MARIETTA, Ohio – The University of Mount Union Purple Raiders demonstrated why they are the No. 1-ranked team in the nation Saturday (Sept. 22) evening with a convincing 52-0 win over Marietta College.

Mount Union racked up 496 yards of total offense as they improved to 3-0 on the season, 2-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta falls to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.

T.J. Lattimore got the Purple Raider offense moving early scoring on a five yard run with 5:20 left in the first quarter. Lattimore ended the night with 100 yards rushing on 18 carries with two touchdowns.

When Lattimore wasn't running the ball, quarterback Kevin Burke was moving the Raiders through the air. Burke completed 8-of-14 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns.

In the second quarter, Burke connected with Jasper Collins on a 40-yard touchdown and then hit Chris Denton for a 23-yard scoring strike to give Mount Union a 24-0 halftime lead. Burke's final touchdown was a 31-yarder to Shannon Stewart in the third period.

Roman Namdar took over at quarterback for the Purple Raiders in the fourth quarter and added two more scores, one with his feet and another with his arm. Namdar scored on a 4-yard run and then hit Jack Nicholls on a 45-yard touchdown pass. Namdar completed 4-of-5 passes for 74 yards.

Marietta quarterback #Tom Fulton (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills)# hit 10-of-25 passes for 90 yards. He was picked off twice and the Purple Raiders sacked him nine times. Fulton's favorite target was #Kirby Harris (Greenville, S.C./South Side)# who caught six passes for 62 yards,

#Tevin Dones (Antioch, Calif./Antioch)# was the Pioneers' leading rusher with 29 yards on 13 carries.

#Jake Hammer (Wadsworth/St. Vincent-St. Mary)# led the Marietta defense with 14 tackles. #Joe Ortega (Fresno, Texas/Hightower)# added 10 tackles for the Pioneers.

Marietta is back on the road next Saturday (Sept. 29) for a 1:30 p.m. game at Heidelberg University. The Student Princes, 56-2 winners over Wilmington, are 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the OAC.