|
|
| www.MtUnionFootball.com | Main Page Email |
 |
Mount
Union 17 by Dick Ross |
Even though Baldwin's first home was an unfinished windowless cabin, he and his wife, Mary, quickly had seven children. A genuine down to earth rustic, eccentric and amusing character, Baldwin's strict adherence to his Methodist principles and abhorrence of alcohol, tobacco and frivolity earned him the reputation of being a "bluenose" but may have also contributed to his becoming a wealthy man. In the early 19th Century,
liquor or hard cider was commonly offered as an attraction to house or barn raisings.
Local legend has it that it was in 1832, during the construction of Baldwin's
permanent home, the
The name Berea, from a town in Greece mentioned in Acts 17:10, was determined by a coin flip in 1836. Second place went to Mount Tabor, after a lonely spot near Jerusalem. Berea Sandstone or
"Grit" dates from the Mississippian era and is well known for its consistency
and homogeneity (freedom from pebbles). The sandstone, which lies between the layers
of Bedford Limestone and Cuyahoga Shale, was highly valued as a material for grindstones,
curbstones, sidewalks and construction. It was, therefore, not just the quarrying of
the material that provided jobs and income, but also several types of stone finishing that
helped to make Berea a thriving town.
In 1843 Baldwin learned that a Methodist Seminary in Norwalk was in such financial straights that it was likely to go out of existence. Baldwin put up $1,500, a choice piece of quarry land and building materials. He began to construct a three story building using his own stone, during the winter of 1845. Transferred from Norwalk, the Baldwin Institute opened in this building, which became known as North Hall, in January of 1846. By 1863, James Wallace, now also a wealthy operator of quarries, donated land, stone and money to fund Wallace German College, operated in conjunction with Baldwin University, until 1913, when the two were formally merged. Around 1856, Baldwin went to
Douglas County, Kansas where he laid out the town of Baldwin, Kansas, brought in
grindstones, building stones and machinery for a self supporting town and founded Baker
In 1883 Baldwin was involved
in founding one more institution, the Baldwin Mission School in Bangalese, India.
The Berea school survived its 19th Century crises and boasts a diverse enrollment of
4,500, of whom 3,000 are undergraduates. Leaving Cleveland in brilliant cloudless sunshine, the fall colors are still bright into early November, with a larger than expected percentage of leaves still on the trees, as we really have not yet had a sustained hard freeze. Visitation, Parents Day, Alumni and football fans in addition to the regular student population taxed the college staff and facilities to the limit. The line was long but there was plenty for all, including sugar cookies made with purple "M&M's." It seems like there is always something new and different, along with the constants, Lloyd Davidson appeared, out of retirement, "just helping out" in the serving line. The B-W "Yellow
Jackets," like several schools who share their name were, most likely, not named for
the insects. With school colors of gold and brown they probably arrived somewhere
wearing yellow jackets. As the visitors, today, they arrived in white jerseys with
yellow helmets and trousers. Acknowledging the importance of today's game, Mount
opted for the black jerseys, normally reserved for
For those seated or standing,
in the open, the bright sunshine made the mid fifties temperature seem warmer. Those
of us under the roof were more comfortable with a sweatshirt, or light jacket. # 13
Jr. Mike Miller from Cuyahoga Falls took the opening kickoff back 27 yards and Mount Union
advanced the ball to the B-W 25-yard line before fumbling it away. The opening
fifteen minute period was one of turnovers, penalties and uncharacteristic futility by
both teams ending with the Raider offense, third and goal, on the north "B-W 3,"
before switching ends.
B-W managed a smart return
drive of 11 plays and 66 yards which ended with a 24-yard field goal which cleared the
crossbar and bounced off the base of the north end flag pole to tie the score at three
all. Aided by a pass interference call and a clutch fourth down reception by # 5,
Jr. TE Josh Liddell of Bemus Point, NY, # 10 Sr. RB Chuck Moore of Mogadore advanced the
ball on five of the 10 plays. The final play, a one-yard plunge for the touchdown,
did not help Chuck's average on "yards per carry" but was his 23rd
The purple and black defense
dug in for the counter attack and managed to chase and hurry B-W's QB # 8 Dan Larlham from
the town of Brimfield, an area one might pass through between Mogadore and Alliance.
While chasing Larlham, just before the half, Mount may have lost # 86 Sr. DE Chris
Eberhardt of Canal Fulton/Canton Central Catholic. The way he went down and the way
he was carried off, basket style between two teammates, looked like possibly a serious leg
injury. In addition to Larlham, who initially left Walsh Jesuit High School for
Division 1 Michigan State, B-W also borrowed a version of a play used last week by
Nebraska: a reverse in which the flanker ends up tossing back to the quarterback.
