Breaking down the Mount Union football playoff matchup with Delaware Valley

The game: Mount Union (12-0) vs. Delaware Valley (12-0) in a Division III quarterfinal playoff game, noon Saturday at James Work Stadium, Doylestown, Pa.

On The Air: WDPN-AM (1310) and WRMU-FM (91.1)

The rankings: Mount Union was ranked second in the American Football Coaches Association poll and in the D3football.com poll. Delaware Valley was ranked eighth by the AFCA and 14th by D3football.com.

Coaches: Geoff Dartt is 29-1 in his third season at Mount Union. Duke Greco is 82-12 in his ninth season at Delaware Valley.

Last meeting: In the only previous meeting Mount Union won, 31-3, in the second round of the 2010 playoffs.

Playoff history: This is Delaware Valley’s 11th playoff appearance and fifth time in the quarterfinals. The Aggies have a 14-10 playoff record and have never won a national championship. This is Mount Union’s 33rd playoff appearance and 29th time in the quarterfinals. The Raiders have a 109-19 playoff record and have won 13 national championships.

Last time out: Mount Union 45, Utica 7; Delaware Valley 39, Randolph-Macon 32.

About Delaware Valley: Champions of the Middle Atlantic Conference, the Aggies defeated Gallaudet, 59-0, and Randolph-Macon, 39-32, in their first two playoff games. It almost didn’t happen against Randolph-Macon as they trailed, 32-18, with about three minutes to play in the third quarter before scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the final 14:13, including the game-winner with 24 seconds to play. Sophomore quarterback Louie Barrios is the catalyst as he has thrown for 2,229 yards and 19 touchdowns (against eight interceptions) and has rushed for 487 yards and 14 touchdowns. Sophomore Jay White is the leading ball carrier with 1,180 yards and 11 touchdowns on 190 carries. Junior Tamir Barksdale is the leading receiver with 55 receptions for 758 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Nahsir Morgan (6-foot-5, 195 pounds) has caught 26 passes for 482 yards and five scores. The Aggies have two outstanding defensive ends in 6-0, 250-pound senior Mike Nobile and 5-11, 225-pound senior Yusuf Aladinov. They play on a defense that has held opponents to about eight points per game. Nobile is a two-time MAC defensive player of the year and has 18 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Aladinov was a D3football.com All-American last year when he finished second in all of Division III with 23.5 tackles for loss. Statistically, it hints that the Aggies would prefer to run the ball over passing it. They have run the ball 483 times against 264 pass attempts. Comparatively, Mount Union has 443 rushing attempts and 423 pass attempts.

About Mount Union: The Purple Raiders come into this game with two solid performances behind them and all three facets of the game working superbly. Senior quarterback Braxton Plunk has completed 293-of-393 passes for 3,715 yards and 44 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Wayne Ruby Jr. has caught 78 passes for 1,430 yards and a single-season school-record 26 TDs. Jaden Manley, Orreon Finley and Edwin Reed also are very talented and Plunk gets the ball to all of them, as well as senior running back DeAndre Parker and tight end Chase Lawson. Parker has gained 1,129 yards and scored 17 touchdowns on 195 attempts. Linebackers Mason McMillen, Rossy Moore and safety Jesse Vail continue to lead the defense, but others like Von Factor, Ian Sexton, John Roland and Jordan Stankovich have been influential.

What to watch: It could be a low-scoring game as both defenses rank among the top in the country. Mount Union is ranked third, allowing 7.17 points a game and DelValo is sixth at 8.08. While it appears the Aggies would prefer to run the ball over passing it was Barrios’ passing that beat Randoph-Macon as he completed 17-of-27 attempts for 335 yards and two touchdowns, including a 10-yard pass to Jahaire Johnson for the game-winner with 24 seconds to play. Mount Union has a variety of offensive weapons and it will need all of them to overcome DelVal’s fierce defense. It will be up to the Mount defense to corral Barrios & Co.

This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union plays Delaware Valley in a NCAA Division football playoff