The teams exchanged punts and turnovers in a scoreless first quarter.

Following cornerback Ross Watson’s fourth interception of the year, returned 43 yards to the Crusader 16 yard line, Mount Union eventually capitalized on a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Aaron Robinson at the 12:45 mark of the second stanza. Mike Zimmerman’s PAT made it 7-0 Raiders.

Capital answered at the 8:01 mark of the quarter with a 19-yard flea-flicker when quarterback Rocky Pentello lateralled to receiver Chad Stencil, who then connected with receiver Kive Kraft. The touchdown was set up by a 41-yard strike from Pentello to receiver Graham Holmberg. The PAT by Matt Spitz tied it at 7-7.

Mount Union scored on the very next play from scrimmage when quarterback Mike Jorris found wideout Pierre Garcon on a 77 yard touchdown strike. Zimmerman’s PAT gave the Raiders a 14-7 lead with 7:42 remaining before intermission.

Both teams turned it over on ensuing possessions prior to halftime. The Raiders led 14-7 at the break.

The Crusaders took the opening possession of the third quarter and marched 62 yards on 14 plays before settling for a 26-yard field goal by Spitz at the 8:30 mark. It was Spitz’s first career field goal.

On Mount Union’s next possession, Crusader linebacker Sam Abdullah batted a pitchout in the air and came down with it giving Capital the ball on the Raider 13-yard line. Four plays later, Pentello took a pitch from running back Colin O’Reilly and scored his fourth career rushing touchdown. Spitz’s PAT gave the Crusaders a 17-14 lead with 5:56 left in the third and put the Raiders behind for the first time in 2005.

The Purple Raiders entered the fourth trailing 17-14 when on the first play from scrimmage, Jorris connected with Garcon on a season-best 83 yard touchdown strike. Zimmerman’s PAT put the Raiders up 21-17 with 14:48 to play.

Raider defensive back Cameron Rose came up with his second pick of the season with 14 minutes remaining in the contest.

On the very next play, running back Kelechi Ibeh scampered a career-best 49 yards for a score. Zimmerman’s PAT gave Mount Union a 28-17 edge.

The Raiders would set a new school mark by scoring on three consecutive offensive plays, when following a Capital punt, Robinson went 25-yards for his second touchdown of the contest. The score was set up by Scott Casto’s 32 yard punt return. Zimmerman’s PAT gave the Raiders a 35-17 lead.

Following Watson’s career-best third interception in one game, and OAC-best sixth on the year, Mount Union marched 80 yards on 10 plays before Robinson reached the end zone from two yards out at the 3:39 mark of the fourth quarter. Zimmerman added the PAT giving the Raiders a 42-17 lead.

After trailing by three points (17-14) entering the final frame, the Purple Raiders scored 28 consecutive points to regain control of the game.

“Big plays are momentum changers,” said Crusader Head Coach Jim Collins. “And we didn’t respond by getting first downs after they hit on some of those big plays early in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, it snowballed from there. However, I’m proud of how our kids battled. They came a long way today and now understand how much farther they need to go."

Pentello threw his first career touchdown pass against Mount Union when he found Holmberg from 15 yards out with 0:23 seconds remaining. Spitz’s PAT made the final 42-24 Raiders.

Offensively, Jorris finished 16-of-26 for 301 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. Garcon had a personal Raider career-best nine receptions for a career-best 214 yards receiving and two scores. His 214 yards receiving is third best all-time on the Raider single-game yardage list. Robinson had his second consecutive 100 yard rushing performance – with 22 attempts for 109 yards with three scores. Robinson has scored three touchdowns in back-to-back games and is tied with Garcon with a team-high seven scores this fall. Ibeh had a career-best 63 yards rushing on just eight attempts.

Defensively, the Raiders were led by safety Matt Kostelnik and linebacker Mike Gibbons with 11 hits each. Tackle Buddy Wolf had five hits and two sacks for a loss of 33 yards. Mount Union had four interceptions, giving the defense 14 in just four weeks of play.

“The defense won this game for us,” said Raider Head Coach Larry Kehres in the post-game interview room. “We were in a tight game going into the fourth quarter and they were able to force three and outs at key moments and get our offense back on the field.”

For the Crusaders, Pentello finished 19-of-39 for 188 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Running back Colin O’Reilly had 23 carries for 83 yards. Holmberg had 83 yards receiving on four grabs and one score.

Defensively for Capital, linebacker Joel Sickmeier collected eight hits and one sack, and defensive back Thom Hausler had seven hits and two tackles for loss. Lineback Sam Abdullah totaled five hits, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.

The Raiders finished with 477 yards of total offense compared to 275 for the Crusaders. Mount Union had five turnovers compared to four for Capital. The Raiders had three sacks while the Crusaders finished with two.

“We needed a test like this,” said Watson, who now has six picks in just four games played in 2005. “Capital has a great team and they are well-coached. We just tried to work as a unit defensively to get off the field as quickly as possible.”

Kehres was more to the point.

“Heck, Ross (Watson) played an outstanding game again today. He covers the other team’s best receiver every week and you see how he’s doing. He’s being humble, but the truth is, once the ball goes up in the air, he’s making the plays out there on his own.”

The Purple Raiders have now won 108 consecutive regular season games and 97 straight OAC regular season contests.

Mount Union will next travel to Wilmington for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 8.

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