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Mount Union 30    Bridgewater 27

                                                                     by Larry Faith

PURPLE RAIDERS GRAB SIXTH NATIONAL TITLE WITH THREE-POINT WIN OVER EAGLES

       A Salem, Virginia Stagg Bowl record standing-room only crowd of 7,992 and a national  television audience watched the Mount Union College Purple Raiders win their sixth Division III National Championship with a thrilling 30-27 victory over the Bridgewater College (VA) Eagles. 

     Led by the 273-yard, three-touchdown rushing performance of senior tailback Chuck Moore, the 2001 Gagliardi Trophy winner, the Purple Raiders withstood a late fourth quarter Bridgewater rally.  The Eagles certainly didn't play like a team that was 0-10 just three short years ago.

     And the fact that Bridgewater was winless in 1998 made it difficult for the Mount Union faithful to appreciate the turnaround the Eagle program has made under head coach Michael Clark.  Even though the Eagles’ playoff run was impressive,  the Raiders were dominant in their three postseason victories.

     Mount Union had rolled over Augustana 32-7, Wittenberg 49-21 and St, John’s 35-14 while Bridgewater defeated Trinity 41-37, Widener 57-32 and Rowan 29-24, in a controversial ending.  Many were wondering if this game would end in a rout.

     That question was quickly answered on the first play from scrimmage as Eagle senior quarterback Jason Lutz teamed up with senior wide receiver Marcus Richardson on a 67-yard scoring strike.  Only 20 seconds had been played and Bridgewater already had as many points as St. John's could score in 60 minutes one year ago on the same field. 

     Although the Purple Raider fans were stunned, Mount Union responded in championship style.  Moore returned the kickoff to the Bridgewater 49-yard line.  Keyed by a 10-yard run by Moore and a 21-yard pass completion from junior quarterback Rob Adamson to senior wideout Jason Candle, the Raiders moved to the Eagle three-yard line where Moore busted in for his first touchdown of the game and tied the score at seven.  

Neither team was able to score on their second drives of the first stanza.

FIRST QUARTER SCORE: MOUNT UNION 7, BRIDGEWATER 7

     Mount Union forced Bridgewater to punt after their first possession of the second quarter and junior tailback Dan Pugh returned the Chad Coffey punt 67 yards from his own 16-yard line to the Eagle 17-yard line before being knocked out of bounds on the Raider side of the field.  The Eagles' defense then dug in and Mount Union took a 10-7 lead on a 27-yard field goal by senior placekicker Rodney Chenos. 

     Now the Eagles responded with a 67-yard drive led by the rushing of senior tailback Davon Cruz who carried the pigskin seven times during the 10-play drive.   Bridgewater took a 13-10 advantage on a 10-yard pass from Lutz to Brian Ratliff.  Senior cornerback Mike Miller blocked the conversion attempt.

     Then it was the Raiders turn to respond as pass completions from Adamson to Moore of 14 yards and to Candle for 19 yards landed Mount Union in the Eagles’ nest on the 36-yard line where Moore broke loose and dashed up the middle of the field for his second touchdown and a 17-13 advantage. 

     The biggest turnover of the game occurred on Bridgewater’s next possession.  As signal caller Lutz was being pressured by senior defensive end Todd Braden, he made a fatal mistake.  He tried to force the ball to a running back out in the flats but senior linebacker Jason Perkins alertly read the play and intercepted the aerial and raced 44 yards into the Eagle endzone.  Purple Raider head coach Larry Kehres would later call the Perkins’ heroics “the game winning play.”

     The two teams then exchanged punts and the first half ended on a Chris Kern interception of a deep Lutz pass at the Mount Union nine-yard line.  It was the junior cornerback's fifth interception of the year.

HALFTIME SCORE: MOUNT UNION 23, BRIDGEWATER 13

     The Raiders took the second half kickoff and drove 59 yards in 12 plays to the Bridgeport three-yard line where, on second down, Adamson was intercepted by sophomore linebacker Jermaine Taylor, who tipped the ball and then picked it off in the endzone. 

     Bridgeport drove to the Mount Union 32-yard line only to see junior safety Matt Sotcan intercept a Lutz pass on the Raider five-yard line.  If Perkins interception was the biggest defensive play of the game, then what happened next was the biggest offensive effort.

     On the drive's first play, All-American Chuck Moore took a hand-off from Adamson, broke through the middle of the Eagle defense and out-raced the Bridgewater secondary enroute to a school record 95-yard touchdown run.  It was also the longest run from scrimmage in NCAA Division III playoff history.  More importantly though, Mount Union now led by 17 points with three quarters in the books.

THIRD QUARTER SCORE: MOUNT UNION 30, BRIDGEWATER 13

     Bridgewater’s second big pass play occurred on the first series of the fourth quarter when Lutz teamed up with Ratliff again on a 59-yard pass and run play down the right sideline.  The Eagles cut the Raiders lead to ten at 30-20.  

     The two teams then traded turnovers.  The Raiders fumbled the ball to Bridgewater on the 41-yard line, and on the very next play, Miller intercepted a Lutz pass and raced 49 yards to the Eagles’ nine-yard line.  But Mount Union could not score.  The Bridgewater defense sacked Adamson on third down and Chenos was wide left on a 33-yard field goal attempt. 

     After forcing another Bridgewater punt, the Raiders drove to the Virginia team’s four-yard line, where on fourth down, a Adamson to Candle pass was incomplete.  Again the Eagle defense came up big to stop the Raiders on the goal line.

     Five times in the contest Mount Union breached the Bridgewater 20-yard line, but could only score 10 points.  They scored one touchdown and converted a field goal, but missed a field goal, turned the ball over on downs inside the ten and had a ball picked off in the endzone.  The Bridgewater defense did what it had to do to give its offense a chance to comeback, something this team had done all year.  

     The Eagles' offense then stunned the Raiders with a six-play, 94-yard drive which included passes of 24 and 15 yards to Ratliff and 43 yards to Richardson from Lutz.  The rugged quarterback then bowled into the endzone from the three-yard line on an option play and the Eagles were within a field goal of the defending national champions with two minutes to play. 

     The final key play of the game occurred on the kickoff as senior split end Jason Richards alertly fielded the pigskin.  With hard running by Moore, Mount Union was able to run out the clock.  The Purple Raiders were able to secure their sixth win in six trips to Salem, Virginia and their 28^th consecutive victory.

 FINAL SCORE: MOUNT UNION 30, BRIDGEWATER 27

    Moore set a Stagg Bowl record with 273-yards rushing on 34 attempts.  He also established a playoff record with 998-rushing yards in four playoff games.  Cruz led Bridgewater with 71 yards on 18 carries. Adamson completed 11 of 19 passes for 180 yards while Lutz passed for 374 yards on 14 of 34 attempts. Candle caught five passes for 120 yards to lead the Raiders as Ratliff caught seven passes for 161 yards and Richardson three receptions for 129 yards to lead the Eagles.  Perkins registered eight tackles and junior defensive end Matt Campbell made seven stops to lead the Raider defense.  Taylor was in on 12 tackles for Bridgewater.  The Eagles led in total offense 516 yards to 454 yards for the Purple Raiders. Bridgewater had 23 first downs to Mount Union’s 20.   But the Eagles had four turnovers to just two for the Raiders.