ALLIANCE (OH) -- Jeremy Murray and Cecil Shorts scored two touchdowns apiece as second-ranked University of Mount Union advanced to the quarterfinals for the 19th straight year with a 31-3 victory over No. 18 Delaware Valley College in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

The Aggies' 2010 run ended with a 9-3 overall record, their third straight Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship and their second consecutive NCAA postseason berth. Delaware Valley opened the playoffs with a 23-12 home victory over Salisbury University last Saturday giving the squad at least one win in all four of its trips to the NCAAs. They then battled the 10-time Division III champions (151-5 overall record since 2000) in a game that was much closer than the final scoreboard indicated.

“We admire a team that plays tough and hard…they earned our respect today,” Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres (301-22-3 in his coaching career) said of the Aggies.

Delaware Valley picked up a first down on its first play and reached the Mount Union 48-yard line before being forced to punt. A Corey Heard punt into the crosswind was downed at the 19. On the Purple Raiders' first play from scrimmage, halfback Jeremy Murray went virtually untouched for an 81-yard touchdown. Tyler Almeida added the extra-point for a quick 7-0 lead just 2:05 into the game.

The Aggies responded with a trio of first downs, including a 14-yard pass from Mark Hatty to Vincent Lochetto on a third-and-seven that put the ball at the Mount Union 25. They then faced a third-and-two from the 17-yard line when Matt Cook was stopped for no gain. Delaware Valley elected to go for it, but Hatty's pass sailed out of the end zone, turning the ball back over to the Purple Raiders.

Mount Union drove to the Aggie 22 before linebacker Chris James came in on a third-down play, stripped the ball away from quarterback Neal Seaman and recovered the fumble to end the threat.

Delaware Valley went three-and-out as the first quarter ended and the Purple Raiders took over at their own 39-yard line. They went all the way to the Aggie 14 and faced a fourth-and-one when Murray was stopped by ends Mike Jaskowski and Garrett Wooters for a loss of one and a change of possession.

After another Aggie punt, Delaware Valley's defense made another stand. This time, Troy Green deflected a ball away on a third-down pass by Seaman to Cecil Shorts. The offense took over following a touchback and moved the ball into Mount Union territory, including a key third-down catch by tight end Ed Ferrell. Isaiah Hall lost four yards on first down but Hatty hit Cook out of the backfield for a 37-yard play to the 14-yard line.

On second down, Delaware Valley went to its bag of tricks as Hatty threw a pass behind the line of scrimmage to Hall. Hall then threw back to Hatty who gained 12 yards to the Mount Union 2. A costly false start penalty moved the ball back to the seven-yard line and the Aggies managed just two yards on three plays. Jake Sobchak hit a 21-yard field goal to complete the 13-play, 76-yard drive and make it a 7-3 ballgame with 2:09 left in the half. It was the first points allowed by Mount Union in 12 quarters of play.

A long return on the ensuing kickoff gave the Purple Raiders the ball at the Delaware Valley 33-yard line. Four plays later, Seaman hit Shorts for a 20-yard touchdown pass and a 14-3 lead with 42 seconds to go before the intermission. It was the least amount of points the Purple Raiders put on the scoreboard at halftime since their fourth game of the year.

Mount Union received the opening kickoff of the second half and marched down to the Aggie 14 where it faced a third-and-eight. Seaman hit Shorts just shy of the goal line to move the sticks, and Murray found the end zone on the next play for the score. Almeida's point-after made it 21-3 with 11:15 remaining in the third quarter.

After a three-and-out by Delaware Valley, the Purple Raiders were driving again when Murray was stripped of the ball by Rob Eagles and Green recovered it. The game then moved to the fourth when the defense again made a stop as Jim DiLisio and Ken Fowlkes brought down Zac Lemmon for a loss of one on a third-and-two play. Almeida connected on a 26-yard field goal for a 24-3 ballgame 90 seconds into the quarter. The Purple Raiders added the final points of the day on a five-yard touchdown run by Shorts with 4:20 to go.

Hatty completed 21 of 38 passes for 212 yards and became just the seventh player in program history to go over the 3,000-yard mark (3,010) in a career. Nearly all of Hatty's yardage came in his senior season as his 2,585 yards placed him third on the yearly chart.

It was also the final game for senior tailback Matt Cook, a four-time all-conference honoree and the 2010 MAC Offensive Player of the Year. He was limited for the second straight week due to an injury he re-aggravated in the regular-season finale and managed just 18 yards on seven carries. Cook ended his career as the holder of nearly every all-time rushing and scoring record including yards (4,432), touchdowns (50) and points (300).

Senior wideout Dan Heiland grabbed five passes for 52 yards to up his final numbers to 143 catches and 1,958 yards – fifth all-time in both categories. Classmate Joe Gionfriddo added three receptions for 30 yards.

Defensively, Eagles and John Robinson had 12 and 10 tackles respectively to pace Delaware Valley. James, a junior linebacker, finished with nine tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

Senior All-American linebacker and two-time MAC Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Gesswein notched eight tackles to cap one of the top defensive careers in school history. He is the Aggies' all-time leader in sacks with 39 and placed third in tackles with 326.

For Mount Union, Murray carried the ball 19 times for 181 yards and the two scores. Shorts caught 10 passes for 112 yards and one touchdown and also added 81 yards and a score on seven rushes. Seaman completed 14 of 19 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown. Lambert Budzisnski led the defensive charge with eight tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery.

The Purple Raiders will host Alfred University in next Saturday's quarterfinals. Alfred went on the road and posted a 34-20 victory over Cortland State.