Main Page             Email

Mount Union  49    Wittenberg  21

                                                                     by Dick Ross

FOUR MOORE YEARS !

END OF AN ERA

     The other shoe dropped, in Cleveland, this week as LTV announced firm plans to end all local steel production, next week.  The former Jones and Laughlin operations, west of the river, were shut down earlier this year.  The old Republic mills, on the east side of the Cuyahoga, were still belching fire and steam, perhaps for the final weekend, as Mom and I headed south, under gray skies, with unseasonably warm temperatures in the lower 40 degree range.

DOWN THE ROAD

     Like Muskingum, Wittenberg ascribes credit to the National Road which opened the Dayton-Springfield area to settlement, for its founding in 1845.   Wittenberg of Ohio is proud to trace its name and tradition to the German school of the same name where Martin Luther, a member of the Augustinian (recognize the name?) order and a professor of philosophy, nailed up his 95 Theses.

     At the time, Luther did not intend to lead a revolt against the Roman Catholic Church, but he was imprisoned at Wartburg, (now the name of a Lutheran college in Iowa), tried by the Diet of Worms - a church tribunal in Germany, not an episode of survivor, and expelled from the Church.

     In 1522 he returned to Wittenberg, Germany and from that point on, the story of his life is pretty much the story of the Protestant Reformation.  In addition to Luther's works in theology and church building, he also translated the Bible into what became known as "High German" and, like the Methodist Wesleys, was the author of many popular hymns, probably the best known is "Ein' Feste Burg" which, in English, begins with the line "a mighty fortress is our God."

     Unlike the many Ohio schools, which opened teaching classes in German, (nearly adopted as our national language and, until WW1, much more prevalent as a second language than Spanish is today) the English Evangelical Lutheran Pastors who formed Ohio's Wittenberg insisted that classes be taught in English, to accelerate the assimilation of their graduates into main stream Mid-America.   The school's motto is similar to ours but appears, in English, on the college seal: "Having Light, We Pass it On."

     While Martin Luther nailed his ideas to a cathedral door nearly 500 years ago, the Wittenberg football team has spent most of the recent century nailing up big numbers on stadium scoreboards throughout Ohio and the nation.  The Tigers have styled themselves as the "Kings of College Football" and they were certainly the team of the sixties and seventies, with national championships in 1963, 1964 & 1969, Stagg Bowl appearances in 1978 & 1979 and wins in 1973 & 1975.  They have the most all time wins of any Division III program, have 42 winning seasons since 1955 and lead the all time series against Mount Union with 18 wins and 9 losses, dating to 1916.  The majority of Mount's wins have come under head coach Larry Kehres, currently in his 16th year, and include playoff wins in 1998 & 2000.

     The return of the student population meant that the area around the school was already clogged with cars, well before game time.  The crowd at the college included parents, students and alums of both schools.  An Adult Studies breakfast occupied the Alumni Room, while the Lounge, the room with the fireplace, was set up with tables and was awash with Tiger red.  I was in the serving line behind a very nice lady wearing a red cowboy hat with black tiger stripes.  A souvenir of Wittenberg's first playoff game, this year, against Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.  "If you go to Texas," she said, "you gotta get the hat."  The store that had these red hats must have been very glad to see the Wittenberg folks - they had, apparently, had the hats for a while but sold out in short order, when the Tigers came to town.

     I sat with a family doing college visitations, with their high school senior son.  They were amazed by all the hoopla and indicated that most of the schools that they had visited were fairly deserted on Saturday mornings.  Father and Son seemed particularly impressed with the food service.  I invited them to stay for the game, but they had other plans for the afternoon.

HIGH NOON

     As kickoff time approached, we dropped our trays on the endless belt, and headed for the stadium.  As I entered through the back gate and traversed the north end, I took note of the Flag, blowing towards me with a wind out of the southwest.  Kickoff temperature for the crowd of 5,893, was 45 degrees, warm for December, and though the skies threatened rain, it seemed to get warmer through the afternoon, and the covered stands protected the home crowd from the breeze.

     Wittenberg's team took the field in white, with dual red stripes down the trouser leg, around the sleeve above the elbow, and down the centerline of the helmets, which had a red script "W" on the sides.  Mount's men streamed out of the south tunnel, single file, with the playoff reduced roster, in their black tops and socks with the purple trousers, while a smaller volunteer "pep" band played from their seats.

