Trojans rumble to win over JV
By Jeff Gill, For the MirrorMOUNT UNION - If there were two teams within the Inter-County Conference not getting a lot of recognition, it would be Juniata Valley and Mount Union.
Both teams have been flying under the radar and not getting much attention, but after Friday night's clash between the two Huntingdon County teams, things may change.
In what can be described as a solid team effort, the Trojans racked up 256 yards of total offense, including 230 coming via the ground, en route to 26-0 shutout. The Trojans moved to 4-1, while the Green Hornets fell to 3-2.
"They handled us up front, and we could not do anything offensively," Juniata Valley coach Mike Smith said. "We could throw, but we never had time, just terrible blocking up front, and the weather did not have any affect on us. I don't know what to say."
Mount Union got the first of two touchdowns from sophomore running back Ronnie Grove. His 5-yard run came with 46.7 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Trojans scored via special teams in the second quarter. Facing a fourth and long from their own 6, the Green Hornets went back to punt. Defensive end Mike Unger, who was celebrating his birthday, busted through and blocked Jake Morningstar's punt and then alertly jumped on the free ball for a score.
On the next JV possession, junior quarterback Seth Carper went back to pass, but with a heavy pass rush from the Trojan defense, Darrien Walker blocked the pass and then caught the ball at the 26 and ran into the end zone.
"Our defense has been playing well all season, and they did a great job tonight," MU coach Dave Hummel said. "We had an excellent week of practice and we hit Tuesday and Wednesday, and it was pretty intense. The line executed well. I just can't ask for anything more.
"We did work on the block punt this week. We had a lot of kids step up for us tonight and run the ball, and that helped us out."
The third quarter was scoreless but plagued with penalties by both sides. The two teams combined for six penalties for 66 yards.
The fourth quarter remained scoreless until Grove hit paydirt for the second time, this time a 7-yard run with 2:35 left in the game.
Mount Union's Mydell Loner led all rushers with 81 yards on 12 carries, Grove finished with 55 yards on 10 totes, and Kai House carried the ball seven times for 48 yards.
Shawn McCrum led Juniata Valley with 22 yards rushing. Carper was picked off a second time by Dixon in the fourth.
The Trojans will try to keep their four-game winning streak alive next week, when Williamsburg rolls into town for another ICC South Division tilt for both teams.
Score by Quarters
Juniata Valley0 0 0 0 - 0
Mount Union6 14 0 6 - 26
First quarter
MU-Grove 5 run (run failed), 46.7
Second quarter
MU-Unger fumble recovery in end zone (pass failed), 2:08
MU-Walker 26 interception return (Loner run) :27
Fourth quarter
MU-Grove 6 run (pass failed), 2:35
INDIVIDUAL STATISICS
RUSHING: Juniata Valley-McCrum 5-22; Boyd 4-11; Carper 2-(-13); Harnish 3-(-3); Morrison 3-(-3). Mount Union-Loner 12-81; House 7-48; Grove 10-55; Dixon 6-14; Rogers 3-10; Bingaman 8-22.
PASSING: Juniata Valley-Carper 3-10-2-47; Harnish 1-2-0-8. Mount Union-Dixon 1-2-0-26; Bingaman 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Juniata Valley-Gildea 2-43; Musser 1-8; McCrum 1-4. Mount Union-Wilson 1-26.
INTERCEPTIONS: Mount Union-Walker, Dixon.
TEAM STATISICSJVMU
First downs820
Yards rushing17-946-230
Passing (comp-att-int.)4-12-2 1-3-0
Yards passing5526
Totals yards64 256
Fumbles lost1-03-1
Penalties-yards-606-53
Punts-avg6-30.54-28.0
