HUNTINGDON, PA- After ending its three-game winless streak last week with a 38-10 victory over Ursinus, the 3-3 Juniata football team will look to start a new streak this Saturday when it travels to Allentown, Pa to take on the 5-1 Muhlenberg Mules. Kickoff from Scotty Wood Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
Against the Bears, Centennial Conference and ECAC Southwest Offensive Player of the Week Ward Udinski (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for 61 yards and a score. Running back Deonte Alston (Bel-Air, MD/Patterson Mill) had 27 yards rushing and a touchdown while also adding four receptions for 62 yards. Isaiah Slutter (Philadelphia, PA/Wallenpaupack Area) caught five balls for 62 yards and a touchdown. He also had three carries for 19 yards. Aaron O'Brien (York, PA/York Catholic) had four catches for 56 yards. Kyle Schuck (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) finished with two receptions for 34 yards and one score.
The Juniata defense picked off Ursinus quarterback Kevin Monahan twice as he completed only 13 out of 34 passes for 117 yards. The Eagles broke up six passes with Nick Stubbs (Hagerstown, MD/South Hagerstown) turning away three. Ethan Wilt (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area) led the defense with eight tackles. Brian Pyle (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield), Nick Bonavita (Sheffield, PA/Sheffield Area), and Jake Diviney (Altoona, PA/Altoona Area) all picked up five stops each.
The Mules tallied 10 sacks and bottled up a Gettysburg offense that was averaging 36 points and over 500 yards in its previous three games as it won 47-6. Nick Palladino threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns, Max Cepeda rushed for 103 and a pair of scores, Khiry Hughes scored his first career touchdown and senior Connor Winter kicked a career-long 49-yard field goal as Muhlenberg posted the 500th win in program history. Mike Luby recorded 2.5 of the 10 sacks, and Ian Gimbar had one to tie the school record of 22.5 in a career. Gene Blanco was another one of the nine Mules to get in on a sack. The Bullets were held to 49 total yards in the first half, and until a backup quarterback ran for 42 yards in the fourth quarter, Gettysburg's leading rusher was their punter, who gained 28 yards on two fake punts. Cepeda's 100-yard game, the fourth of his six-game career, came against a defense that was ranked 18th in Division III in rushing defense and had held three straight teams under 100 yards.
Muhlenberg has won all nine games in the series between the two schools. The Mules won last season 27-7 in Huntingdon and 35-14 in 2012 at Scotty Wood Field.