2022 Baldwin Wallace vs. Mount Union

Mount Union Miracle

Teams	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Mount Union Purple Raiders (9-0)	7	10	0	6	23
Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets (7-2)	0	0	0	21	21

On November 12th, 2022, the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets and Mount Union Purple Raiders matched up in a game of Division III football. The game was noted for its improbable ending where Mount Union quarterback Braxton Plunk threw a touchdown pass to Wayne Ruby as time expired.

Background

As members of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), Baldwin Wallace and Mount Union play each other every year in all sports. However, their rivalry in football is the most well known. The teams first met in 1896, but have played each other annually since 1976. The two teams have faced off 59 times prior to this game. While the Yellow Jackets took control of the rivalry from its early days, Mount Union had won every game from 1995 and onward.. On November 12th, 2022, the OAC was on the line and a chance to make the Division III playoffs was on the line as well. If the Purple Raiders won, they would have their sixth straight perfect season and easily clinch a playoff berth. If the Yellow Jackets won, they would have a good shot at reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

The Game

The game started off with Mount Union jumping out to a 7-0 lead following a BW punt. Their opening drive lasted 96 yards and was capped off with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Plunk to Jayden Manley, which would be the only points of the first quarter. After getting a first down on a questionable unnecessary roughness call, the Raiders capitalized with a Thomas Piccirilli field goal to go up ahead 10-0. As Joey Marousek, Jon Murray Jr., and the rest of the Yellow Jackets were sputtering out on their drives, the Raiders scored another touchdown late in the first half to take a 17-0 lead, which would be the score at the half. After three punts from both teams, the Yellow Jackets had an opportunity to score as they marched inside Mount Union's 25 yard line. However, Marousek's pass was intercepted for the second time that day, this time to John Roland who ran it out to Mount Union's 47 yard line. After that, Marousek was benched for Reese Wamer, who took control of all three drives and led BW to three straight touchdowns, all of them being in the fourth quarter. His third touchdown of the day was a rushing touchdown to give the Yellow Jackets a 21-17 lead with 22 seconds left in the game. It was also the first rushing touchdown the Purple Raiders had surrendered all season.

Final 22 Seconds

Baldwin Wallace was forced to kick off from their own 20 instead of the 35 due to an unsportsmanlike conduct call on several players. This led to Mount Union starting at their own 26 after calling a fair catch. On the first play of the drive Plunk found running back DeAndre Parker for a first down to their own 39 with 16 seconds left. After calling a timeout, Plunk hit Tyler Echeverry on back to back plays and moved them up to Baldwin Wallace's 48 yard line with four seconds to go. This gave the Purple Raiders one last shot at a Hail Mary to win the game. With students and fans ready to rush the field, Plunk rolled out to his right before heaving a desperation pass for the win. The ball hit off the helmet of defensive back Robbie Williamson, and landed into the hands of Wayne Ruby Jr., who scrambled into the endzone for the game winning touchdown. Mount Union, who was ranked #2 in the nation, would hold off on an upset by winning 23-21.

The Calls

Here's how the Hail Mary sounded on Baldwin Wallace's official YouTube channel:

"Plunk is gonna look to throw, they got four out there. Looking to throw, downfield, pass is gonna be, Oh my God it was off the head of a BW player and into the hands of Mount Union and they win with no time left. Oh my goodness! Can you believe it?"

The commentators compared it to the ending of 1982 Cal-Stanford game when the Stanford band infamously ran onto the field while Cal won on the kickoff.

Meanwhile, Tommy Maroon of his YouTube channel WHBW called it like this:

"We send everybody back. This has D1 atmosphere. They're gonna rush the field! Looks to pass, he's flushed right, he's going for the Doug Flutie pass IT'S SHORT! IT'S SHORT! IT IS... (Ruby catches it and scores) (long pause) I have never seen anything like that. I think I'm gonna be sick, I think I'm gonna throw up, we just lost."

Aftermath

The game's last play was featured on CBS Sports and SB Nation's websites, and was featured on Barstool Sports's Twitter. The game was hailed by many as one of the greatest endings in D3 football history and was compared to the Trinity-Millsaps ending in 2007.

With the win, Mount Union kept its 53 game winning streak alive. In the 2022 NCAA Division III playoffs, the Purple Raiders cruised through the first three rounds of the playoffs by beating Salisbury, Utica, and Delaware Valley. In the national semifinals, Mount Union would beat Wartburg in a 34-31 victory before ultimately losing to the North Central Cardinals in the Stagg Bowl 28-21

See Also

• Bluegrass Miracle - another walk off touchdown that stunned the home crowd
• List of Hail Mary passes in American football
• Hail Flutie - another 48 yard Hail Mary on the road

External Links

Mount Union-Baldwin Wallace Highlights

Full Game