Release courtesy of Muhlenberg Athletic Communications
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- The Muhlenberg football team recorded its first postseason shutout ever, allowing 95 total yards in a 38-0 win against MIT in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The fourth-ranked Mules (11-0), who tied a school record with their 11th win of the season, advance to the second round to face Brockport, a 33-28 winner at Western New England, next Saturday at Scotty Wood Stadium.
Muhlenberg recorded three sacks and allowed only six first downs and 33 passing yards on five completions. The Engineers (7-3) took only one snap in Mule territory the entire game, and that play resulted in a sack by senior Brian Raguseo.
Junior Spencer Kirin led the defense with eight tackles, sophomore Quentin Ogren recorded a career-high seven, and senior Kawsi Ampomah added a 7-yard tackle for loss to a half-sack. Sophomore Jay McGill broke up two passes.
Offensively, Muhlenberg got record-breaking performances from junior Michael Hnatkowsky and senior Ryan Curtiss.
Hnatkowsky completed 19 of 32 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns, breaking the Centennial Conference record for passing touchdowns in a season (37). With at least one game remaining in his junior season, Hnatkowsky is also just one away from the school and CC mark for career TDs (89).
Curtiss was on the receiving end of two of the scoring passes, setting a school record for touchdown catches by a tight end in a season (12).
The Mules broke the ice on their second drive of the game with a 61-yard, 10-play drive that ended with four straight runs by senior Nick DeLucas, the last from a yard out.
The score remained 7-0 until early in the second quarter, when MIT elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 46. The Mule defense got the stop, and five plays later Hnatkowsky hit Curtiss over the middle from 21 yards out to make it 14-0.
Hnatkowsky's second TD pass was a 4-yarder to diving junior Nick Ugarte in the end zone with 17 seconds left in the half.
Muhlenberg put the game out of reach by scoring on its first two possessions of the second half. A 37-yard pass to Ugarte set up Hnatkowsky's 14-yard touchdown pass to Curtiss.
On the third play after the kickoff, junior linebacker Pat Palmer (pictured above) picked off a pass and returned the ball inside the 10-yard line to set up a 9-yard scoring run by senior Mark Riggio.
A blocked punt by senior Max Kirin led to the final points of the game, a 22-yard field goal by senior Todd Spirt.
The 38 points gave Muhlenberg 457 for the season, breaking the record of 448 set last year in two more games.