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football shuts out mcdaniel; now 6-0

The Muhlenberg football team didn’t just get the monkey off its back. It slammed the monkey to the ground, then stomped on it.

The Mules ended their 13-year winless streak against McDaniel

DeLuca has scored six touchdowns in the last two weeks and is averaging 120.0 rushing yards per game.

in emphatic fashion, scoring four second-quarter touchdowns in a 43-0 victory. Muhlenberg hadn’t defeated the Green Terror since 1994 and hadn’t shut out the school formerly known as Western Maryland since 1987.

Other relevant streaks go even farther back. The Mules are 6-0 for the first time since 1946, and have won seven in a row (dating back to the 2006 finale) for the first time since the 1947 and 1948 teams won a school-record nine in a row.

For the second straight week, Muhlenberg dominated on both sides of the ball. The Mules outgained McDaniel, 470-100, and held the ball for 38:09 in posting their third shutout of the season. The Green Terror got a first down with a 43-yard run on the second play of the game, then did not record another first down on offense until late in the fourth quarter.

Junior running backs John DeLuca and Erik Snyder combined to score five of the six touchdowns. DeLuca gained 135 yards on 28 carries for his third consecutive 100-yard game, and Snyder scored the first three rushing touchdowns of his career on short runs.

Ahead 3-0 entering the second quarter,

Senior Mickey Norton had a big game, recovering two fumbles. One came on a muffed McDaniel kickoff return and the other (above) when a Muhlenberg ball-carrier fumbled late in the first half. Two plays later, Norton threw a key block to spring DeLuca for his second touchdown.

Muhlenberg put the game out of reach in the next 15 minutes. A five-play, 50-yard drive that consisted entirely of runs by DeLuca ended with a 7-yard scoring run by the junior on the second play of the quarter.

The Mules put the game away by scoring two touchdowns off turnovers in a span of 1:46 midway through the quarter. After a Cameron Ahouse interception, Muhlenberg drove 73 yards in nine plays to go up 16-0 on Snyder’s 4-yard run. McDaniel fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the 24, and four plays later, Snyder scored from a yard out.

DeLuca turned a screen pass from Eric Santagato into a 21-yard touchdown with 17.1 seconds left in the quarter, giving the Mules their first 30-point first half since they scored 44 in the first 30 minutes of a 68-22 win against Franklin & Marshall in 2002.

Junior Matt Rathbun led a balanced defense with five tackles, including a sack. Sophomore Jeremiah Lachaud recorded a pair of sacks, and senior Dustin Good knocked out the McDaniel quarterback with a big hit in the second quarter.
Click here for box score.