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Mount Union 54 Heidelberg 7 by Dick Ross |
BACK TO BUSINESS
Tiffin is a town of about
20,000, west, but a bit north of Alliance, on US 224. Like nearby Fostoria, Tiffin
was once home to a glass making industry, which would indicate a layer of suitable sand in
the area. Tiffin
Over the years the name became not only dated but also politically incorrect, as sexist, and was officially changed to "The 'Berg" (German for Mountain) during the past few years. Heidelberg's history does not dwell on a history of financial difficulties, so prevalent in many of the stories I've read, but acknowledges several disastrous fires and gives great credit to Rev. Henry "The Fisherman" Leonard, the College's chief financial officer, whose fund raising travels "by rail and on horseback, stage, lumber wagon and foot" amounted to more than four circumnavigations of the Earth, between 1857 and 1887.
Heidelberg's campus boasts 26 buildings, eclectic in architecture. Like Mount Union, they have both King and Miller residence halls: their King is a bit older than ours and a browner brick, while their Miller Hall is a lot newer than ours, built of local limestone with trim of Berea sandstone. Heidelberg's field is across
town at Tiffin Colombian High School. I believe that it is owned by the school and
is home to two high schools, Heidelberg College, Tiffin University and is also marked for
soccer. The artificial "Safe T Turf" still looks like a nice, real grass,
field, more than two years after it was first put in. The 'Berg took the field in a
bright orange, the color of "Tim Couch" practice jerseys, with white numerals
and trousers. Mount appeared in white, with the ever popular purple pants. The 'Berg team managed to lose eight yards in three plays before punting back to the Raiders who got on track with an 84-yard drive featuring pass completions to # 80 Sr. TE Jason Richards of Columbia Station and # 9 Sr. WR Jason Candle of Salem/West Branch, and a touchdown sweep around the left side by # 31 Jr. Dan Pugh of nearby Norwalk/St. Paul. # 17 Jr. CB Chris Kern of
Fairbault, MN. ended the 'Bergers second chance with an interception at the south end, his
momentum carrying him inside the five-yard line. Mount went the other way, quickly.
The home team, dressed like
the crew from a Home Depot loading dock, held the ball briefly until an interception by #
18 Jr. DB Matt Sotcan of Alliance brought out second team QB # 12 Soph. Jesse Burghardt of
Uniontown/Lake who lead the team for the next seven plays, passing the ball to Dan Pugh
for a 19-yard touchdown in very short order. Starting from the 20, the first-team offense returned with Moore rushing and Adamson passing to Candle, Moore and # 5 Jr. TE Josh Liddell of Bemus Point, NY. Dan Pugh picked up his third touchdown on the day, a personal best in purple, by catching a pass for the final yard. After a "three and
out" by Heidelberg, Jesse Burghardt took the team 30 yards to set up a 31-yard field
goal by # 1, Sr. Rodney Chenos of Galloway/Hilliard Davidson. Rod tacked on three,
but the sequence
Those most upset by this turn of events, were the regular defenders, along the sidelines. My brother pointed out that Monty's men have allowed only 79 points all season - 30 to John Carroll and 49 in the remaining nine games. When you take away points allowed by offensive mistakes, special teams, and late game "oh by the way" scores, you can begin to get an idea of how good this year's defense really is. Heidelberg's heroics served
only to bring back the still warm first-team offense with Rob Adamson tossing a
thirty-yard touchdown strike to Chuck Moore on a five-play, 61-yard drive that brought the
first half to a close and upped Chuck's single season record to 24. During the half I also visited
with Bob Buchs '54, president of the Alumni Council, who reminded me of the dandy, made in
Zanesville, football shaped baskets with fitted wooden covers, that the National Cabinet
of Mount Union Women is selling as a Scholarship Fundraiser. The baskets are $30.00
each,
Halftime entertainment was provided by a spirited little pep band under the direction of Dr. Joel Pugh who, I was assured, was not related to the Norwalk Pughs. Third Quarter action consisted
mostly of Rob Adamson handing off to our Dan Pugh, burning the clock and getting Rodney
Chenos close enough for another three pointer, followed quickly by the first of two
interceptions by # 16, Matt Caponi, Soph. DB from Pittsburgh/Baldwin. Jesse
Burghardt returned
The Raiders today completed their seventh straight undefeated regular season and became the winner of their 10th straight OAC Championship, counting a three-way tie in 1994. The Division III Playoffs will begin next Saturday, but we will receive a first round "bye" with the next Purple Raider game in Alliance November 24th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, against the winner of the Augustana - Defiance contest, to be played in Illinois. The NCAA has announced that the cost of seats in the covered stands and the "press box" reserve section will be $9.00. All other seats, except the student bleachers, are assigned as "general reserved" and will be sold at $8.00. You will need to set your clocks again, mentally, as playoff season games begin at noon, since they must be played to a conclusion and many D-3 fields do not have lights. Enjoy Veterans Day, and take a
moment to remember all those who served. See you at the next game.
