Duke would've been proud.
 
Three days after learning of the passing of its head coach, Mike "Duke" Donnelly, of complications from leukemia, the Muhlenberg football team combined many of the elements that made him the most successful coach in program history – a crucial defensive stop, a key special teams play, and a player stepping up – to earn a 21-14 win against previously undefeated Ursinus.

Senior Matthew Stickney (pictured above), called on to fill in when Centennial Conference leading rusher Nick Savant went down with an injury on the Mules' third play from scrimmage, rushed for a career-high 118 yards on 23 carries. Freshman quarterback Michael Hnatkowsky ran for a career-best 63 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Sophomore linebacker Mickey Kober recorded 11 tackles for a defense that held the Bears (5-1, 4-1), who came in 24th in Division III with 240.2 rushing yards per game, to 132 yards on the ground.
 
Junior Nate Corvil recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone for his third non-offensive touchdown of the season. Sophomore Joseph O'Hagan averaged 39.9 yards on eight punts, downing five of them inside the 20, and made the game-clinching interception with 23 seconds left.
 
After observing a moment of silence in honor of Donnelly before the game, the Mules (4-2, 3-2) forced an Ursinus punt and scored on their first possession. Runs of 16, 21 and 13 yards by Hnatkowsky put the ball at the 1-yard line, and he sneaked in from there.
 
Early in the second quarter, a Muhlenberg drive stalled at the 40-yard line. O'Hagan's low punt took a high bounce at the 25-yard line, where the Ursinus returner tried to field it. The ball went off his hand and rolled into the end zone, where Corvil pounced on it to extend the Mules' lead to 14-0.
 
The Bears got the seven points back just five plays later on a 50-yard touchdown run by their quarterback, the reigning CC offensive player of the week.
 
The score remained 14-7 until late in the third quarter, when Hnatkowsky's 3-yard run capped a five-play, 17-yard drive that was set up by 33-yard punt return by freshman Brad Ramirez.
 
An 11-yard run on the third play of the fourth quarter – the first rushing touchdown Muhlenberg has allowed to a running back this season – made it 21-14.
 
The Bears had two drives with a chance to tie. The first ended near midfield and the second started at the 19-yard line with 1:14 to play. Ursinus drove to the Muhlenberg 34 with 33.5 seconds to play, but O'Hagan made a leaping interception at the 11-yard line on the next play, and the Mules ran out the clock.

Junior Michael Blank recorded nine tackles for the Muhlenberg defense, and senior Matt Musilli had three tackles for loss among his seven stops.

Freshman James Diggs rushed for 26 yards in his varsity debut, including a tackle-breaking 12-yard run on third-and-1 to help the Mules take time off the clock late in the fourth quarter.
 
The win was the 50th all-time for Muhlenberg against Ursinus, the most it has vs. any opponent.