Two quarterbacks combined to throw for 325 yards and four touchdowns, and the defense came up with a late fourth-down stop as the Muhlenberg football team improved to 2-0 with a 28-20 win at Endicott.

The win, in the Mules' first trip ever to Massachusetts for a game, came against an Endicott squad that is just two places out of the top 25 in the current D3football.com poll. The Gulls were ranked 18th in the final 2024 poll, are 30-6 since the start of the 2021 season, and hadn't lost a home game by more than six points since 2018.

Muhlenberg needed only five plays after the opening kickoff to score a touchdown, on a 3-yard pass from senior Dante Mahaffey to senior Caden Reph, and never trailed. It was still a one-possession game, however, when Endicott (1-1) took over at its own 20 with 4:54 remaining.

The Gulls drove 75 yards to bring up a fourth-and-1 at the Mule 5-yard line. They tried a run to the right, but seniors Blaze Curry, Alex Schafer and Marcus McClaine combined to blow up the play and bring down the ball carrier for a 4-yard loss.

The Mules took over with 1:11 remaining, and after Endicott used its final timeout, Mahaffey connected with senior Aidan Mack for a 16-yard gain and a first down that sealed the win.

Mahaffey finished 12-of-20 for 187 yards and a pair of scores, while sophomore Luke Spang was nearly perfect, going 9-for-10 for 138 yards and two touchdowns of his own.

Junior Christopher Short recorded his first career 100-yard game with 108 yards on just three catches. His 55-yard reception on the third play from scrimmage set up Reph's touchdown, and he caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Spang later in the first quarter to give the Mules the lead for good at 13-7.

Spang's 13-yard scoring strike to senior Matthew Manning made it 20-7 early in the second quarter. 

The Mule defense held in the Red Zone in the final minute of the half, forcing a field-goal attempt that missed. 

Endicott closed to within six points on a touchdown late in the third quarter, but Muhlenberg responded quickly, needing only six plays to get the touchdown back. Half of the plays were completions from Mahaffey to senior Amari Dunn, the last covering 12 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Mahaffey ran in the two-point conversion.

The Gulls scored a touchdown on their next drive but had only one more possession, after a 52-yard punt into the end zone by freshman Sam Morris forced them to drive nearly the length of the field. 

McClaine led the defense with 11 tackles, while junior Jeffrey Lopez recorded 10, and sophomore Thomas Cerruti added 9, including 1½ for loss. Senior George Europe made 8 tackles, and junior CJ Newman broke up a pair of passes. 

pictured above: junior Isaac Schaffer-Neitz