was just their second against a team that finished its season with a winning record since 2003. The game-winning touchdown occurred when sophomore quarterback Shawn Lehocky scored on a sneak play on first-down-and-goal from the Geneva 1-yard line with 11 seconds remaining. He had 59 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Grove City 31, Thiel 24 (2OT)

GREENVILLE, Pa. — The Grove City College football team rallied from a 17-0 fourth-quarter deficit to capture the coveted Mercer County Cup with a double-overtime victory over host Thiel in Presidents’ Athletic Conference action at Alumni Stadium. Grove City finishes the season 4-2 in the PAC and 5-5 overall. It is Grove City’s third straight win overall and third straight in the Cup series. In the second overtime, Grove City broke a 24-24 tie as senior quarterback Andrew DiDonato fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Luke O’Hara (Shenango). Thiel drove to the Grove City 4 on its overtime possession. But on fourth down, junior free safety Mark Rossol batted down a pass in the end zone to clinch the win.

Bethany 34, St. Vincent 13

LATROBE, Pa. – Senior wide receiver Matt Cruse set the career receptions record and sophomore RB Eric Walker broke the record for single-season rushing touchdowns to help lead the Bethany football team to victory over Saint Vincent in the 3rd Annual “Green Game.” The victory ended the Bison’s season with a 3-7 record, while the Bearcats finished with a 0-10 mark. Highlighting the Bethany victory was Jim Pegg’s effort, along with the record-setters. Pegg completed 29-of-41 through the air for 341 yards and three scores while adding in the rushing touchdown. The 29 completions tied for the fourth-highest total in one game at Bethany, while the 341 yards is the ninth-most posted by a Bison QB. The record-setting score by Walker was the highlight to his day, as it also gave him 15 total touchdowns for the season to equal the single-season mark established by Anderson in 2002. He was limited to 42 yards on the ground, but still finished with 879 for the season, the sixth-best total by a Bison running back in one year. In addition, he is now second on the school’s all-time touchdown list with 26, four behind Anderson’s amount of 30. Holmes led Bethany receivers with seven catches for 72 yards and one TD, while Cruse snared five balls for a game-high 113 yards and one touchdown in his final game as a Bison. In his four years with BC, he set every major receiving mark at the school with 177 receptions for 2,625 yards and 25 touchdowns,.

Oberlin 34, Hiram 29

OBERLIN — Junior fullback Luke Lewis rushed for 67 yards and three touchdowns, but Hiram (0-10, 0-7) came up short in the North Coast Athletic Conference game.

Vindicator staff report