     Our cheerleaders were dressed to match the team, with black "Raiders" windbreakers and purple warm up pants.   The Wittenberg girls, in bright red outfits, with a white "W" around the waist, also had long sleeves and pants, but left their cuddly Tiger mascot at home.   Both schools, it would seem, have become accustomed to late season games and have acquired cold weather wardrobes for their young women.

     There was also a considerable amount of "laundry" hanging on the end zones fences.  It's beginning to look like the college may be offering a minor in spray painting on bed sheets.  My favorite was "RAIDER FOOTBALL - any questions?"  I wondered if the sheets go back to their author's beds, after the game, and how many get turned in to the laundry, at the end of the term.

     Purple took the opening kickoff and marched the length of the field in convincing fashion.  # 31 Jr. Dan Pugh of Norwalk/St. Paul covered the final eight yards, seven on a pass by # 7 Jr. Rob Adamson from Akron/Manchester to the Miller Hall sideline and the balance up the middle, into the south end zone.  In the past I have written about Rob's rifle arm, but today he also showed admirable patience and poise, standing tall in the pocket, with confusion tumbling all around him.

     The Tigers took the kickoff to their own 22.  Chris Kern, # 17 Jr. from Fairbault, Mn., injured last week, dressed and warmed up with the team, but did not play.  Kern turned the job of covering the opponents best receiver over to # 13 Jr. DB Mike Miller of Cuyahoga Falls who shadowed the other # 13, Wittenberg's Mike Aljancic, from nearby Louisville, Ohio.  # 18 Jr. Matt Sotcan of Alliance stepped up into Miller's slot.  Aljancic made 98 yards in eight catches, but for the first time in three games against Mount, he was denied a breakaway touchdown.  The first quarter ended with an exchange of punts, but with Mount on the move.

FIRST QUARTER SCORE: MOUNT UNION 7, WITTENBERG 0

BORN TO RUN

     Mount was on the move mainly through the efforts of # 10 Sr. RB Chuck Moore of Mogadore, who opened the second period with a 12-yard delayed sweep, around his own left, over by the new sections of the home stands.  He also posted the touchdown with a 15 yarder, right up the middle, into the flagpole end.  # 1 Sr. Rodney Chenos of Galloway/Hilliard Davidson came on to up the count to 14.   Moore now had more than 100-yards rushing with less than a minute gone in the second period.

     Wittenberg got the ball, after the kickoff, in the north end.  On a third and two at the 36, their # 32 Jr. RB Daniel Grove of Uhrichsville took a pitch around his right, got a couple of nice blocks on the home side, crossed the field through some "air tackling" and squeezed the Raider lead back down to seven points.  Credited with a 64-yard run, Grove must have actually covered more than 100 in his roundabout route, the longest run against Mount this season.

     In addition to his defensive duties, Mike Miller had a pair of nice kick returns, this one set the Purple Raiders up at the 45-yard line.  Now, it seemed to be Dan Pugh's turn when, with a 19-yard assist by # 9, Sr. WR Jason Candle of Salem/West Branch, Dan opened with a 31-yard reception and filled in the rest with three running plays.  Tiger fans in the north end of the concrete stands had been trying to encourage their defense with a "sing song" chant of "Red Swarm - Red Swarm" that was reminiscent of an annoying Rowan cheer.  At this point, Mount fans in the open stands began to answer "Touch-down, Touch-down" as if it was a "Round," when the score went to 21-7.

     Back on Defense, Mount's Purple Gang stepped up to the challenge, with a great knockdown, by # 22 Jr. DB Dustin Blake of West Jefferson, which was followed by a punt.  Mount had a series with an exciting 48-yard apparent touchdown to Jason Candle, which was called back on a holding penalty.  On Witt's next series it was Purple who swarmed, on a quarterback draw.  Tiger # 4, QB Greg Cornet of Franklin, Ohio, found himself wearing a purple and black blanket led by # 97 Jr. DT Jeff Knoblauch of Pickerington, when no one was fooled.

     Almost as if by pre-arrangement, this drive was mostly Moore, advancing the ball on the ground and through the air inside the north 20-yard line.  After Dan Pugh moved the chains, to the 15-yard line, Moore took a delayed hand-off, untouched, around left tackle to up the margin to three scores.

