ALLIANCE, Ohio –The Baldwin Wallace University football team fell to No. 2 nationally-ranked the University of Mount Union by a final score of 45-7 in an Ohio Athletic Conference game inside Mount Union Stadium.
BW (2-1, 1-1 OAC) fell to 35-22-1 in the all-time series with Mount Union (2-0, 1-0 OAC)
Offensively for the Yellow Jackets, senior Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference quarterback A.J. Miller (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs Charter) completed 17-of-31 passes for 215 yards with two interceptions. Sophomore All-OAC running back Jon Murray, Jr. (Cincinnati/Withrow) led the ground game as he rushed for 72 yards on 22 carries with one touchdown. Murray, Jr. also caught four passes for 26 yards. Junior wide out Iyan Mitchell (Tampa, Fla./Robinson) led the receiving corps with six catches for 72 yards with a long of 29. Defensively, senior linebacker Josh Liberati (Lisbon/David Anderson) recorded a game-high nine tackles and had a forced fumble. Senior All-OAC defensive back Jordyn Johnson (Akron/North) and junior linebacker Brenton Miller (Carrollton) added eight stops apiece.
The Purple Raiders were led by senior All-OAC quarterback D'Angelo Fulford as he completed 20-of-31 passes for 272 yards with four touchdowns. Junior All-OAC running back Josh Petrucelli led the rushing attack with 94 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Senior All-OAC wide out Justin Hill led the receivers with six catches for 107 yards with two touchdowns. Defensively, senior defensive back Nate Fisette and junior defensive back Kordell Ford each had seven tackles.
Mount Union opened the scoring when Petrucelli took the direct snap and rushed four yards for the score. Senior Academic All-OAC kicker Cory Barnett added the extra point to make the score 7-0 at the 6:39 mark. The Purple Raiders added to their lead after the BW fumble when Barnett hit a 41-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 at 4:12.
Mount Union added to its lead and started the second quarter scoring when Fulford hooked up with senior wide receiver Derrick Harvey, Jr. on a 19-yard play. Barnett tacked on the point after to push the lead to 17-0 at the 12:21 mark. The Purple Raiders closed out the first half scoring when senior wide receiver Ernie Burkes caught a seven-yard pass from Fulford. Barnett hit the point after to make the score 24-0 at 3:16.
Neither team was able to score in the third quarter.
Mount Union got the first points of the second half when Hill caught a 15-yard pass from Fulford. Barnett added the extra point to push the lead to 31-0 at the 12:51 mark of the fourth quarter. BW got its first points of the game on a four-yard run by Murray, Jr. Freshman placekicker Dean Sarris (Canton/GlenOak) tacked on the extra points to cut the lead down to 31-7 at 10:48. The Purple Raiders responded when Hill caught his second touchdown on a 35-yard pass from Fulford. Barnett hit the point after attempt to make the score 38-7 at the 7:24 mark. Mount Union closed out the scoring when junior linebacker Drake Roach recovered the fumble and returned it 25-yards for the touchdown. Barnett hit the extra point to make the score 45-7 with 1:30 remaining
The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday, September 28 when they host their home opener in an OAC and 42nd Lee Tressel Shrine Classic game against Heidelberg University on the Tressel Field inside The George Finnie Stadium at 1:30 p.m.