Muhlenberg’s seniors, who tied for the Centennial Conference championship as freshmen and guided the team through two rebuilding years, got the trophy all to themselves in 2007.

The 2007 Muhlenberg football season was Exhibit A for those who believe that preseason polls don’t mean a thing.

Picked fifth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll, the Mules wound up ranked eighth in the country after putting together one of the most remarkable years in program history.

Muhlenberg went undefeated (10-0) in the regular season for the first time since the College first fielded an intercollegiate football team in 1900. The Mules won their first outright Centennial Conference championship, set school records for wins (11) and consecutive wins (12) and advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs.

Coming off back-to-back non-winning (3-7 and 5-5) seasons, the preseason ranking was not too surprising – although the fact that new CC member Moravian was ranked higher (fourth) despite losing to Muhlenberg in 2006 might have been.

The voters in the poll did not know what the Mules did, however.

A unanimous All-Centennial selection in 2007, Musselman finished second on the program’s all-time list with 22 career sacks.

During the spring practices, the team developed a chemistry that was critical to the team’s success throughout the entire season. The team also had extraordinary talent, with 15 players earning All-CC honors, and was able to make the big plays it needed – whether on offense, defense or special teams – to win close games.

Muhlenberg started out with a 15-0 win at The College of New Jersey in a matchup of two of the biggest success stories of the year in Division III, although nobody knew it at the time. The Lions, who were held to 91 total yards by the Mules, would also go on to reach the NCAA second round.

A 34-0 shutout of Union in the home opener followed, giving Muhlenberg two shutouts to start a season for the first time since 1948. Next came one of the biggest wins of the year, a 14-13 squeaker at Gettysburg that was clinched when senior Chris Swensen blocked a potential game-winning field goal with 34.5 seconds left.

The Mules then reeled off four straight wins against teams that would finish with losing records, including a 43-0 shutout of McDaniel – their first win against the Green Terror since 1994. Another shutout, 31-0 at Franklin & Marshall, gave Muhlenberg four in a season for the first time since 1947.

That set up a showdown between the 7-0 Mules and defending CC champion Dickinson. Playing at home on Family Weekend, Muhlenberg fell behind 17-0 early in the second quarter but came back to win, 29-24.

A 31-7 win at regionally ranked Ursinus gave the Mules the CC title and an

Johnson, who lined up at fullback, running back and quarterback his first three years, ended his career with a rare combination of more than 1,000 yards receiving (1,059), 750 yards rushing (752) and 750 yards passing (875). His 54 catches as a senior were the fourth-most in a season in team history.

automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. They wrapped up the first undefeated CC season since 2000 with a 35-7 home win against Moravian.

For the first round of the NCAAs, Muhlenberg drew a home game against once-defeated Salisbury, which was ranked higher in one poll and featured a high-powered option attack. The Mules opened up a 21-6 lead early in the second quarter, only to have the Sea Gulls come back to tie the game at 21-all with 7:33 left. Then the defense saved the day, forcing two late fumbles that led to 10 points and a 31-21 win.

That win earned Muhlenberg a trip to Wesley for a second-round game against the two-time region champions. The Mules held a 7-0 lead for most of the first half, but a trio of long runs by the Wolverines’ backup tailback turned the tide, and the great season ended with a 38-21 loss.

Defense has been one of Muhlenberg’s hallmarks for most of this decade, and 2007 was no exception. The Mules finished in the top 10 in Division III in six defensive categories – third in total defense (211.8 yards per game), fourth in scoring defense (11.2 points per game), seventh in pass efficiency defense (86.3 points), eighth in fumbles recovered (17), ninth in sacks (3.67 per game) and 10th in turnover margin (plus-19).

Six defensive players earned first-team All-CC honors: senior ends Chris Musselman (8 sacks) and Swensen (9 tackles for loss), senior outside linebackers Dustin Good (71 tackles, 16 for loss) and Tom Tarsitano (54 tackles), junior cornerback Brandon Doyle (7 pass breakups) and sophomore safety Dan Aitkens (44 tackles, 4 interceptions).

Junior nose tackle William Moates (34 tackles), junior inside linebacker Matt Rathbun (72 tackles, 4 fumble recoveries), junior safety David Mazzola (4 interceptions) and sophomore cornerback Cameron Ahouse (43 tackles) also earned All-CC honors.

The offense was vastly improved, gaining exactly 1,000 more yards in the

Good was a second-team all-region selection and ended his career with 196 tackles, including 33 for loss.

regular season than it did in 2006. But for a missed extra point, the Mules would have scored 30 or more points in seven straight games, and they led the CC with their average of 29.7 points per game.

Senior Matt Johnson had a superb year in his first at tight end, earning third-team All-America honors after setting school records for receptions (54), yards (837) and touchdowns (six) by a tight end. Junior running back John DeLuca set a school record with 1,533 rushing yards (11th in Division III) and scored 17 touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Eric Santagato ran the show, reversing his 2006 numbers of 5 touchdowns and 17 interceptions to 15 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He completed 63 percent of his passes, rushed for 6 TDs and ranked 18th in Division III in pass efficiency.

Junior center Mike Nolan was named to the All-CC first team for the second year in a row. Senior tackle Mike Gawel earned second-team honors.

Junior fullback Erik Snyder (317 rushing yards, 6 TDs) and sophomore receiver Phil Cresta (43 catches, 17.2 average) had breakout seasons as first-time starters.

Head coach Mike Donnelly was named region coach of the year by both the American Football Coaches Association and D3football.com.