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Mount Union 41    John Carroll 31

                                                                     by Larry Faith

     The Mount Union College Purple Raiders rallied from a 22-21 third quarter deficit to defeat the John Carroll Blue Streaks 41-31 on Saturday.   An overflow Homecoming crowd of more then 7,000 fans saw the Purple Raiders remain undefeated at 3-0 in handing the Blue Streaks their first loss of the season.  Mount Union was ranked 2nd in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll, while John Carroll was rated 13th in the nation.  The game generated much of the same excitement as the Raiders thrilling 57-51 triple overtime victory over the Blue Streaks at University Heights last year.

     After stopping John Carroll on its first possession of the game, the Purple Raiders marched 33 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead.  Blue Streak punter Josh Schneider shanked a punt 13 yards to set Mount Union up for the short drive which was capped off with a 16-yard scoring pass from Gary Smeck to tight end Adam Irgang.  Previously, Smeck found wideout Adam Marino on a 15-yard completion.  Rodney Chenos added the point after.  The Blue Streaks then drove to the Mount Union 33-yard line where Schneider was forced to punt and the Raiders took possession at their 12-yard line after a fair catch by Mike Miller.

     Mount Union drove 88 yards in nine plays to take a 14-0 lead on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Smeck to Marino.   During the drive, Smeck completed passes of 22 yards and 12 yards to wide receiver Jason Candle.  Tailback Dan Pugh had carries of 15 and eight yards and Chuck Moore had an 11-yard carry.  But John Carroll came right back.  Sophomore quarterback Tom Arth completed eight passes on a 12-play, 79-yard drive and the Blue Streaks cut the Raider lead to 14-6 on a 16-yard scoring strike from Arth to Jeff Lerner.  David Vitatoe missed the extra point as he slipped on the wet field.

     For the third consecutive series the Raiders scored a touchdown as the second quarter began.  Mount Union traveled 72 yards in only seven plays to open up a 21-6 advantaged on a 27-yard pass from Smeck to Irgang as the tight end came open down the right sideline in front of the covered stands.  Smeck completed passes of 10 and 19 yards to Marino during the drive.   The Blue Streaks battled back again with a 74-yard drive with tailback Glen Dragoiu from North Canton racing around right end into the end zone from the Mount Union nine-yard line.  Arth completed four passes during the series of plays which saw the Mount lead cut to 21-13.

     John Carroll then held Mount Union deep in its own territory and took possession at its 49-yard line.  After three Blue Streak first downs, the Raider defense held and Vitatoe kicked a 37-yard field as JCU narrowed the margin to 21-16.  Mount Union was able to move the pigskin into John Carroll territory but was unable to score as the second quarter came to an end.

     The Purple Raiders opened the second half on their own 40-yard line after a 31-yard kickoff return by Pugh.  Mount Union marched to the Blue Streaks 11-yard line where, on fourth and two, Chenos missed a 28-yard field goal attempt.  It was Chenos' first miss of the season.  John Carroll then drove to the Raiders' 16-yard line where Vitatoe missed a 33-yard field goal.   On the drive, Arth hooked up with Adam Therrien on a 47-yard pass play.  The Blue Streaks then limited the Raiders to one first down on the next series and John Clark returned a Chenos punt 23 yards to the John Carroll 48-yard line.  Arth completed an 18-yard pass to Lerner and, two plays later, a 33-yard scoring strike to Therrien who came wide open over the middle in the Raider secondary.  The two-point conversion failed and John Carroll had taken the lead 22-21.

     After an exchange of punts, Mount Union took possession at the John Carroll 35-yard line, where after a 10-yard offensive holding penalty, Smeck teamed up with Marino for a 30-yard pass play.   Moore then carried the ball on successive plays for five, seven and three yards, the latter resulting in a touchdown and a 27-22 Mount Union advantage.  The Raiders were penalized for offensive pass interference on the extra point attempt and failed on the two-point conversion from the 18-yard line.  John Carroll preceded to drive to the Mount Union 17-yard line where, on the second play of the fourth quarter, Vitatoe cut the lead to 27-25 with a 35-yard field goal.

     Mount Union was whistled for an illegal block on the ensuing kick-off and began a 92-yard march from its eight-yard line.  It took the Raiders a dozen plays and two John Carroll penalties to cover the real estate.  Chuck Moore high stepped into the end zone on a first down from the visitor's 10-yard line as the Raiders went ahead 34-25.  Key plays on the drive were pass completions from Smeck to Candle of 12 and 11 yards, Marino of 14 yards and Irgang for 10 yards.  The Raider defense then forced the Blue Streaks to punt after a three and out series.

     Mount Union then fashioned an eleven -play drive that Woody Hayes would have been proud of.  The hosts ran the ball on every down of the 74 yard march.  Moore carried the ball seven times for 30 yards while Pugh gained 44 yards on four attempts.  Pugh dazzled the crowd with a 24-yard carry from the John Carroll 40-yard line around and through the left side of the Blue Streak defense.  Three plays later Pugh dashed in from the 11-yard line and the game-clinching touchdown as the Raiders took a 41-25 lead.  Aided by two more Mount Union penalties, John Carroll was able to trim the final margin to 41-31 on an Arth to Lerner five-yard aerial with 10 seconds to play.

     Smeck was 24 of 38 for 320 yards passing while Arth was 33 of 57 for 366 yards.  Moore gained 103 yards on 24 carries while Pugh added 82 yards on 10 carries for the Purple Raiders.  Dragoiu carried the ball for 67 yards on 14 attempts for the Blue Streaks.  Marino had 11 receptions for 154 yards for Mount Union while Candle had five receptions for 69 yards and Irgang four for 64 yards.  Therrien led John Carroll with nine catches for 124 yards followed by Lerner with seven grabs for 85 yards and Larry Holmes with seven receptions for 76 yards.  Cornerback Chris Kern led the Raiders in tackles with 11, while linebacker Jesse Pearson added eight stops and free safety Mike Miller seven tackles.

Notes: It poured down rain until approximately one hour before kick-off.  Mount Union was penalized 14 times for 176 yards and John Carroll 11 times for 104 yards.  There was more laundry tossed by the flag-happy officials then found on a clothes line in Amish Country.  The announced crowd was 7,053 as fans surrounded the fence.  Mount Union Stadium could use 1,000 seat bleachers in the South end zone.  The Mount Union College Marching Band gets better and better.  Marino is fearless when it comes to stretching out on a pass reception.

Larry Faith