ALLIANCE, Ohio – Top-ranked Mount Union defeated Washington & Jefferson 34-20 Saturday in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division III playoffs on a blistery and snowy afternoon at Mount Union Stadium.
Despite the loss, it was a career day for W&J senior wide receiver Alex Baroffio (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park). In the fourth quarter, he became the Presidents’ all-time leader in career receiving yards. Needing 83 yards on the afternoon to obtain the record, Baroffio racked up 131 receiving yards on 12 catches, three of which were touchdown receptions. He closes his standout career with nearly every W&J school receiving record, 269 receptions for 3,204 yards and 30 touchdowns.
Following W&J’s opening drive, senior punter Eric Eberle (Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata) pinned Mount Union (11-0) back to its own seven-yard line. The Purple Raiders then drove the ball 93 yards on 11 plays to take an early 7-0 lead. UMU quarterback Kevin Burke connected on a four-yard touchdown pass to Luc Meacham for the opening score.
Mount Union extended its lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter when Burke found Sherman Wilkinson for a 37-yard touchdown pass. The Presidents (8-3) answered with a touchdown of their own; however, to cut the Purple Raider lead in half. Freshman quarterback Pete Coughlin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) found Baroffio for the 24-yard score.
Baroffio pulled in four catches for 48 yards on the drive. The first-quarter touchdown is the first given up during the opening the opening 15 minutes by the Mount Union defense all season. As the first quarter expired, the Purple Raiders quickly extended their lead to 21-7 as Burke again found Wilkinson for a nearly-identical 37-yard touchdown.
After the start of the second quarter, Coughlin dumped off a screen pass to senior Dion Wiegand (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) who took the ball and weaved his way through traffic for 48 yards down to the Mount Union nine-yard line. On second and goal, Coughlin again connected to Baroffio streaking across the back of the end zone for the seven-yard touchdown. The extra-point attempt missed and W&J cut the UMU advantage to 21-13.
Midway through the second quarter, Mount Union found itself threatening deep in W&J territory from the 10-yard line. However, Burke fumbled the snap and the ball was recovered by Presidents’ defender Even Fuentes (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel). Following a W&J punt, a desperation heave into the end zone by Burke with five seconds remaining in the half was intercepted by sophomore defensive back Dan Graziano (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) and W&J entered halftime trailing Mount Union 28-13.
To begin the third quarter, the Presidents caught the Purple Raiders off guard with an onside kick. W&J sophomore Shane Smith (Fredonia, N.Y./Fredonia) recovered for the Red and Black, but a three-and-out on offense forced Eberle to punt the ball away.
Mount Union’s next possession ate up 7:31 off the clock in the third quarter, driving 15 plays to extend its lead to 34-13. The Purple Raiders took that same advantage into the final quarter of play with the snow beginning to swirl down on the field.
A 29-yard reception by Baroffio early in the fourth quarter, not only took him over 100 yards receiving on the day, but also propelled him to the all-time receiving yard record. W&J’s forced another turnover with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game as senior Chris Heim (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) recovered a Mount Union fumble and set up the Presidents on the Purple Raiders’ 18-yard line.
W&J drove to the UMU 3 and a short screen pass from Coughlin to Baroffio cut the Mount Union lead down to 34-20, but that was as close as the Presidents would get.
The Purple Raiders (11-0) outgained W&J 472-283 and had 25 of the game’s 40 first downs. The Presidents’ defense forced four turnovers (3 fumbles, 1 INT) and produced three sacks.
Coughlin played well in just his second career start for the Presidents. He passed 44 times, completing 20, for 216 yards and three touchdowns. Wiegand rushed 25 times for 74 yards and caught four passes for 57 yards. Heim and senior defensive end Jon Lowery (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) led the defense with 10 tackles each.
Burke and Wilkinson hooked up three times for scores and seven times overall for 130 yards. BJ Mitchell rushed for 181 yards and a touchdown, while Burke passed for 198 yards and four touchdowns. Tom Lally had a game-high 11 tackles and two sacks for UMU.
Mount Union will now face Wittenberg in the second round next Saturday (Nov. 30) with a site still to be determined.