     Wittenberg ran a fruitless series, while Moore thanked his line and blockers and headed to the locker room with 165 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

HALFTIME SCORE:  MOUNT UNION 28, WITTENBERG 7

     During the half I circled the stadium, visited with friends in the east stands and spotted Mike Hallett and Jim Ballard among the crowd around the south end.  I'm sure that I walked past others, who I never got to know in "street clothes."

CHROME WHEELED AND FUEL INJECTED

     Wittenberg opened the second half, but were closed down by a crushing quarterback sack by # 58 ILB Rocky Coniglio of Coraopolis, Pa.  Although the punt squirted out of bounds at the four-yard line, Chuck Moore was on the move again, aided by two carries by Pugh for 23 yards and a possession catch by # 5 Jr. TE Josh Liddell of Bemus Point, NY.  It doesn't quite add up but, due to intervening penalties, Moore made two 28-yard runs to record the only score of the quarter, starting from the 43-yard line.

     Matt Sotcan got himself a Tiger pass, stepping up underneath, and out jumping the Wittenberg receiver for the interception.

     Late in the quarter the Tigers got a chance to start deep, when # 38 So. Keith Spivey of Chesterland/West Geauga downed a Rodney Chenos punt at the south end three-yard line.  I'm not quite sure how he did it, but he was down there waiting for the ball - he must have been so fast I didn't see him
at all.

THIRD QUARTER SCORE: MOUNT UNION 35, WITTENBERG 7

     I believe that the home sidelines would have been content to end the game at this point.  Wittenberg, however, resumed the scoring early in the fourth quarter, on an 88-yard drive, which began in the third period, after Rob Adamson suffered what was only his seventh pass interception in twelve games.

STEPPIN' OUT OVER THE LINE

     Chuck Moore must have taken this personally, he returned the kickoff 26-yards to the 38 and "popped" the first play for 62 yards down the home sideline, outrunning everyone except one Wittenberg guy, who hit him 5-yards deep in the end zone.  The scoring sheet shows a time of 26 seconds, on the game clock, between the two touchdowns, including the extra point and the kickoff.

     Down by 28, the Springfield men were not quite ready to toss in the towel and managed to chip out a twelve play, 73-yard drive, which narrowed the gap to 21, and set up an onside kick which Mount recovered at the Witt 45, quieting the "Red Swarm" cheer as the red crowd began checking their pockets for bus tickets and car keys.  A personal foul on Wittenberg and a 17-yard run by Dan Pugh returned Mount's lead to the Coach's comfort zone and when # 40 Jr. DE Chris Carter of Wyoming, Ohio forced a fumble recovered by big Jeff Knoblauch we got to see the opening of future training camps as # 12 So. QB Jesse Burghardt and # 42 Jr. RB Vince Ilacqua went in to run out the clock.  After six carries by Ilacqua, which took the ball to the two-yard line, Burghardt "took a knee" to end the game.

FINAL SCORE: MOUNT UNION 49, WITTENBERG 21

ALL THAT & MOORE

     Chuck Moore, today, set a single game school record of 346 yards, 42 more than Wittenberg's total offense.  He also had the 26-yard kick return and 24-yards receiving for a total of almost 400 yards.  If he had stayed in for the final plays, he could have easily bested the all time playoff record set by Ricky Gales of Simpson, against next week's opponent, in 1989.  Moore now has records of 1,843 yards and 30 touchdowns, in twelve games, surpassing his own records set in 14 games last year.   The win today guarantees that we will have at least one more game - against last year's Stagg Bowl opponent, St. John's of Minnesota, who gave us a real tussle, last year.  For the second time this season, Mount went without a passing touchdown, but four by Moore and three by Pugh covered quite nicely.

     Now, I know, that we can't keep the young man for another term.  I'm just thinking back to the very hot September day when I first saw him perform, along with Gary Smeck and Adam Marino in a "Sea of Purple" at Albion, Michigan.  That was the day that inspired me to start writing these reports.  Chuck Moore is such a decent young man, and since he will "raise the bar" almost every time that he touches the football, and next Saturday will be his final game in Alliance, regardless of the outcome, I'd like to encourage everyone who is able, to attend.  Because of the visitors' travel distance, from Minnesota, there should be seats for everyone and, when those are gone, you'll find the most pleasant and knowledgeable fans, along the end zone fences.

     This game marks the seventh straight year we have made the final four, but they do get tougher every week.  The mild weather is expected to continue, the buffet opens at 10:00 a.m., kickoff is at noon.

Hope to see you there!

Dick Ross
Class of '66