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Football Closes Out Regular Season with Shutout

The Muhlenberg football team closed out its regular season with a 21-0 home win against Montclair State on Senior Day.

The Muhlenberg football team closed out its regular season with a 21-0 home win against Montclair State on Senior Day.

With the shutout - their first since 2021 - the Mules (7-3) reached the seven-win mark for the 13th straight season. They will end their season next week in the Centennial-MAC Bowl Series: If Ursinus receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, Muhlenberg will host Widener. If Ursinus does not receive a bid, the Mules will travel to Delaware Valley for their bowl game.

Though noticeably limited by an injury, senior Joe Repetti threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter to give him an even 100 for his career. He is only the second quarterback in Centennial Conference history to reach the century mark. 

Junior Amari Dunn also hit the century mark, rushing 20 times for 102 yards and his third 100-yard game of the season.

But the story of the game was a Muhlenberg defense that earlier this year gave up 50 points in three consecutive games. The Mules showed their tremendous improvement since then by keeping the Red Hawks (3-7) off the scoreboard, allowing only 184 total yards, picking off two passes and recording seven sacks.

Montclair tried an onside kick to start the game but touched it before it went 10 yards, giving Muhlenberg the ball 42 yards from the end zone. After four runs by Dunn advanced the ball inside the 10, Repetti threw a third-down touchdown pass to senior Christopher Ardito.

On the sixth play of the Red Hawks' first possession, junior Marcus McClaine picked off a pass and returned it 42 yards to the 16. On fourth-and-2 from the 8, Repetti hit senior Jordan Kiley for his 100th career TD pass. It was the first career reception for Kiley.

The defenses settled in after Muhlenberg scored two touchdowns in the first 7:33. Montclair State drove inside the Mule 40 only twice, missing a long field goal early in the second quarter after its best drive of the game. The Red Hawks' only other trip inside the Muhlenberg 40 came in the closing seconds.

The Mules added their third touchdown late in the third quarter after McClaine blocked a punt. Muhlenberg took possession at the 2, and on the next play junior Matthew Manning ran it in.

Freshman Thomas Cerruti led the defense with 9 tackles and intercepted a pass for the second straight week, picking one off in the third quarter after McClaine put pressure on the Montclair quarterback. Senior Andrew Franklin was in on two sacks in a span of three plays in the third quarter, just prior to the blocked punt. 

Senior Connor Fenstermaker, the reigning CC special teams player of the week, made all three of his extra points and dropped three of his four punts inside the 20, rolling one dead at the 1-yard line.

The last time the Mules finished the regular season without a shutout of an opponent other than Moravian was 1956.