A look at Mount St. Joseph football in the NCAA Tournament; Volleyball falls in first round
Mount St. Joseph will play in the Division III football tournament, playing at Wheaton (Ill.) in the first round at 1 p.m. Saturday.
MSJ, 9-1, earned the berth, by winning the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title, beating Rose Hulman 68-20 to clinch it.
The Lions offense put on one of its finest efforts of the season, securing 38 first downs and 693 yards of total offense. The rushing attack led the way as they ran the ball 51 times for 362 yards (7.1 per carry) and three touchdowns. Mariano McKenzie carried the ball 22 times for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Quarterback Josh Taylor threw six touchdown passes in the game, the second of which was his 41st of the season, making him the single-season record holder for touchdown passes in a season.
Taylor, from Western Brown, has thrown for 2,806 yards and 45 touchdowns this season against only six interceptions. He also has 421 rushing yards and seven TDs. He was named HCAC Offensive Player of the Year this week for the second straight season.
Joey Newton, a senior from Anderson, is the leading receiver with 49 catches for 789 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Cornell Beachem Jr., a graduate student from Winton Woods, has 45 catches for 670 yards and 12 TDs.
Newton and Beachem were named first-team all-HCAC this week, along with local offensive linemen Collin Kandra (Elder) and Devin Salyers (East Central).
Kadin Pollard from New Richmond has 270 receiving yards and five TDs.
Gary Powell III from Western Brown has 18 catches for 204 yards and four TDs.
Devin Holt from Sycamore is second in rushing with 416 yards and four TDs.
Jackson Gifford from Ross has 383 rushing yards and two TDs.
On defense, Nate Owens from Bethel-Tate leads the Lions in tackles with 55, including 5.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Devan Donawerth from East Central has 39 tackles and two interceptions.
Owens and Donawerth were named first team all-HCAC on defense, as MSJ had 12 first-team all-conference picks and seven on the second team.
MSJ Volleyball falls in NCAA opener
The Mount St. Joseph University women's volleyball team lost to Covenant College 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament Thursday at Berry College.
The Lions entered as a No. 4 seed in the eight-team regional facing the No. 5 seed Covenant College Scots. The Lions entered with a No. 14 national ranking and Covenant was 24th.
Emma Sicking (Fairfield) was the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference newcomer of the year. First team all-conference honorees were Erin Androne (Reading), McKenzee Wagener (Sycamore), Grace Young (Harrison) and Jasmine Butler (Georgia).
Androne has been a strong asset at libero, tallying over 400 digs. Wagener and Young lead the team in blocks. Sicking leads the team in kills (315). Hannah Graves (West Clermont), Emily Pfeifer (MVCA) and Young are also among the team leaders in kills and Pfeifer is third in blocks.
In the NCAA Tournament match, Sicking led the team in kills with 15. Pfeifer had 10, Young seven and Wagener five. Butler, the setter, had 43 assists. Young also had four total blocks.
Here are the local players on the roster: Erin Androne (Reading), McKenzee Wagener (Sycamore), Carly Caldwell (Anderson), Katie Rolf (Beechwood), Brooke Shelton (Springboro), Mallory Witsken (Edgewood), Emma Sicking (Fairfield), Addie Conley (Mount Notre Dame), Sarah Brennecke (Miami Valley Christian), Jordan Birdsong (Mercy McAuley), Audrey Griffin (Scott), Kristen Schoenfeld (Seton), Grace Young (Harrison), Grace Wilking (Roger Bacon), Lauren Silbernagel (Seton), Emily Pfeifer (MVCA), Hannah Graves (West Clermont).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A look at Mount St. Joseph football entering the NCAA Tournament
