Ten things to know about Mount Union-Ohio Northern football
Kickoff
The Ohio Athletic Conference game will start at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Dial-Roberson Stadium, 3768 Klinger Rd., Ada.
On the air
The game will be broadcast on WRMU-FM (91.1) and WDPN-AM (1310).
More:Mount Union's Duke Hill does the 'dirty' work, unnoticed, so defensive teammates get the glory
The teams
Mount Union is 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Purple Raiders have won three consecutive games overall and 47 consecutive regular-season games. Ohio Northern is 1-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference. The Polar Bears defeated Capital 28-13 on Sept. 10 but have lost to Heidelberg 37-3 and Baldwin Wallace 35-31. ONU fell to Alma (Mich.) 16-13 in the season opener.
The rankings
Mount Union moved from third to second this week in the two major polls (AFCA and D3football.com) thanks mostly to previous No. 2, St. John’s losing to 20th-ranked Bethel last week. ONU is not ranked.
The coaches
More:Mount Union football is efficient all around in 59-0 victory at Muskingum
Geoff Dartt is 20-1 in his third season at Mount Union; Garrettsville native and Mount Union graduate Dean Paul is 114-64 in his 19th season at ONU.
The series
Mount Union has won the last 15 games and leads the series, 49-13-1. ONU’s last win was 21-14 on Oct. 22, 2005 in Kehres Stadium. Last season, Mount Union defeated the Polar Bears 42-35.
About Ohio Northern
Picked to finish sixth in the OAC the Polar Bears opened OAC play with a victory over Capital but have lost two straight to Heidelberg and Baldwin Wallace. The loss to BW was excruciating as the Yellow Jackets scored twice in the last 7:41 to win, including a 75-yard TD pass to GlenOak graduate Darius Stokes with about four minutes to play. The other loss was in the season opener and was just as excruciating, a 16-13 setback in overtime to Alma. It appears that freshman Adan Figueroa has become the starting quarterback over fifth-year senior Trevor McConnell, who did not play against BW. Figuera completed 13-of-27 passes for 111 yards and two TDs against one interception in his first career start. McConnell, who backed up the graduated Brody Hahn, had thrown four TD passes against seven interceptions while completing 50% of his throws in the previous three games. Seniors Brock Martin (76 carries, 222 yards) and Jamir Nunley (31 carries, 113 yards) are the leading rushers while senior Austin Eck is the leading receiver with 24 receptions for 282 yards.
Other ONU facts
There are at least 30 Northeastern Ohioans on the roster, most of whom are from the Greater Cleveland area. … Anderson Neidert, a freshman defensive lineman from Uniontown Lake, is the lone Stark Countian. The coaching staff includes two Baldwin Wallace graduates: Defensive coordinator Glenn Scheutzow (1999) and secondary coach Austin Cordova (2015). Andre Griffin, the son of two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin, works with the receivers and is the recruiting coordinator. The new offensive coordinator is former Ohio State and New York Giants center Jim Cordle, who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Giants in 2012.
About Mount Union
As expected and as usual the Raiders are rolling, having outscored their first three opponents by a combined 172 points. The passing game is in full throttle with senior QB Braxton Plunk completing 63-of-77 passes (82%) for 982 yards and 10 touchdowns. All-American wide receiver Wayne Ruby is the primary target with 29 receptions for 607 yards and nine touchdowns. The running game seemingly hasn’t gotten out of first gear, however, with backup QB Noah Beaudrie as the leading rusher with 158 yards on 17 carries. DeAndre Parker, who emerged as a solid ball carrier last year, has gained 156 yards on 31 carries and seniors KJ Redmon and Lance Mitchell have combined for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 43 attempts.
What to watch
The Polar Bears gave Mount Union its toughest regular season game in 2021 and Dartt expects the same in 2022. Last year’s 42-35 victory wasn’t in the bag until Derrick Bradley intercepted a Brody Hahn pass in the endzone with 1:00 to play. The Raiders had four interceptions in that game but ONU rolled up 486 yards of total offense. Josh Petruccelli’s 1-yard TD run and the PAT by Nick Deack broke a 35-35 tie with 2:14 to play. Mount Union’s winning drive covered 86 yards in 13 plays and ate 6:21 off the clock. Look for the Purple Raiders to pressure Figueroa early and often with a number of different looks. This is an experienced and savvy defense that has limited opponents to less than 2 yards rushing per play.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union plays OAC rival Ohio Northern on Saturday
