Get ready for John Carroll vs. Mount Union one more time. First though, the Blue Streaks needed to take care of business at Don Shula Stadium on Nov. 23 against Mount St. Joseph in their NCAA Division III first-round playoff game. Business taken care of — and more. After surviving an early injury scare to quarterback Nick Semptimphelter, JCU overwhelmed Mount St. Joseph, 52-7, in a game that had just about everything in the Blue Streaks’ favor. Except for that scare to their starting QB. On JCU’s first offensive series, Semptimphelter went down holding his knee after being tackled and left the game for a short time. Backup Harrison Feldman filled in while Semptimphelter was being treated and guided the Blue Streaks (9-2) to a 10-0 first-quarter lead. John Carroll’s Kenneth Rawls reacts after scoring a touchdown Nov. 23. (Tim Phillis — For The News-Herald) Semptimphelter eventually returned to the game, and a second-quarter onslaught began. Semptimphelter threw TD passes of 12 yards to running back Quincy Newsom — in which Newsom was upended in the end zone — 2 yards to wide receiver Ty Montgomery — who had another huge game — and 18 to tight end Kenneth Rawls. In less than 4 minutes, it was 31-0. Quincy Newsom TD catch, run and jump and @JCUFootball leads Mt St Joseph 17-0 q2 #d3fb @jcusports pic.twitter.com/7OA1WfaUEo — Mark Podolski (@mpodo) November 23, 2024 “I feel good now,” said Semptimphelter, who was 14 of 17 for 156 yards and threw five touchdown passes. JCU INT leads to Kenneth Rawls TD catch and the rout is on @JCUFootball 31Mount St Joseph 0#d3fb @JCUFootball pic.twitter.com/SpaU0mr0UU — Mark Podolski (@mpodo) November 23, 2024 Semptimphelter went down right in front of JCU coach Jeff Behrman near his team’s sideline. He surely breathed a sigh of relief when his QB returned to the game, but it was more than that. John Carroll quarterback Nick Semptimphelter threw for five touchdowns Nov. 23. (Tim Phillis — For The News-Herald) “We say it all the time: Tough people win in life,” said Behrman about his QB, who was sitting to his right in the postgame news conference. “You have to be physically tough, mentally tough. This is a tough guy right here. It didn’t surprise me the (doctors) came up to me and said, ‘He’s gonna be alright. Just give him 10 minutes, and he’ll be ready to go.’ There’s something about the guy to my right. He’s as tough as they come playing that position.” Up next will be a much-anticipated second-round playoff matchup at Mount Union, and the fourth matchup between the Ohio Athletic Conference teams in the postseason. The biggest was a 2002 meeting in an NCAA D-III national semifinal (a 57-19 Purple Raiders victory) and then in 2014 in an NCAA quarterfinal that Mount won, 36-28. The teams also met in the 1997 playoffs, a 59-7 Mount win. One thing is certain — the JCU-Mount playoff game will be the last matchup between the teams as members of the OAC. The Blue Streaks will join the North Coast Athletic Conference after the 2024-25 school year. Mount St. Joseph coach Tyler Hopperton was obviously impressed by the Blue Streaks’ domination and sized up their chances next week in Alliance. “I think it’s anybody’s game,” said Hopperton. “I told the guys going in, we got drawn with a contender and I think they looked like that today.” As efficient and impressive JCU’s offense was, the defense might have been even better. The unit held MSJ (8-3) held to 193 total yards, intercepted three passes and limited the Lions to 1 of 10 on third down. Linebacker Mason Rus of Kirtland was a force with nine tackles and three sacks, including one of QB Tyler Prather that resulted in a whopping 39-yard loss. Huge stop by @JCUFootball D on 4th down #d3fb pic.twitter.com/GYaBSFGGeJ — Mark Podolski (@mpodo) November 23, 2024 “I was lined up in the A gap and nobody came to block me,” said Rus. “Then the quarterback started taking off. He kept going backwards and I thought, ‘Here we go.’ ” As for his team’s defensive performance, Rus said: “We were trying to dominate the game every down. We generated a lot of turnovers, and that was huge for us.” Semptimphelter had his second-lowest game of the season for passing yards but his five TD passes gave him 11 the last two weeks and 37 for the season against just three interceptions. “Our defense gave us a short field,” said Semptimphelter. “Our offense was able to capitalize on that.” FB: WHAT CAN’T HE DO!?!? TY MONTGOMERY FINDS THE ENDZONE FOR THE 3RD TIME TODAY! : https://t.co/nhk8ZgkMBk: Tune in on ESPN+: WJCU 88.7 FM#d3fb pic.twitter.com/GhNJ1M7uvb — John Carroll Sports (@jcusports) November 23, 2024 Montgomery scored three TDs — including a one-handed grab on a 29-yard reception — and has 20 for the season. Evan McVay (12 carries, 78 yards) scored on a 5-yard reception and Nemo Jenkins ran 17 yards for another TD to finish the scoring for the Blue Streaks. Those two plus fellow running back Newsom combined to rush for 211 yards on 33 carries. As a team, JCU had 267 rushing yards. THE SCORE John Carroll 52, Mount St. Joseph 7