ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Most of the Ursinus College football team wasn't even born the last time the Bears won at Muhlenberg's Scotty Wood Stadium. Head coach Peter Gallagher, the longest tenured boss in the Centennial Conference, had not even arrived in Collegeville.
Needless to say, no one associated with the program will forget this one for a long time.
Samuel Ragland scored three rushing touchdowns to become the program's all-time leader, Aaron Anderson came up with two game-changing interceptions, and the Bears stunned No. 8 Muhlenberg in a 42-35 Centennial Conference thriller for the team's first victory in Allentown since 1999 and first over a top-10 opponent in school history.
The Mules (2-1, 1-1) came in with a sterling reputation - reigning Centennial Conference champions, NCAA semifinalists in 2019, and winners of 14 consecutive regular-season home games. That all changed on a muggy Saturday in the Lehigh Valley as the Bears, hobbled after a 49-21 defeat at Johns Hopkins the week prior, became the talk of Division III football with a famous victory to rival their shocking upset of the Blue Jays in 2017.
Much like last weekend, Ursinus went toe to toe with the nationally ranked behemoths for much of the first half. Unlike their trip to Baltimore, however, they never let the Mules run away.
Ragland's first touchdown run, a two-yard plunge with 13 seconds remaining in the first half, made it a 14-14 deadlock at the intermission.
Hoping to distance themselves after the break, the Mules instead were served the opposite dose as Jack Psenicska hit Octavious Carter streaking down the right sideline for a 55-yard touchdown and a 21-14 Ursinus lead.
Barely a minute later, Anderson stepped in front of a Michael Hnatkowsky pass and took it 42 yards to the house to extend the advantage to 28-14 at the 11:00 mark of the third quarter.
To no one's surprise, Muhlenberg had plenty left in the tank. The Mules galloped back with 21 unanswered points, grabbing a 35-28 lead on a touchdown from Hnatkowsky to Michael Feaster on the first play of the fourth quarter. Thrown to the mat, the Bears were down for the count after a 57-yard strike from Hnatkowsky to Thomas Murphy set the Mules up with a first-and-goal from the Ursinus 2-yard line.
Muhlenberg recovered a fumble forced by Ethan Belville but was not so lucky on the next play, when Anderson picked off Hnatkowsky - who leads all of college football with 106 career touchdown passes - in the end zone and sprinted 87 yards back to the Mules' red zone. Psenicska managed to pick up a 3rd-and-20 with a pass to Ragland, who picked his way to paydirt from a yard out to tie the game with 9:28 left.
After the defense forced a big three-and-out, Ragland gave Ursinus the lead for good with a vintage 21-yard touchdown run, moving him past Shearrod Duncan and alone into first place in program history with his 35th career rushing score.
Still, with over six minutes on the clock, the Ursinus sideline could hardly feel secure. But victory seemed at hand when the Mules punted on 4th-and-1, giving the Bears the ball back with 4:41 on the clock. Muhlenberg rose up this time, drawing a three-and-out and flipping the field with a blocked punt that gave the hosts the ball at the Ursinus 28.
Put in a tough spot, Steve Devlin's defense again met the challenge. The Bears drew a holding penalty on third down, and Hnatkowsky's fourth-down heave was intercepted by Ryan DiVergilis at the goal line. Ursinus had to punt, but only left time for one Muhlenberg play, and the Mules' desperation hook-and-ladder was quickly snuffed out to set off a field-storming celebration by the Bears' sideline.
Ragland finished with 104 yards on 25 carries, moving into fourth on the all-time yardage chart with 2,338 for his career.
Psenicska spread the ball around, going 16-for-28 for 246 yards and two touchdowns and completing passes to eight different receivers. The Bears were a remarkable 10-of-16 on third down en route to posting the highest point total by a Muhlenberg opponent since 2015.
With Anderson holding down the backfield, Belville went to work up front with two more sacks to run his team-leading total to four. He also tallied three tackles for loss.
The Bears return to Patterson Field next Saturday for a Family Day showdown with Franklin & Marshall.