Photos by Bob Hockenbrock
By Joshua Yoder
MOUNT UNION – After receiving their first loss of the season last week, the Trojans looked to avoid losing two in row against Glendale and they did just that pulling out a tough 38-31 win over the Vikings Friday night in ICC Football action.
Things did not start off well for Mount Union however, despite forcing Glendale to punt; the ball bounced off the back of a Trojan player and was quickly recovered by the Vikings. And they turned that mistake into points as senior running back Jimmy Sutton went into the endzone with a five yard run and a Ryder Krise extra point making it a 7-0 lead for the Vikings.
Mount Union was able to bounce back as Nasir Collins made a huge return on the kickoff giving the Trojans great field position. And they were able to punch the ball in as freshmen quarterback Maddox Hobbs snuck in on the one yard line. However the two point attempted failed which allowed Glendale to keep the lead at 7-6.
But the Trojans were able to catch a break as the Vikings were trying to punt the ball away; the snap sailed over the head of the punter which gave them possession of the ball in Glendale territory.
Hobbs made them pay as he fired a rocket to Georgie Bilger for a 12 yard touchdown pass. But again, the two point attempted had failed, but Mount Union took a 12-7 lead after one quarter of play.
Mount Union kept the momentum going on offense at the start of the second quarter with a one yard run for the score courtesy of senior Josh Ryan and then a Mason Swanger field goal extended the lead to 19-7.
But Glendale wasn’t going to allow Mount Union to get away as the Vikings powered their way down the field and finished the drive off with a five yard run by Sutton and then the extra point to cut the lead down to 19-14.
The Trojans responded late in the first half as Collins scored a seven yard run. However the kick had failed leaving at 25-14 lead at the end of the half.
The third quarter however, things turned in favor for the Vikings as they started the quarter off getting a fumble recovery by Landen McGarvey. Then they turned the mistake into points as Sutton found receiver Rhylan Hoopsick-Bell on a halfback pass that went 30 yards.
With the score now at 25-21, Glendale managed to get the ball back again and took the lead after a three yard run by Sutton giving the Vikings a 28-25 lead.
Mount Union though responded in a big way thanks to Collins. Collins, who was held to just 47 yards in the first half, finally broke loose in the third quarter and flew downfield and scored on a 64 yard run giving the Trojans back the lead. However the kick failed leaving Mount Union with a 31-28 lead.
But then in the fourth quarter, the Trojans added onto their lead as Ryan fought his way into the endzone going 24 yards making it 38-28.
Glendale refused to go away quickly as with less than 4:30 minutes left in the game, kicker Krise nailed a 25 yard field goal to cut the lead down to 38-31.
But the Mount Union offense was able to collect itself a pair of first downs and were able to run the clock out on the Vikings to secure the victory.
The Trojans had a total of 298 yards of total offense for the game. Collins led the way with 169 yards which 122 of those yards came in the second half.
The Mount Union defense had made some big plays as well with Bilger and Davin Yocum each getting a sack while Abe Weirich also had a sack but a fumble recovery as well.
It was also homecoming week for the Trojans and it was India James who was named Homecoming Queen. Congratulations to Miss India James.
Mount Union moves to (5-1) overall and (3-1) in the ICC and will look to keep the winning going as the Trojans will hit the road and face the Juniata Valley Hornets next Friday at 7 p.m.