Box Score  | Game Notes

In what was dubbed one of the most exciting and meaningful division III football games this season, the No. 1 Mount Union Purple
Raiders narrowly defeated the No. 9 John Carroll Blue Streaks in front of a sell-out crowd of 8,104 at Mount Union Stadium, 42-34.

Both teams came into the game with undefeated records of 9-0, including 8-0 records in Ohio Athletic Conference play. The Blue Streaks and Purple Raiders also came into the game with the first and second ranked defenses in the nation, respectively. While the game didn't turn out to be a defensive showdown, it certainly lived up to the hype.

The Blue and Gold elected to receive the opening kickoff, but were unable to put points on the board. After a punt brought the Mount Union offensive attack onto the field, quarterback Kevin Burke completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Luc Meachem to give the Purple Raiders the early 7-0 lead.

Despite trailing early on the road, the Blue Streaks never blinked. Junior quarterback Mark Myers and the JCU offense responded by engineering an 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Myers to junior Zach Strippy. On the ensuing Purple Raiders possession, the Blue Streaks forced and recovered a fumble to steal the momentum from Mount Union. An 8-play, 41-yard drive ended in a 43-yard field goal from junior Kresimir Ivkovic, giving JCU a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

However, after the Blue Streaks took the lead, the Purple Raiders stormed right back with 21 unanswered points. A 6-yard run by BJ Mitchell, a 4-yard run from Burke and a 34-yard touchdown pass from Burke gave Mount Union a controlling 28-10 lead with 1:53 remaining before half.

After both teams exchanged punts, the Blue Streaks had the ball at their own 42-yard line with 35 seconds remaining in the half. With time on the clock and three timeouts, Myers again showed poise and led JCU down the field to Mount Union's 6-yard line. With just six seconds on the clock, Myers completed a pass to junior Tommy Michals, who was stopped one yard short of the end zone as the clock expired for halftime intermission.
           
Leading 28-10, the Purple Raiders received the kickoff in the second half. Needing a big play, the Blue Streaks defense stepped up as senior Randy Greenwood forced a fumble from Burke. Matt Fenney recovered the fumble, setting JCU's offense up inside the Mount Union red zone. A 28-yard field goal from Ivkovic cut the Purple Raiders' lead to 28-13 and, more importantly, gave the Blue Streaks' sideline and crowd some life.
           
Just over two minutes later, Burke completed a 30-yard touchdown pass on third-and-10 to Meachem, pushing the Purple Raiders' lead to 35-13 with 9:35 remaining in the third.
           
Trailing by 22 points in the third quarter, some critics might have expected JCU to simply roll over. But those critics certainly don't know this resilient Blue Streaks squad.
           
Myers led a 7-play, 73-yard drive in just 2:16 seconds and ended it with another touchdown pass to Strippy, his second of the day, to make the score 35-20 with 2:15 left in the third.
           
Early in the fourth quarter, Myers again led the Blue Streaks down the field for an 11-play, 53-yard drive that culminated in a 4-yard run from Michals, trimming the deficit to just one score, 35-27.
           
On the ensuing Mount Union drive, Burke responded with an 8-yard touchdown run to boost the lead back to 15, 42-27.
           
Trailing by 15 late in the fourth quarter, the Blue Streaks again refused to give up. Myers and Co. again moved down the field, this time a 68-yard drive, and handed it off to Michals for a 7-yard touchdown to finish the drive. With 3:30 remaining and the Blue Streaks trailing by eight, 42-34, it was time for the to-ranked JCU defense to step up.
           
The Blue Streaks defensive unit rose to the occasion, forcing a 3-and-out on Mount Union's next drive, giving the ball back to the JCU offense with 2:54 remaining.
           
With less than three minutes and no timeouts, the Blue Streaks were pinned on their own 18-yard line and needed a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. On the first play of the drive, Myers fumbled but fell on the ball and recovered it.
           
Facing third-and-17 from his own 11-yard line, Myers threw an incomplete pass to  junior Aramis Greenwood, but a personal foul on the Purple Raiders after the whistle gave JCU a new set of downs. A 12-yard pass from Myers to Michals was followed by another personal foul on Mount Union, giving JCU 1^st and 10 on their own 48-yard line.

A 9-yard pass to Michals was followed by an incomplete pass to Aramis Greenwood, leaving JCU with a third-and-1 situation on Mount Union's 43. The Purple Raiders then called a timeout.

With just 1:38 remaining, Myers fired a 22-yard pass to freshman Brian Kornowski to set up the JCU offense at the 21-yard line. A 6-yard rush by Michals gave JCU 2^nd and 4 on the 15-yard line. Two incomplete passes from Myers led to fourth-and-4 for JCU on the 15. Needing a first down to keep their hopes alive, the Blue Streaks fell short as Myers tossed a would-be first down to Michals, but he couldn't hold on, forcing a turnover on downs and effectively ending the comeback attempt.
           
With the loss, the Blue Streaks lost their first game of the season, finishing the regular season 9-1 overall, including 8-1 in the OAC.
           
"Mount played very well, you have to give all the credit to them," said head coach Tom Arth. "I'm proud of our guys, I'm proud of the way they fought, I'm proud of the way they never gave up. They kept believing, but unfortunately we came up just a little bit short and that falls on me."
           
Myers, a Cleveland St. Ignatius alum, finished the game 31-56 with 451 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The junior quarterback also showed tremendous poise throughout the game, yet acknowledged that there is room for improvement from this game.
           
"We just had to rally the troops and put some points on the board," said Myers. "We didn't finish in the red zone; that was our biggest problem … I think I threw two interceptions in the second half, that's my responsibility. We just have to get better as an offense completely."
           
With the loss, the Blue Streaks will not enter the postseason as OAC Champions, but will likely earn an at-large berth. While players and coaches alike expressed disappointment, they also understand that the road doesn't end here.
           
"I've been telling you guys all year, it's a special group," said Arth. "Nothing has changed. They're still a special group. These guys have hearts like you wouldn't believe. They're confident, they have a lot of believe in themselves … They're going to come back, they're going to bounce back and this game's going to make us stronger. I believe that with my whole heart."