Seven things to know about Saturday's Mount Union football game at Capital
The Game
Mount Union (5-0, 4-0 Ohio Athletic Conference) at Capital (0-5, 0-4), 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Bernlohr Stadium in Bexley.
On The Air
WRMU-FM (91.1) and WDPN-AM (1310).
The series
Mount Union leads the series 43-12 and has won the last 35 meetings. Capital last defeated the Purple Raiders, 26-25, on Oct. 9, 1987, about four months after President Ronald Reagan delivered his “tear down this wall” speech at the Berlin Wall. Last season, Mount Union defeated Capital 63-0 and held the Comets without a first down.
About Capital
The Comets, coached by Brian Foos (2-17) in his third season, are living up to preseason predictions that called for them to finish last in the OAC. The last two losses were especially tough as they fell to Otterbein (2-4) 35-28 and Wilmington (3-2) 34-31. Both losses came in the final 35 seconds. Capital is averaging 265 yards per game but allowing 427 and scoring 22 points per game while allowing 36. Graduate student Trevor Harrison-Rawn has carried most of the load. In the two latest losses, he completed 24-of-57 passes for 339 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound quarterback also gained 76 yards and scored twice on 22 carries. Junior Ben Everson also has seen time at quarterback and has completed 43-of-94 throws for 489 yards and six touchdowns but has thrown five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 119 yards on 41 carries. Seniors Sam Pickett and Mike Elmore have been the key receivers and junior Drew Engle is a key ball carrier with 105 yards on 28 carries. Much of the defensive load will fall on senior linebacker Nick Fisanick and tackle Jack Blaisdell. They have combined for 40 solo tackles, 49 assists, 4.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss and one interception. Freshman linebacker Griffin McKinney, who attended Jackson High School, also is making an impression with a team-leading 44 tackles.
Capital connections
Coach Foos is a former assistant at Baldwin Wallace. Co-Defensive coordinator Joe Nemeth formerly assisted at the University of Akron … In addition to McKinney, there are two other freshmen with Stark County ties ― tight end Jon Ruiz and offensive lineman Vinny Hildebrand, both from Perry. Summit County also is represented by junior wideout Dom Glenn (Twinsburg) and freshman running back Chris Smith (Barberton).
About Mount Union
As it has been since the late 1990s, or about the time gas was about $1.15 a gallon, the Raiders are among the national leaders in almost 20 categories on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Among them: first in scoring defense (2.6 ppg), passing yards allowed (96.4 per game), total overall defense (128.4 yards per game), first downs allowed (37), passing efficiency (204.79 yards per game) and time of possession (36.12 mins per game). Individually, wide receiver Wayne Ruby is fourth in receiving yards (726) and second in receiving yards per game (145.2). Quarterback Braxton Plunk stands second in passing efficiency (208.9) and fifth in passing yards per game (317.8).
What to watch
Capital is averaging 99 yards on the ground. Mount has held opponents to an average of 32 yards on the ground. Do the math. Not a good scenario for the Comets.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union football plays Capital in an Ohio Athletic Conference game