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November 10th is the 226th birthday of the United States Marine Corps founded in 1775, in
a tavern, in Philadelphia. "Gung Ho," a Chinese phrase which means
"working together," was adopted as a motto by the Marine Raider Battalions,
early in World War II. When the Raiders were combined back into the main body of the
Corps, the phrase was used to describe those who were unusually enthusiastic, dedicated or
aggressive and, eventually, became a battle cry for the entire Corps. Returned to
its original meaning, I think that it would not be an unfair assessment of the football
Raiders, whom I have observed over the past decade.
Heidelberg College opened its doors on November 11, 1850. We managed to miss all
the Sesquicentennial festivities as last year's game was in Alliance. Heidelberg's
founders were the Reverends Reuben and Jeremiah Good of the German Reformed Church, later
the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and known these days as the United Church of Christ,
with a largely theologically trained faculty. The College was named for the
Heidelberg Catechism of 1563, not the German University, though for many years the
school's sports teams were known as the "Student Princes" after the 1920s movie.
Heidelberg enters today's game with a record of 1-8, but was at one time the powerhouse of
the OAC. Along with Capital, they claim a Stagg Bowl championship, under the original
format, in the early 1970s. The Princes dominated the OAC from 1946 to 1959 under coach
Paul "The Fox" Hoernemann who was 102-18, with five OAC championships and who,
in 1997, became the first Division III coach inducted into the College Football Hall of
Fame in South Bend, Indiana where "Every Day is Saturday."
anniversary of the day that
the Stmr. Edmund Fitzgerald was lost, with all hands, in a Lake Superior blizzard, also
felt in Ohio.
Adamson tossed a 50 yarder to Jr. TE #
82 Randall Knapp of Kent/Field. After a short gainer by # 10 Sr. RB Chuck Moore of
Mogadore, Jason Candle, normally a pass catcher, swung to his right and tossed a nice
tight spiral to Jason Richards, who carried the ball into the end zone for a 42-yard
touchdown.
Zac couldn't get the team restarted,
right away, and Jr. # 21 Vince Suber of Fairlawn/Copley was called out to punt the
ball. Heidelberg was able to advance the ball to the Mount four-yard line, but a
sack by # 92 Sr. DE Todd Braden of McArthur/Vinton County and # 89 Jr. DT Matt Campbell of
Massillon/Perry, pushed them back and led to an unsuccessful 32-yard field goal
attempt. Todd claimed a new school record of ten quarterback sacks for the year, and
he and Matt will share a new season record of 18 tackles for losses.
resulted in a net loss of four
points. The kick off team was apparently, like me, still watching the cheerleaders
counting off the 31 points, and didn't notice their # 2, Sr. Pete Gordon, in spite of his
bright orange shirt, streaking 84 yards down the home side, for a quick score. 
bring a check to the next home game,
and save the postage. The baskets will be on display and for sale before the game at
the campus center. They are about 6" long and 3-4" wide - with "Mount
Union Football" hot stamped into the lids. They look like they would be great
for coins and keys or candy and nuts and would make a great gift. They can be
ordered through any National Cabinet member or picked up at the Alumni Office, during
normal business hours. If you can't make it in person, add $5.00 (total $35.00) for
shipping and packaging and mail your check to the Alumni office.
THE JOB AHEAD