Trending
ALEXANDRIA -- Juniata Valley entered Friday's game at A.R. Simkins Memorial Field coming off an impressive defensive showing in a shutout win over Moshannon Valley with a gameplan centered on getting 11 tacklers going after Mount Union senior Nasir Collins.
None of that seemed to matter to Collins.
The Trojans star went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season with 349 yards on just 12 carries -- an average of 29.1 yards per run -- and had five touchdown runs, including an 86-yarder, in Mount Union's 46-15 victory over the Green Hornets.
"He still amazes me," Mount Union coach Jamie Brumbaugh said. "The one touchdown, he had -- the balance and the vision he has is just phenomenal. He's truly a generational player. It's an honor to be able to coach him."
Collins also went 2-for-3 passing the ball and added a 71-yard touchdown throw to TyJeir Hooper.
"(The big plays) are super frustrating," Juniata Valley coach Bill Musser said. "You work all week to stop it. I guess we're going to figure out another way to coach up these kids on how to keep that from happening."
To top it off, Collins had an interception defensively -- but after the game, he felt he could have done more for the now 7-0 Trojans.
"Most games, I think I'm not doing enough and that I need to keep pushing myself harder," Collins said. "I can't let my guard down."
Play of the game: Just when it appeared Juniata Valley had gotten back into the game after a Liam Lightner quarterback scramble from 6 yards out for a touchdown that made it 19-7, Collins ran 46 yards for a touchdown on the next play to make it 25-7 at the half.
Player of the game: Collins, though Brumbaugh said his success is assisted by a deeper-than-usual Mount Union team.
"It starts up front with our offensive line," Brumbaugh said. "I think our guys have come along great this year. We were decimated by injury on the line last year, but these guys have busted their butt week in and week out for the guys in the backfield. This year, TyJeir Hooper has put on a lot of size. He's been in the backfield running. Maddox (Hobbs) can run and throw the ball for us. We have Hussan Posey, and this week we got Caizon Scott (who opened the scoring by returning a punt 39 yards for a touchdown) back. We have a lot of kids, and it helps balance our offense. We're able to keep you spread out."
Unsung hero: Juniata Valley's Andrew Clark kept running hard the entire game, often carrying multiple Mount Union players on his back, and finished with 168 yards on 25 carries and scored a touchdown and ran in a two-point conversion.
Missed chances: Lightner hit receivers twice in the hands who had broken away from their defenders for what would have been big gains if not touchdowns, but the passes were dropped.
"I thought our offense did OK," Musser said. "There were some times and places that we could have made another play or two. Whether it be a block, a catch or a throw, I don't want to say it's a completely different game, but there's a different look to this game."
Most vital statistic: Mount Union virtually doubled Juniata Valley in total yards, 547-274.
Deceiving statistic: Juniata Valley had more first downs (18-16), won the time of possession by a large margin and won the turnover battle (3-2).
Brumbaugh: "This is a great group of kids. I'm just so happy for them that we have been able to maintain the health that we have had so far, and I was proud of the way they played tonight."
Musser: "We're on to next week. That's the beauty of this game. We get another chance next week. We're up at West Branch. We'll go up there and see what we can do."
Collins on not taking anything for granted after Mount Union had to end its season last year due to lack of players despite being in line for a playoff spot: "We come into every game and appreciate it and have a strong mentality after what happened last year with injuries and having less players. We just want to go out with a bang this year."
Notable: Jamison Warren, who recovered a fumble for Juniata Valley earlier in the game, had to be taken off the field with 9:20 to play in the third quarter on a stretcher and was loaded into an ambulance. Musser said after the game Warren was moving and that it was an arm injury. ... Lilly Sunderland was named Juniata Valley's homecoming queen. ... During the third quarter, Juniata Valley alumni took over as the cheerleaders and the current group rejoined them for the fourth quarter. ... Posey also had an interception for the Trojans.
Records: Mount Union (7-0); Juniata Valley (4-3).
Next week: Mount Union travels to Moshannon Valley, and Juniata Valley visits West Branch next Friday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Mount Union 13 12 7 14 — 46
Juniata Valley 0 7 8 0 — 15
First Quarter
MU--Scott 39 punt return (kick blocked), 7:05.
MU--Collins 42 run (Rank kick), 2:49.
Second Quarter
MU--Collins 86 run (run failed), 8:29.
JV--Lightner 6 run (Rodkey kick), 3:16.
MU--Collins 46 run (pass failed), 2:57.
Third Quarter
MU--Hooper 71 pass from Collins (Rank kick), 8:52.
JV--Clark 9 run (Clark run), 5:10.
Fourth Quarter
MU--Collins 47 run (Rank kick), 10:46.
MU--Collins 53 run (Rank kick), 8:27.
TEAM STATISTICS MU JV
First downs 16 18
Total yards 547 274
Rushes-yards 31-442 40-214
Yards passing 105 60
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 3-4-0 8-22-2
Punts-avg. 1-44 8-31.6
Fumbles-lost 3-3 0-0
Penalties-yards 7-62 6-58
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Mount Union, Collins 12-349, Leonard 4-47, Hobbs 7-28, Richards 3-20, Bowser 2-7, Hooper 1-(-3), Scott 1-(-5), TEAM 1-(-1). Juniata Valley, Clark 25-168, Lightner 7-30, Harker 3-15, Neri 3-13, Rodkey 1-(-3), G. Smith 1-(-9).
PASSING--Mount Union, Collins 2-3-0-85, Hobbs 1-1-0-20. Juniata Valley, Lightner 8-19-2-60, Rodkey 0-3-0-0.
RECEIVING--Mount Union, Hooper 2-91, Scott 1-14. Juniata Valley, G. Smith 3-16, Glenny 2-8, Harker 1-17, Norris 1-12, Clark 1-7.