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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Evan McVay vs. MTU on 11-30-24
Jose Figueroa
Today was not the Blue Streaks' day. 
7
John Carroll JCU 9-3 , 8-1
42
Winner Mount Union MTU 11-0 , 9-0
John Carroll JCU
9-3 , 8-1
7
Final
42
Mount Union MTU
11-0 , 9-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
JCU John Carroll 7 0 0 0 7
MTU Mount Union 14 14 7 7 42

Game Recap: Football | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Campaign Concludes in Alliance for John Carroll Football in NCAA Second Round

ALLIANCE – The typical John Carroll-Mount Union playoff football script repeated on Saturday.

In the Second Round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Tournament (the fourth playoff meeting all-time between the storied Ohio programs), the #24 Blue Streaks could not make the heroic plays needed to upset the #5 Raiders at Kehres Stadium. 

The Purple Raiders advanced to the next round with a 42-7 conquest of John Carroll on a disappointing day in Alliance for the frigid JCU faithful. 

"Congrats to Mount Union, their coaches put together a good game plan," said Head Coach Jeff Behrman '95. "Best of luck to them the rest of the playoffs. I am disappointed in the loss, of course. But I'm proud of how this team came together. They battled adversity after being 0-2 to win nine straight in fashion they did. I give credit to our team, especially our senior leadership. The brotherhood is strong in our program. I appreciate our players' commitment to the program with their dedication day in and day out."

The weather was quite cold, as windchill was about 7 degrees at kickoff.

"Both teams gotta play in it, I don't know that weather contributed to the result," said Behrman. "We were in our way at times offensively and defensively. Penalties hurt us. We just didn't execute on offense and didn't get stops on defense."

After JCU deferred to Mount Union, the hosts methodically marched down the field. The Blue Streaks made the Raiders fight for every yard. Mount Union encountered a pair of fourth downs, but overcame both, converting the latter on a 1-yard Tyler Echeverry touchdown run for a 7-0 lead near the halfway mark of the opening quarter. 

The Purple Raiders quickly added to the lead with a strip sack and 31-yard fumble return touchdown for Rossy Moore. At the 6:21 mark of the first quarter, Mount Union possessed a 14-0 lead. 

On the ensuing drive, JCU ran into third and long, but the visitors managed to flip the field with a 34-yard catch and run by Evan McVay. A few plays later, Dorian Facen Jr hauled in a nice pass from Nick Semptimphelter and clipped the left pylon to halve the deficit. The Raiders' 14-7 lead held to the end the quarter, but at the 11:59 mark of the second stanza, Echeverry pushed the lead back to 14 with an 8-yard touchdown on third down. 

The Blue Streaks drove deep into Raider territory with great execution. But on 4th and 3 at the Mount Union 5-yard line, JCU fell oh-so-close to a first down despite a nice playcall. 

The Purple Raiders marched downfield in an effective two-minute drill, and as time expired in the first half, Mount Union landed a staggering blow. Echeverry hauled in a 1-yard touchdown to cap off an 11-play, 97-yard drive. 

Mount Union stood ahead, 28-7, at halftime, the identical score at the halfway mark of the 2002 showdown between the Blue Streaks and Purple Raiders in Alliance.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, John Carroll got the ball into Mount Union territory. But on 4th and 1, the hosts shut down a Wildcat run by McVay. Thankfully for JCU, Jacob Hufnagel picked off a deep Raider pass, quickly getting the ball back to JCU. 

The Blue Streaks got out of its own territory, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Raiders at the JCU 43-yard line with 5:19 left in the third quarter. And so, four of JCU's first five drives ended in a fumble or turnover on downs. 

Mount Union drove all the way down to the JCU 1-yard line, but while the JCU defense forced a 4th and goal, TJ Deshields found Darnell Williams for a back-breaking touchdown, 35-7. The score stood there at the third-quarter break. 

Mason Sullivan forced a fumble and Hufnagel recovered it at the JCU 28-yard line with 9:52 left in the ballgame, but JCU could not gain any traction off the turnover. Mount Union ended the scoring with a late TD.

Brady Leczo led the defense with 10 tackles. Tyler Thimons and Lamar Thomas tallied 9 tackles apiece. JCU could not manage any tackles for loss or sacks, though Hufnagel had a great day with a pair of takeaways. Just like in the first meeting, penalties hindered JCU's progress on several occasions. JCU committed 9 penalties for 68 yards. 

"The resiliency of this team is unbelievable," said Thimons. "We got tougher and tougher each week. We had faith in each other and the team. And strong faith in God allowed us to attack the adversity, especially continuing on from the tough start to the season."

Nick Semptimphelter finished 12-of-18 for 135 yards, good enough to finish with the program record for completion percentage at 76.1%. The Blue Streaks could muster only 98 rushing yards, fewest since the last meeting vs. Mount Union. McVay led the Streaks with 3 receptions for 47 yards. Tyren Montgomery finished with 24 receiving yards, 56 short of the single-season JCU record. 

"Coming in as a transfer, it's been a blessing to be part of this program, to play for Coach Behrman, and to play with the teammates I have," said Semptimphelter. "Obviously I'm pretty disappointed right now, but all in all, it's been a blessing to play for this program with these guys."
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