The Muhlenberg football team rebounded from its first loss of the season in decisive fashion, rolling to a 56-7 win at McDaniel.

The Mules (5-1, 2-1) scored touchdowns on eight of their 10 possessions, and the other two ended on the Green Terror 11-yard line and 4-yard line. The 56 points were the most scored by Muhlenberg in a Centennial Conference road game since a 57-12 win at Juniata in 2022, and the 49-point margin of victory was the largest in a CC road contest since a 72-7 win at Dickinson in 2016.

Muhlenberg scored seven of its eight touchdowns on the ground, coming within one of a 78-year-old school record.

Senior Matthew Manning was responsible for three of the rushing touchdowns, on first-half carries of 4, 1, and 2 yards, for his second three-touchdown game in the last three weeks. Manning finished with 69 yards on 11 carries, moving past the 1000-yard mark for his career. 

Junior Isaac Schaffer-Neitz rushed for a career-high 97 yards on just nine carries, including scoring runs of 40 and 1 yards. Senior Dante Mahaffey added 54 rushing yards and a score on the ground as Muhlenberg rolled up 324 yards on the ground - its most in a game since 2018.

The Mule offense took advantage of good field position given to it by the defense and special teams to score early and often.

Muhlenberg took the opening kickoff and drove 63 yards in 11 plays, eight of them runs, to take a 7-0 lead. After the defense forced a three-and-out, with sophomore Joseph Papa sacking the Green Terror quarterback for an 18-yard loss on third down, the Mules needed only six plays to move 35 yards for their second score. The key play was a 15-yard completion from Mahaffey to sophomore Logan Nordeck on fourth-and-6.

On the second play of the next drive, sophomore Thomas Cerruti sacked the McDaniel quarterback, forcing a fumble that he returned 17 yards to the 8. Two Manning runs later, it was 21-0 just over 11 minutes into the game.

McDaniel finally picked up its initial first down on the ensuing drive, only to have senior Marcus McClaine force a fumble that was recovered by classmate Peyton Elliott near midfield. Schaffer-Neitz's 40-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter ran the lead to 28-0.

The next three McDaniel plays netted only two yards, and sophomore Jeremy Lopez (pictured above) blocked the ensuing punt. Freshman Leo Dauberman returned the ball to the 3, and two plays later Mahaffey connected with sophomore Chris Holland on a 1-yard touchdown pass - the first score of Holland's career.

Manning's third TD run made it 42-0 with more than six minutes still to play in the first half. The 42 points tied the most scored by the Mules in the first half since 2017.

The big lead allowed Muhlenberg to play the majority of its travel squad in the second half. Sophomore Sebastian Chaney scored a touchdown in his first career varsity game early in the fourth quarter, while freshman Shawn Pelovitz and sophomore Nicholas Humpf saw their first career action at quarterback, and freshman Jack Waranavage recorded his first career reception. Junior Cody Whalen rushed for 21 yards on his first career touch.

Sophomore Ethan Kalinauskas led the defense with seven tackles and recorded his first career interception in the end zone, setting up the Mules' final TD. He also split a sack with Papa. Sophomore Brian Walsh also recorded a Red Zone turnover, recovering a fumble inside the 5-yard line.

Sophomore Andrew Deutsch went 7-for-7 on PATs, while freshman Sam Morris, who was not called on to punt in the entire game, scored his first career point by converting the last one.