The shenanigans, right in front of me, were interesting, but the play is slow to develop
and does not work unless the defense is totally fooled. Monty's men were not and B-W
had to punt the ball back for the final 25 seconds of the first half.
Most of the remaining football
action occurred early in the third period. After B-W's offense consumed two minutes
to gain two yards, Chuck Moore and Josh Liddell moved the ball south, to set up a
seven-yard touchdown by # 31 Jr. Dan Pugh of Norwalk/St. Paul, in the same amount of time.
The remainder of the
Before heading home I got to meet Valerie Rose, the cheerleader and softballer from Lake County/Perry who regularly gets the souvenir footballs up into the rear rows. I think she may have tried to "feed" one to me, near the end of the game, but it hit me in the hands and I had absolutely no chance. One of the most exiting plays of the fourth period was a 67-yard punt by Rod Chenos, which sailed over the B-W return men and was downed at the south 22-yard line.
A popular football saying is
that "Defense wins Championships" and, today, Mount's garnered at least a share
of the Ohio Athletic Conference title, with our 73rd consecutive conference win.
B-W's defenders also showed their grit today, holding the Raiders to only three scores, at
home, preventing the passing touchdown and denying Chuck Moore his usual
"breakaway" run - though he did accumulate 185 yards on 33 carries.
Dick Ross
|
|
MEN OF
GRIT
first structure in the township
raised without the assistance of alcohol, that he discovered the layer of Berea Sandstone
which was to make him affluent.
University, which still
exists. Following the Civil War in 1867, at the age of 68, Baldwin purchased 1,700
acres in Louisiana, laid out another town named Baldwin and started the Baldwin Methodist
Seminary. By 1874, back home in Berea, the first of his Colleges was in precarious
financial shape. In 1874 Dr. W. Goodman, president of the institution, secured the
agreement of eight of the eleven M. E. Board of Bishops to turn the school over to the
newer and more prosperous Ohio Wesleyan University and traveled to Louisiana to secure
Baldwin's signature on the deed transfer. Baldwin refused to sign the transfer of
the property to the Delaware, Ohio school. By the time President Goodman returned
to Berea he had been branded a traitor and burned in effigy, but efforts were soon
underway to refinance the University, which went on to reorganize and select a new
president. 
the playoffs, and purple trousers.
Today "yellow jackets" were reserved for fans and a small B-W pep band
who occupied special bleachers, set up inside the back entrance to the stadium. The
stands, on both sides, were nearly full. The crowd, reported as 6,783, may have been
even larger, with passes given to prospective students and their families.
The scoring summary records the first play of the second quarter
as "Rob Adamson pass incomplete to Jason Candle." # 9, Jr. Jason Candle WR
from Salem/West Branch actually caught the ball, but was ruled out of the end zone, over
by the east refreshment stand, bringing up a fourth down and bringing on # 1, Sr. Rodney
Chenos of Galloway/Hilliard Davidson for the almost automatic three pointer, listed as a
21-yard field goal, instead of the record extending passing touchdown.
touchdown of the season, breaking
his own record of 22 (1999), which he had shared with Mike DiBlasi (1970). 
The Mount Marchers put on yet another patriotic half time effort, featuring Sr. Majorette
Shannon McCarthy - an electronic fluke cut off her last name during the introduction and
"Shannon" was accorded the status of an "Elvis" or "Oprah" -
i.e. a person who everyone should know by first name only. The band was aided by the
brothers of Sigma-Nu, who lugged out a huge American flag to honor George Weimer. I
recognized the text from Lincoln's second Inaugural Address, to "bind up the nation's
wounds." The brothers kind of picked the wrong day to turn out in their
matching yellow shirts, as they gave the appearance of B-W sympathizers.
Fourth quarter action consisted of MUCaw changing its jersey number to "7" and
producing a sign claiming to be the real # 7, Jr. QB Rob Adamson of Akron/Manchester,
branding the 6'4" young man in cleats as a "wannabe." I have no
"inside" information but I get the feeling that the girl in the suit is a
friend. 
As the afternoon drew to a close, the cheerleaders were the only ones throwing footballs
in the stadium. The game, and the ten-year streak of games with a passing touchdown, drew
to a close with 11-straight running plays as Rob Adamson "took a knee" on the
B-W five-yard line, just before 4:00 p.m. 
Next week: "The Terror of Highway 101" as we head out beyond Norwalk to
Heidelberg, in Tiffin, by way of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, (Clyde) Ohio. Note
that kickoff time for this one is listed as 1:00 p.m., as several schools share the
field. Though it won't be official until a week from Monday, Mount should enter the
post season playoffs after a bye week, back home in Alliance, on the Saturday after
Thanksgiving.