Juniata football upended 28-3 on Muhlenberg's big plays
Juniata football moved the ball well against Muhlenberg and had some key stops against the Mules, but three key plays led to 21 points in the Eagles' 28-3 loss at Knox Stadium.
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – There was a lot to like about Juniata College football's performance Saturday against Muhlenberg College.
The Eagle offense moved the ball effectively for stretches, finishing with 14 first downs and 238 yards – both among Juniata's best efforts of the season in those categories. Defensively, Juniata had a couple of takeaways and stopped Muhlenberg in some key situations.
But the Mules took full advantage of some big plays that led directly to 21 points, and resulted in a 28-3 Juniata loss to Muhlenberg in a Centennial Conference matchup at Knox Stadium.
Muhlenberg (4-3, 4-2 Centennial) got one of those big plays on the opening kickoff, as Chase Nadell returned the ball 74 yards to the Juniata six-yard line. Mule running back Terrence Dandridge scored on a two-yard scoring rush two plays later, giving Muhlenberg a 7-0 lead.
Juniata (0-7, 0-6 Centennial) responded early in the second quarter, striking on the heels of a Muhlenberg turnover.
Eagle linebacker Zach Boyd (Alexandria, Pa./Juniata Valley) punched the ball out Dandridge's hands at the Juniata 25, where it was recovered by David Weiss (Middletown, Md./Middletown). That play started a 12-play, 55-yard Juniata drive, capped by Scott Andrews' (Hollidaysburg, Pa/Altoona Area) 39-yard field goal to cut the Muhlenberg lead to 7-3.
Muhlenberg extended its lead to 14-3 by the intermission, capitalizing on an 80-yard TD pass from quarterback Joe Carlucci to Dan Deighan with 2:09 remaining in the second quarter.
Juniata drove the ball from its own 28 on the ensuing kickoff all the way down to the Muhlenberg 24-yard line, propelled in large part by Ward Udinski's (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) 34-yard pass play to Julian Valdiserri (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) on 3rd-and-11. Andrews tried to connect on his second field goal of the day from 41 yards out, but his attempt fell short and Muhlenberg took over for the final 26 seconds of the half.
The Mules added to their lead with touchdowns in both the third and fourth quarters. Muhlenberg scored on J.T. Merklinger's six-yard rush with 2:45 left in the third, after taking possession following a Udinski fumble at the Mules' 39-yard line.
Earlier in the frame, Juniata kept Muhlenberg from adding to its lead by stopping one drive at its own 35-yard line, and holding the Mules on a second drive and forcing a 32-yard field goal attempt that was wide left.
In the fourth quarter, Muhlenberg finished a nine-play, 83-drive with another Carlucci to Deighan touchdown pass, this time for 12 yards. Carlucci and Deighan hooked up for 21 yards on the second play of the drive, while Carlucci rushed for 17 yards later in the sequence, helping fuel the Mules' scoring drive.
Udinski finished the day 18-of-33 through the air for 134 yards, second-most completions and passing yardage of the freshman quarterback's career, and carried a team-high 16 times for 45 yards.
Zach McCaulley (Bellwood, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) was Juniata's yardage leader on the ground with 55 yards on 12 carries.
De'Sean Popley (Philadelphia, Pa./Academy of the New Church) had a season-high seven receptions for 25 yards, while Valdiserri and Hunter Phillips (Funkstown, Md./South Hagerstown) each had four receptions for 51 and 13 yards respectfully.
Juniata's 14 first downs were second-most in a game this season, as was the Eagles' 238 yards of offense, trailing only Juniata's numbers against Gettysburg earlier this season. The Eagles were 6-of-19 on third-down conversions, the most for Juniata this season, and won the time of possession battle for just the third time in 2011.
The Mules were led offensively by Carlucci with 181 yards passing on a 8-of-12 effort, with wideout Marcus Toomey hauling in six passes for 96 yards. Deighan finished with 113 yards on his three catches, to go with 55 yards rushing on eight carries.
Muhlenberg finished with 403 yards offense, with just almost a third of that coming on two plays: Deighan's 80-yard TD reception in the second quarter, and a 38-yard pass from Carlucci to Toomey on a 3rd-and-9 play during the Mules' third quarter scoring drive, carrying the possession into the Juniata red zone.
Defensively, four players each had five total tackles for Juniata, with linebacker Kevin Gorman (Waverly, N.Y./Waverly Central) logging a team-high four solo stops. Weiss finished with a pair of fumble recoveries, and Chris Beall (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) and Boyd finished with a pass breakup each.
Muhlenberg linebacker Patrick McDonough charted 14 total tackles, 11 unassisted, with two sacks and 4.0 tackles-for-loss.
Juniata begins a stretch of back-to-back road games next Saturday, Oct. 29, as it heads to Westminster, Md., to face McDaniel College. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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