Mount Union holds off Muhlenberg in overtime in wild NCAA Division III football playoff game
ALLIANCE — Mount Union knew there were no guarantees along the road to Canton.
At one point Saturday, the odds of the Purple Raiders seeing the NCAA Division III football semifinals seemed long.
Thanks to a gutsy comeback and some tense moments at the end of regulation, the journey continues.
Mount Union rallied from a 12-point third-quarter deficit and beat Muhlenberg 35-29 in overtime in a quarterfinal game at Mount Union Stadium. The Purple Raiders (13-0) will host defending national champion North Central next Saturday at noon.
A win next week will send Mount Union to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
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"The thing I saw today is that no one flinched," Purple Raiders head coach Geoff Dartt said. "We were down. Some plays weren't going our way. Muhlenberg had a great plan."
Quarterback Braxton Plunk's 14-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Harvey Jr. in overtime ended a game that teetered both ways in the final minutes.
The Purple Raiders were up against it. Two turnovers in the red zone and a muffed punt did not help their cause. With just over six minutes left in the third quarter, Mount Union trailed 21-9.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Purple Raiders suddenly found themselves back on top 29-21.
"We kept our poise," Plunk said. " ... The leadership of some of our six-year guys really showed through our poise."
One big play helped get Mount Union back on track. Josh Petruccelli's 53-yard touchdown run with 2:37 left in the third quarter cut Muhlenberg's lead to 21-16.
"That was a huge momentum swing," said Petruccelli, who finished with 105 yards rushing. "Having a one-play drove and scoring as quick as we did was huge for us."
DeAndre Parker's 8-yard touchdown run and Petruccelli's 2-yard TD run in the fourth quarter pushed Mount Union ahead 29-21.
Just when it appeared the Purple Raiders were in good shape, everything almost fell apart.
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Muhlenberg took over at the Mount Union 25 after Purple Raiders punter Thomas Piccirillo's knee was ruled down after a high snap. Five plays later, Michael Feaster caught an 8-yard TD pass from Michael Hnatkowsky with 1:20 left. Thomas Murphy's 2-point conversion catch tied it at 29-29.
Mount Union's Nick Deack missed a 41-yard field goal attempt late in regulation. The Purple Raiders, however, were in the driver's seat in overtime after Muhlenberg's Nick Stannard missed a 35-yard field goal.
After a tough day in the red zone, the Purple Raiders walked off a winner on Plunk's TD pass to Harvey.
Plunk threw for 465 yards, but was intercepted twice and sacked three times.
"I gotta play better," Plunk said. "If I play better,, then we'll have a little better game next week."
The bottom line for Mount Union is there is a next week.
"At the end of the day, we stepped up and made the plays we had to," Dartt said. "We're thankful we get to play another week."
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @mpopovichREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Mount Union football beats Muhlenberg in wild NCAA playoff game
