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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Brennan Fugh
Tim Phillis, News Herald
Fugh led the offense with dynamic plays, including a great touchdown catch. 
28
Winner Mount Union MTU 3-0 , 2-0
14
John Carroll JCU 1-2 , 1-1
Winner
Mount Union MTU
3-0 , 2-0
28
Final
14
John Carroll JCU
1-2 , 1-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
MTU Mount Union 7 14 7 0 28
JCU John Carroll 0 7 0 7 14

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10/2/2021 | 1:30 PM

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Game Recap: Football | | Anna Meyer, Senior Staff Writer

Football Falters in a Home Defeat to Mount Union

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- With a rivalry dating back to the 1920s, a gridiron matchup between John Carroll University Blue Streaks (1-2) and Mount Union Purple Raiders (3-0) is always one for the books despite the game's outcome. 

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon in University Heights, the No. 21 Blue Streaks fell 28-14 against the No. 3/4 Mount Union Purple Raiders at Don Shula Stadium in an Ohio Athletic Conference and D3football.com Top 25 contest. 

"My hats off to my leaders and coaches and everyone,'' said John Carroll University Head Coach Rick Finotti. "A lot of guys dropped their egos in this game, and they did what they had to do to get everyone ready. I have so much respect for my football team, coaches, and we tested their patience, but it did not come out our way. A lot of guys grew up today in this game, and it is encouraging."

This marks the first time the Blue Streaks have gone 0-2 at home since 1986. Both losses have come against D3football.com's top 25 teams. 

On the offensive side for John Carroll, junior Brennan Fugh led the efforts on the day, catching his first two touchdowns receptions of the season and a season-high 92 yards in receiving. Despite Fugh's strong performance, the Blue Streaks could not keep up with Mount Union quarterback Braxton Plunk's dominant accuracy. 

"[Fugh] is dangerous, and his performance says it all," noted Finotti. "We tried to give it to him a couple more times. If we got to him a little bit sooner, he could've made some more big catches. Brennan is a great player for us, and Limerick had a few big downs. Today was about quality of possession." 

In the first half, the Blue Streaks saw a similar strong play from the quarterback for the Purple Raiders as they did in the spring. Plunk went 28-of-33, passing for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. 

After a muffed punt, the Blue Streaks had another offensive opportunity giving John Carroll a first down at the 39-yard line.

Unfortunately, Mount Union's defense forced the Blue Streaks three and out after Jake Floreia was sacked for a loss of 14 yards. 

On the offensive transition, the Purple Raiders took their time to find the end zone. After an 18 play, 92-yard drive, Mount Union captured the first score courtesy of quarterback Braxton Plunk's pass to Justin Mandley. Mount Union went up 7-0 and never looked back.

In John Carroll's next drive, a JCU pass would be intercepted by Josh Jones for the Purple Raiders. Mount Union took advantage of the Blue Streak's offensive mistakes, converting the interception into a quick 8-play drive ending in a touchdown for Mount Union. 

John Carroll's offense began to light up following Mount Union's two-possession lead. 

The Blue Streaks were able to convert their good field positioning into a touchdown. Floreia launched a 33-yard pass to Fugh in the end zone. The crowd lit up as John Carroll tightened the score to 14-7 with 8:34 left in the second half. 

Mount Union's next scoring opportunity would be unsuccessful, as a 34-yard field goal attempt from Nick Deack would be unsuccessful. 

Mount Union maintained their destiny as they headed into the locker room up 21-7 after a sliding touchdown catch by Ulice Gilard right before halftime.

Mount Union kicked off the second half in a blitz towards the end zone once again. As the Purple Raiders looked to put the game away, John Carroll's defense stepped up to the occasion as Plunk threw his third career interception to senior safety Nate Leopold. 

The Blue and Gold offense could not convert from Mount Union's turnover as they went three and out. 

"Here is the retrospect: it is still week three, even though it is a big rivalry game. My hats off to Mount Union," said Finotti. "They played hard and deserved the victory. Some of those opportunities that we had we should have taken advantage of." 

The scoring gates continued to open for the Purple Raiders as they took a three-possession advantage over John Carroll (28-7) less than five minutes into the second half. 

Fugh's offensive efforts and success on the afternoon continued for the Blue and Gold. 

On a 1st and 10 on the JCU 31 yard line, Floreia completed a 39-yard pass to Fugh. Moments later, Fugh found the endzone off of a 20-yard pass from Floreia. This gave the Blue Streaks their final score of the game.

Neither team would find the back of the end-zone for the remainder of the game. 

Floreia finished the game passing for 188 yards while Demerius Goodwin led the game in rushing with 49 yards. 

The Blue Streak's two-game homestand will continue next weekend on Saturday, Oct. 2, against OAC opponent Muskingum University. The John Carroll University Homecoming contest is set to kickoff at 1:30 p.m. 

"I have a lot of respect for my team," said Finotti. "Those guys compete, and the game of football is about injuries and how much you can take. I am so proud to coach this football team. I am very lucky." 

 
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Players Mentioned

Brennan Fugh

#14 Brennan Fugh

WR
5' 11"
Junior
Demerius Goodwin

#2 Demerius Goodwin

RB
5' 6"
Senior
Nate Leopold

#30 Nate Leopold

DB
6' 0"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Brennan Fugh

#14 Brennan Fugh

5' 11"
Junior
WR
Demerius Goodwin

#2 Demerius Goodwin

5' 6"
Senior
RB
Nate Leopold

#30 Nate Leopold

6' 0"
Senior
DB

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