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2000 Season Preview

     Mount Union enters the 2000 season looking to win it's ninth consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championship.  You have to go back to the 1994 season to find the last time the Purple Raiders suffered a conference loss.   Mount has won 49 consecutive conference games and 54 straight regular season contests overall.  The Purple and White have finished the regular season undefeated five straight times.

When The Good Guys Have The Ball...

     Mount Union should be explosive once again on offense in 2000, returning eight starters from a unit that set an OAC record and led all of Division III for total offense with 559.5 yards-per-game last season.  The Raiders also led all of Division III in scoring, averaging 53.4 points-per-contest.  The Purple Raiders first-team offense was successful 65% of the time one year ago, scoring on 69-of-106 possessions.

The Field General

    The Raiders will be led offensively by Second-Team All-OAC senior quarterback Gary Smeck.  Smeck, a third-year starter, led the nation in passing efficiency last season with a 208.6 rating.  He completed 172 of 268 passes (64.2%) for 2,878 yards, 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions.      

The Good Hands People

     Smeck's top four receivers are back in 2000, led by First-Team All-OAC senior wide receiver Adam Marino.  Marino set new Mount Union College single-season marks and led the OAC in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches a year ago, grabbing 88 passes for 1,724 yards (19.6) and 20 touchdowns.  Marino needs just 40 catches totaling 643 yards and eight touchdowns this season to become the career leader in all three categories at Mount Union.  Those records are all currently held by one Ed Bubonics.

       
     First-Team All-OAC tight end Adam Irgang returns for his senior year.  Irgang caught 28 passes last season for 517 yards (18.5) and five touchdowns, none bigger than the game winner in the third overtime versus John Carroll.

     Also returning this year are senior receiver Rob Sondles, who hauled in 21 passes for 445 yards (21.2) and six touchdowns one year ago, and junior receiver Jason Richards, who had 10 catches for 135   yards (13.5) and one touchdown.

By Ground Chuck

      When you've led the conference in passing offense for nine consecutive seasons, and have tossed a touchdown pass in an NCAA-record 114 straight games, you tend to be thought of as a passing team. 

     Mount Union is definitely not just a passing team!  First-Team All-OAC junior running back Chuck Moore established new highs last season rushing the football, running for 1,514 yards on 245 carries (6.2) and 29 total touchdowns.  Moore eclipsed the mark set by Russ Kring during the 1986 season of 1,460 yards.  Kring carried the ball 248 times that year (5.9) and hit paydirt 19 times.

     Moore finished fourth in the nation in scoring during the regular season with 22 touchdowns his sophomore season.

     Also expected to see considerable action in the Raider backfield are sophomore running back Dan Pugh, who had his season cut short at about the mid-way point a year ago due to injury, but still carried the ball 58 times for 383 yards (6.6) and scored five touchdowns, and senior back Erik Schroeder, who tallied 54 runs totaling 343 yards (6.4) and two scores.

The Hogs Up Front

     Three of the five starting offensive lineman return in 2000, including 6-4, 290, First-Team All-OAC senior tackle Jason Gerber, 6-4, 296, First-Team All-OAC junior guard Bill Rychel and 6-4, 277, senior tackle Steve Nettle. 

     Expected to join the starting group this season are 6-4, 326, junior lineman Josh Hammond and 6-3, 260, senior lineman Chris Leckonby.

When The Bad Guys Have The Ball...

     Mount Union not only led the charts offensively in 1999, they did so defensively as well, allowing a conference low 312.3 yards per game.   The Purple and White defensive unit helped secure a plus-14 turnover ratio, intercepting 19 passes and scoring five touchdowns.  Five starters return from a unit that gave up less than 20-points per contest.

Linebacker U ?

     The strength of this years "D" will undoubtedly be at the linebacker position, where three starters return, including Second-Team All-OAC senior inside linebacker Jesse Pearson.  Pearson recorded 96 hits in 1999, along with four interceptions and two fumble recoveries and set a single-season Mount Union record with five defense touchdowns, coming in four-consecutive contests.

     Honorable-Mention All-OAC senior outside linebacker Brian Cassidy  is another returning starter the Raiders expect will provide leadership this season.  Cassidy recorded 90 hits a year ago, 10 tackles for loss and an interception.  Senior outside linebacker Matt LaVerde will look to duplicate the solid season he had in 1999, when he was credited with 71 hits, seven tackles for loss and two interceptions.

Air Defense

     The other two returning starters on defense are defensive backs the Raiders hope will continue to provide solid play in pass defense.   First-Team All-OAC senior defensive back Brooks Greenleaf recorded one interception in 1999, along with 64 hits and 17 pass-break-ups.   Sophomore defensive back Mike Miller broke onto the scene in a big way his freshman season, both in the secondary, and special teams, where he returned one punt for a touchdown.  Miller had two interceptions a year ago, along with 35 hits and eight pass-break-ups.

In The Trenches

     The key to how successful the defense will be in 2000 will depend on the play of the front four.  For the first time in a long time, the Raiders will enter the season with an inexperienced defensive line.  There are a couple underclassmen that saw action last season, including junior end Todd Braden, who recorded 34 hits, including five tackles for loss, sophomore tackle Jeff Knoblauch, who had 54 hits and four tackles for loss and sophomore end Matt Campbell, who recorded 16 hits.

The Special Teams Truly Are!

     Mount Union's key to success starts with the kicking game, where the Purple Raiders have excelled in all facets in recent years.  Second-Team All-OAC senior punter/place-kicker Rod Chenos was solid for the Raiders last season, making 80 of 83 extra point attempts, nine of 16 field goal tries and averaging 36.8 yards-per-punt.

     Adam Marino, Mike Miller and Chuck Moore will likely handle most of the return duties in 2000.  Marino averaged 14.2 yards a return on 13 punt returns, while Miller averaged 46.3 per try on three punt returns, including one for a touchdown, and 23.6 yards a return on five kickoff returns.  Chuck Moore, and his memorable opening kickoff return for a touchdown versus Albion in the '98 playoffs, averaged 15.1 yards a return on 10 punt returns and a whopping 34.4 yards a return on 12 kickoff returns last season.

The Man On The Sidelines

    Larry Kehres begins his 15th season as the head coach at Mount Union College.  Kehres has an overall record of 150-17-3, which translates into a winning percentage of .891%.  His squads have gone 24-6 in 10 playoff appearances, winning the Division III national championship on four occasions.  He has been named GTE Division III National Coach of the Year four times ('93, '96, '97, '98) as voted by the American Football Coaches Association.

It Adds Up To...

     The Purple Raiders will be favorites to bring home a ninth consecutive and 12th overall Ohio Athletic Conference championship in 2000.  Once again, the OAC will be one of, if not, the strongest conferences in all of division III with '99 playoff participant Ohio Northern and perennial powers Baldwin-Wallace and John Carroll in it's ranks, along with newcomer Wilmington, that finished 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference last season and replaces Hiram in the OAC this year.  Along with league games against fellow OAC opponents Capital, Heidelberg, Marietta, Muskingum and Otterbein, the Purple Raiders will open the season against another top-flight team, the Allegheny Gators, who will be one of the favorites in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

     It should be another exciting season in the friendly confines of Mount Union Stadium this fall, and let's see if the campaign can't end with another pleasant road trip to visit all our nice friends in Salem, Virginia.

                                                                                                        Ric Brienza