WILMINGTON, Ohio—Zac Lemmon (Granville/Granville) and Cecil Shorts (Cleveland/Collinwood) each scored three touchdowns as No. 2 ranked University of Mount Union posted a 51-0 Ohio Athletic Conference football win Saturday at Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio.
The Purple Raiders posted their 46th consecutive regular season and 97th consecutive road victory as they move to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the OAC.
A season-high five turnovers by Mount Union was balanced out by a defense that forced four turnovers and held Wilmington (0-3, 0-2) to minus four yards rushing in the second half and 151 total yards.
Sophomore defensive end Charles Dieuseul (Winter Haven, Fla./Lake Region) led the unit with 10 stops, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble.
Lemmon, a junior running back, had three rushing touchdowns from 62, 10 and three yards all in the first half, as he finished with 96 yards on 10 carries.
Shorts had a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown to go along with five catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns from quarterback Neal Seaman (Louisville/Louisville).
Seaman finished 13-of-20 passing for 241 yards with those two scores and a pair of interceptions.
The Raiders got off to a slow start with a pair of turnovers in their first two possessions and the Quakers had a chance to get on the board but had a 41-yard field goal attempt blocked by senior defensive end Lambert Budzinski (Canton/Massillon Jackson).
Lemmon then got the first score of the game on a 62-yard scamper for a score with 5:04 left in the first quarter. After forcing a three and out, Shorts then took a punt back 68 yards for score to finish the quarter with a 14-0 lead.
Lemmon tacked on touchdowns from 10 and three yards out in the second quarter and the shutout was preserved late in the half when Wilmington blocked a Mount Union extra point attempt and returned it all the way back to the Raider two yard line before sophomore Brandon Mathie (Louisville/Louisville) made the tackle.
Shorts hauled in 39 and 38 yard touchdown strikes from Seaman on the first drives of both the third and fourth quarters, Tyler Almeida (Elyria/Elyria) converted an 18-yard field goal and Blair Skilliter (Curtice/Genoa) ran in a touchdown from two yards out for the 51-0 final.
Mount Union hosts undefeated and No. 10 ranked Ohio Northern, a 36-0 victor over Muskingum, next Saturday, Oct. 2 at 1:30 pm in the home opener from Mount Union Stadium.