Mount Union rolls over Montclair State

ALLIANCE (AP) — Mount Union forced eight turnovers and quarterback Kurt Rocco kept turning them into scores.

Rocco passed for 277 yards and three touchdowns as the Purple Raiders defeated Montclair State 62-14 in the second round of the Division III playoffs on Saturday.

Terrance Morring rushed for a career-high 146 yards and two TDs as the Purple Raiders (12-0) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 27 games.

Wide receiver Cecil Shorts III also scored on runs of 7, 3 and 3 yards from the wildcat formation.

“It was a good, balanced win,” said coach Larry Kehres, who has guided Mount Union to 10 national championships since 1993.

Mount Union will host Albright (Pa.) College (11-1) in the quarterfinals next Saturday. The Lions eliminated Delaware Valley, 27-3.

Rocco guided the Purple Raiders to touchdowns on its first five possessions and Drew McClain began the turnover parade by returning an interception 16 yards to set up the second score.

“Our goal every week is to get three or four turnovers,” McClain said. “Anytime you win the turnover battle, it’s huge. We knew their offense could exploit some things on us, but our coaching staff made some great adjustments.”

Tom Fischer passed for 163 yards including touchdowns of 57 and 4 yards to Dan Keegan for Montclair State (10-2). Fischer also threw three interceptions before leaving with a bruised knee.

Backup Ryan Boysen was picked off four more times and also lost a fumble. The Red Hawks also managed only 15 yards rushing on 22 carries.

“The turnovers destroyed us,” Red Hawks coach Rick Giancola said. “The defense just about caught its breath and had to go back out there against a strong offense.

“But the real key was their line on both sides of the ball. It’s tough to make a play when you’ve already been knocked back six yards.”

Rocco completed 10 of 11 passes for 113 yards into a brisk wind in the first quarter as Mount Union took a 21-0 lead. He had scoring passes of 18 yards to Judd Harrold and 11 yards to Vince Petruziello around Shorts’ first TD.

Rocco went 22 for 31 overall, leaving after a 30-yard scoring pass to Petruziello early in the fourth quarter.

Brett Baker finished the scoring with a 23-yard interception return.

The Purple Raiders have scored 55 points or more in each of their last six games, outscoring opponents 343-28.

Fischer hit Keegan in stride over the middle late in the first quarter and the slender receiver ran the final 30 yards for a 57-yard TD — the longest pass play allowed by Mount Union all season. After a 2-yard TD run by Morring, the Red Hawks got within 28-14 on a 4-yard TD catch by Keegan.

Montclair State returned only nine starters from an 8-3 team, but after a season-opening loss to Wilkes, won 10 straight including a 38-22 win over Maine Maritime in the Red Hawks’ first playoff game since 2003.

“Who knew we’d be here?” Giancola said. “We thought we would be respectable, but this was unexpected.”

A playoff berth is expected at Mount Union, which is in the postseason for the 18th consecutive year.

The Purple Raiders are 256-11-1 since 1990, including the two longest win streaks in college football history of 55 and 54 games.