Mount Union rolls again

Staff report

ALLIANCE

Jasper Collins caught five touchdown passes from Kevin Burke to lead the University of Mount Union football team to Saturday’s 55-13 victory over Johns Hopkins in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Collins had a career-high 228 yards on 12 catches. His five receiving touchdowns tied an NCAA Division III playoff record and five touchdowns scored tied a Mount Union playoff record.

The Purple Raiders (12-0) have won 66 consecutive home games and are in the quarterfinals for the 21st consecutive season.

Mount Union will play Widener (Pa.) on Saturday at noon at a site to be announced today.

Burke, Division III’s No. 1 rated quarterback, completed 25 passes in 36 attempts for a career-high 388 yards.

With 44 rushing yards, Burke accounted for 434 of the Raiders season-high 653 yards and the five touchdown passes matched his career-high.

Hopkins running back Jonathan Rigaud had 138 yards rushing and was the first back to rush for more than 100 yards on the Mount Union defense since Levell Coppage ran for 299 in the 2010 Stagg Bowl — a span of 27 games.

All-American linebacker Charles Dieuseul had a season-high 10 tackles, two sacks and an interception to lead a Mount Union defense that allowed just 278 yards with four sacks and three interceptions.

Two of those interceptions came early in the first quarter deep in Hopkins territory.

With the game scoreless after two posessions for each team, Dieuseul’s interception gave the Raiders the ball on the Hopkins 10-yard line which Burke hit Collins on the very next play to put Mount Union up 7-0.

On the very next play from scrimmage, fellow All-American in safety Nick Driskill intercepted a Hopkins pass to give the Raiders the ball on the 26-yard line. This time it took Burke four plays to find Collins to give Mount Union a 14-0 lead after the first quarter.

After a Hopkins punt, Mount Union would have to go a little farther as they went 83 yards on eight plays as Blair Skilliter ran in from six-yards out to extend the lead to 21-0.

Hopkins got on the board with the longest run of the year against the Raiders as Rigaud sprinted 75 yards for a score to make it 21-7.

Mount Union answered in just four plays as Burke hit Collins from 29 yards then Burke and Collins connected one more time before halftime to put the Raiders up 34-7 at the break.