Widener took advantage of some quirky plays in the second half to pull away from Misericordia University on the way to a 51-9 win, Saturday afternoon at Mangelsdorf Field.

Sam Gillison had three catches for 74 yards, including a 64-yard touchdown to lead the Cougars.

Colton Pyne had four catches for 41 yards.

Anthony Rand-Willever led the MU defense with 10 tackles and Jared Henn added nine stops.

Garrett Murray and Jordan Aquino both had eight stops.

Widener converted a third-and-two on its opening drive and went on to score a touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead.

The Cougars went three-and-out on their first drive and Pat Newins' pinned the Pride at their own 15 yard line.

The MU defense held and Murray blocked a Widener punt to give the Cougars possession deep in Widener territory.

Ryan Davis connected on a 37-yard field goal to get MU within 7-3 with 5:33 left in the first quarter.

The Pride answered with a 70-yard drive to go ahead, 14-3, with 2:06 to go in the period.

Alec Rhoads returned the ensuing squib quick to the MU 40 yard line and Pyne took a quick pass from Jeff Krisiak and fought for 16 yards and first down in Widener territory.

A quarterback draw by Clayton Vleck gave MU a first down at the Widener 32.  The Cougars went for it on fourth down and the Pride came up with a sack on the first play of the second quarter to take over at their own 40.

The Pride kicked a 39-yard field goal to take a 17-3 with 9:57 to in the first half.

Klayton Kelly returned the kick-off 23 yards to the 36 yard line and the Cougars struck quickly.  Krisiak hit Gillison with a screen pass and he raced 64 yards down the left sideline to get within 17-9.

Widener capitalized on a funky bounce to put together a 10-play, 69-yard drive to take a 24-9 lead with 5:41 remaining in the first half.  After Moses Ulysse made a nice play to break up a deep pass, the Pride fumbled in their own back field on the next play.  The ball squirted loose three times before D'Andre Sapp recovered for a Pride first down at their own 43.

The Pride took advantage and went the rest of the way for a score.

Ryan Kurtz returned the ensuing kickoff 15 yards to the MU 26 and a facemask penalty gave MU a first down near midfield.  Gillison took a quick screen down the right side into Widener territory and Vleck went up the middle for a first down.

Pyne made a leaping grab for a 21-yard gain to the Widener 22 yard line, but MU eventually turned the ball over on downs.

The Cougars forced a three-and-out and blocked the punt to take over deep in the Widener end with less than a minute remaining.

MU's last-second field goal was just wide to end the half.

Anthony Rand-Willever and Cory Dickerson combined for a four-yard stop on third down to force a punt on the opening drive of the second half.

MU's drive stalled at the Widener 42 and Newins' punt was downed at the one.

Aquino made another big stop on third down and the Pride's punt was fair caught by Josh Dieter at the Widener 36.

Krisiak hit Dieter on a 19-yard slant for a first down at the 16.

Widener forced a fumble on the next play and went 87 yards for a touchdown and a 31-9 lead.

Misericordia went three-and-out on the next series and Widener went 75 yards for a score on their first play from scrimmage following the punt for a 38-9 lead with 4:33 to go in the third quarter.

Misericordia will travel to Lebanon Valley, Saturday.