ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Ursinus College football team suffered a 49-7 defeat at the hands of Muhlenberg in Centennial Conference action Saturday.

Freshman Thomas Garlick's 26-yard touchdown pass to junior Jonathan Gerhartz was the lone score of the game for the Bears (1-8, 1-7), who will close out the regular season against Dickinson next week.

Senior Corey Kelly carried five times for 23 yards to move into fifth in school history in rushing yards (1,641).

Muhlenberg quarterback Nick Palladino – the CC's all-time leader in total offense – finished 20 of 27 for 257 yards and four touchdowns through the air and added 73 yards and a pair of scores on the ground. Two of those scoring passes went to Nick Lamb (8 catches, 110 yards), while Nick Savant rushed for 143 yards and had a receiving touchdown for the Mules (8-1, 7-1).

Junior Heath Hidlay registered his third career interception, picking off Palladino midway through the third quarter, and freshman Noah Thomas notched a first-quarter sack, the first of his career. Freshman Zach Goss and junior James Gilette each forced fumbles, recovered by juniors Cody Richmond and Demarcus Henry, respectively.

A sack/fumble on the opening drive set Muhlenberg up at the Bears' 11, and Palladino scampered in from there two plays later to open the scoring.

Palladino's 15-yard touchdown pass to Savant doubled the spread at the 12:02 mark of the second quarter and, after an Ursinus punt, the Mules' prolific signal caller bulled in from a yard out to open up a 21-0 lead. Palladino hit Delaney for a 24-yard strike just before halftime, sending the home side into the break armed with a 28-0 advantage.

Ursinus got a big defensive play to begin the second half, as freshman Zach Goss stripped a Muhlenberg receiver and Henry fell on the ball at the Muhlenberg 41. Garlick's touchdown pass to Gerhartz, the wide receiver's first career receiving score, got the Bears on the board, but Muhlenberg added two touchdowns in the third quarter and another early in the fourth to cruise home with a win.

Muhlenberg racked up 535 yards of offense split nearly evenly between the rushing attack (278) and passing (257). Defensively, the Mules had four sacks and picked off Garlick and senior Salvatore Bello once each.

The football team concludes the 2016 season at home against Dickinson on Saturday, November 12. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.