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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Tommy Wasinski pumped up photo after 1st Round of NCAA Tournament
© Samuel Herr 2024

NCAA Second Round Preview: Rematch Awaits Blue Streaks in Alliance

| By: Jack Stephens, Staff Writer
Tommy Wasinski is the heartbeat for a JCU defense who will play a pivotal part vs. Mount Union.
ALLIANCE — The long awaited rematch is finally on deck. John Carroll and Mount Unions are set to square off for a second time this season, and the stakes could not be bigger in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs at Kehres Stadium.

The last time the Blue Streaks lost a game, it was Week 2 against the Purple Raiders, 37-31. It was a game that saw JCU hold a lead early in the fourth quarter, but two touchdowns in the final 5 minutes from Mount Union sealed the victory. Mount Union would scrape by Marietta and Muskingum to finish the regular season a perfect 10-0. After losing on September 21, JCU has rattled off 9 straight victories by an average margin of 33.9 points.

John Carroll dominated their first round matchup against Mount St. Joseph, defeating the Lions 52-7, winning their first playoff game since 2016. The Purple Raiders' perfect record earned them a first round bye. 

In the history of the series, Mount Union's last regular season defeat came from the Blue Streaks in 2016. Since then, the Purple Raiders have won eight straight in the series and eight consecutive OAC Championships. Mount Union has dominated the series winning 39 of 44 matchups. After JCU beat the Purple Raiders in 2016, the Blue Streaks went on to make the semifinals of the NCAA Playoffs.

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The Offenses

JCU

It's tough to argue the fact that the Blue Streak offense is one of the hottest in all of Division III. JCU fans got a bit of a scare early in their first round victory over Mount St. Joseph, as star quarterback Nick Semptimphelter went down with a knee injury on their first drive. The Bucknell transfer would soon come out of the medical tent and complete 14-of-17 passes for 155 yards and 5 touchdowns. Over the course of the season, Semptimphelter has been surgical, completing 76.75% of his passes for 2,777 yards and 37 touchdowns. The Franklin, Tennessee native currently sits four touchdown passes away from tying the single season JCU record, currently held by Mark Myers. His completion percentage is the best of any quarterback in the NCAA, at any level.

Graduate student wide receiver Tyren Montgomery has put up video game numbers all season long, earning him the Ed Sherman Award for the best OAC wideout. The Nicholls State transfer has hauled in 55 catches for 1,046 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Woodlands, Texas native has notched multiple touchdowns in each of the last 5 games. Montgomery has scored 20 total touchdowns, which puts him third in single-season history for the Blue Streaks. He's 80 yards away from the JCU single-season receiving record. 

One unit on the JCU offense that has kept improving as the season has gone on is the rushing attack. The Blue Streaks currently sit 42nd in the country in total rushing, using a three tailback system. Senior Evan McVay got the bulk of the carries a week ago, using 12 attempts to rush for 79 yards. The Aurora product also produced in the passing game, collecting 26 catches for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns. Junior Nemo Jenkins leads the team with 561 rushing yards and six touchdowns. The Wilmington transfer led the country in rushing a season ago. Sophomore Quincy Newsom rounds out the unit with 493 rushing yards on 85 carries and eight touchdowns. The trio has combined for 23 total touchdowns and over 6 yards per carry as a unit. 

Mount Union

The Purple Raiders starting quarterback, Noah Beaudrie, went down with an injury in Mount Union's win over Marietta, but that has not stopped their offense. Beaudrie is said to be a game-time decision according to Geoff Dart's quote in The News-Herald. Mount Union currently sits 13th in the nation in total offense and 6th in rushing offense. Taking the reins of the Purple Raider offense since has been graduate student TJ Deshields. The Beloit native in his first start completed 18 of 27 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown to seal a 35-28 victory over Muskingum. When Beaudrie went down against Marietta, the West Branch product stepped in and led a game winning drive to seal their automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs. 

Since the injury to their signal caller, Head Coach Geoff Dart has turned to senior tailback Tyler Echeverry, who has produced in a monster way for the Purple Raiders. The Naples, Florida native has rushed for 1,139 yards, on nearly 9 yards per carry, and scored 20 rushing touchdowns, Echeverry has scored a touchdown in every game this season for the Purple Raiders. Echeverry's efforts this season earned him Co-Offensive Back of the Year in the OAC. The Barron Collier product carried Mount Union to a victory against Muskingum, rushing for 159 yards on 25 attempts and scoring 4 touchdowns. 

The wide receiver duo of Tyrell Sanders and Nick Turner have gotten most of the work in the receiving game for Mount Union. Sanders has been on fire in his last two games, hauling in 14 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown. The Indianapolis native also made an incredible catch in the final moments against Marietta to steal a victory from the hands of the Pioneers. Turner has been making big plays all year for the Purple Raiders. The Strongsville product is averaging 24.7 yards per catch and has hauled in 5 touchdowns this year for Mount Union. 

The Defenses

JCU

One of the most improved units for the Blue Streaks has been their defense. Since dropping their first two games and giving up 554 yards rushing, JCU has only given up over 100 rushing yards one time the rest of the year. The leader of the group is graduate student Tyler Thimons. The Bethel Park native leads the team with 74 total tackles while also notching 5.5 tackles for loss and a sack. His fellow linebacker, junior Mason Rus, had a career game a week ago against the Lions, racking up 9 tackles and three sacks in the 52-7 victory.

The duo of Joe Thimons and Ben Day have been the leaders up front on the defensive line. The two have combined for 9.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hits on the year. In the heart of the line is junior Tommy Wasinski, who has been a star this year with 26 total tackles, 3 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. 

In the secondary, the Blue Streaks got sophomore Jacob Hufnagel back from injury, who racked up a tackle and two pass breakups in his first game back. Dylan Crasi has been balling down the stretch of his freshman campaign. A week ago, the Aurora product notched his third interception of his year, while also breaking up two passes. Senior Kevin Doyle also had a big game, with two total tackles and his first interception of the season. 

Mount Union

The Purple Raiders defense has been up and down all season, but they have some great players who can wreck a game at any time. The do-it-all leader of their defensive unit is hybrid linebacker Rossy Moore. The Lima Central Catholic product leads the team with 74 total tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss. The senior also has tallied 7 sacks and 2 pass breakups on the 2024 campaign. Senior Marcus Jackson teams up with Moore in the middle of their defense and he has had a great year as well. The Dallas, Texas native has racked up 63 total tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Junior edge rusher Kaleb Brown has been wreaking havoc on quarterbacks all season long. The La Plata, Maryland native has a team high 10.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. Brown has four games this season with two or more sacks. Additionally, senior Von Factor tallied a sack in each of the Purple Raiders first 8 games, giving him 6.5 sacks on the season. 

A unit the Blue Streaks could potentially attack is the Purple Raider secondary, which ranks 108th in Division III passing yards allowed and 195th in passes intercepted. Senior Tony Cook leads the Purple Raiders with two interceptions and six pass breakups. Cook has also tallied a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Senior safety Brandon Yanssens has played well all year for Mount Union, notching 54 total tackles, three pass breakups, and an interception. 
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