ALLIANCE, Ohio — #1 Mount Union wrapped up its 4th straight and 19th undefeated regular season with a 56-0 victory over the Marietta College football team Saturday (Nov. 14) afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action at Mount Union Stadium. [Box Score]

The Purple Raiders (10-0, 9-0 OAC) led the Pioneers (3-7, 2-7 OAC) 7-0 after the first quarter, 35-0 at the half and 56-0 after the third period. Mount Union complied 597 total yards, including 225 yards on the ground and 372 yards through the air. Marietta finished with 114 total yards. The Pioneers passed for 60 yards and ran for a net of 54 yards.

Marietta senior Lamar Hunter (South Euclid, Brush), the OAC's top runner in 2009, led all rushers with 28 carries for 71 yards to increase his season total to 1,031 yards. Hunter became the 18th Pioneer to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and his 1,031 total ranks 16th in school history.

Pioneer sophomore quarterback Andrew Keller (Cincinnati, Glen Este) finished the day 8-of-20 and threw for 60 yards with 1 interception. Junior fullback Rich Klingel (Marion, River Valley) (27 yards) and sophomore wide out Jahmaal Jones (Valrico, Fla., Bloomingdale) (25 yards) both had a team-best 3 receptions in the game.

Mount Union senior Kurt Rocco went 16-of-23, throwing for 372 yards and 5 touchdowns. Senior Cecil Shorts pulled in a game-high 7 receptions for 167 yards and 2 scores, while junior A.J. Claycomb added 3 catches for 89 yards and 2 more touchdowns. Shorts also paced the run game with 2 carries for 54 yards and a third touchdown.

Marietta sophomore Jake Depp (Geneva, Geneva) led all tacklers with a career-high 13 total stops. Senior Adam Tate (Chesterhill, Federal Hocking) added 9 total tackles, including 2 sacks and 3 tackles for loss. Three Mount Union players—senior Joe Millings, senior Judd Lutz and freshman Charles Dieuseul—ended the game with a team-best 6 stops.

Marietta nearly held the nation's fourth-leading scoring offense off the scoreboard for the first 15 minutes. Rocco, however, connected with senior Kyle Miller on a 52-yard touchdown pass on the Purple Raiders' fourth possession to give his squad a 7-0 advantage with 16 seconds to play in the opening quarter.

A Keller interception set up Mount Union's next scoring drive, which was capped by a 4-yard run by senior Terrance Morring to give the Purple Raiders a 14-0 lead with 11:32 remaining in the half.

Mount Union extended its lead to 21-0 on a 43-yard touchdown run from Shorts and then 28-0 on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Rocco to Shorts before entering intermission on top 35-0 after a 17-yard pass from Rocco to Claycomb in the final minute of the half.

The Purple Raiders scored touchdowns on their first three possession of the second half en route to the 56-0 victory. Rocco hit Shorts on a 59-yard touchdown pass and then Claycomb on a 58-yard touchdown pass for his fourth and fifth touchdowns of the day. Freshman Jasper Collins then capped the scoring with an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown. It was the longest punt return in Mount Union history.