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Mount Union  55
Ohio Northern  7

                                                                     by Dick Ross

OUR TOWN

     In early days of the 19th century, the first settlers in eastern Lexington Township arrived from Williamsport, Pa. and founded a town, known as Williamsport, on the north side of the Mahoning River.  The first railroad, in the area, the Cleveland and Wellsville, arrived from Atwater in 1850.  Their station, east of Williamsport, was named Freedom.  The first passenger service was provided as far west as Limaville, the area where Ohio Route 183 crosses the tracks.

     The following year a second line, then known as the Ohio and Pennsylvania, was extended westward from Salem to form a "grand crossing" and the town of Liberty was started at what is now the foot of what is now East Main Street.

     Early railroads were notoriously short of cash and the powerful Pennsylvania Railroad, whose "western" operations were headquartered out of Pittsburgh, began the process of amalgamating snippets of railroads by the process of acquiring their construction bonds and creating direct routes.  As both the Cleveland to Ohio River and the Pittsburgh to Chicago lines fell under the control of the Pennsylvania, General J. S. Robinson a railroad official in Pittsburgh, began to refer to the area of the crossing as "Alliance," looking forward to an alliance of the various rail lines.

     In 1854, the citizens of the three small communities (Liberty, Freedom and Williamsport) decided to follow suit and petitioned to incorporate as a Village named Alliance.  The actual formation of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago companies, both controlled by the Pennsylvania, and their "alliance" on how to share the westbound traffic was not completed until 1856.  Alliance traces its roots to 1850, though my source the "Alliance Centennial Souvenir Book" by Thelma Geiger, does not explain why.  The independent Village of Mount Union was not added to Alliance until 1891.

     The weather of the past week has ranged from almost eighty and sunny to cold and cloudy with a hint of snow on Saturday.  On the road, what remained of the fall colors in Cleveland quickly gave way to wintry grays, south of the turnpike.  It was a good thing that we got to the campus early as parking was already jumbled and well down neighborhood side streets, well before 11:00 a.m.  A lot of things seem to have been pushed back to the final football Saturday.  Community Service Day, Parents Day, the M-Club Hall of Fame breakfast, in the lounge, Legacy Luncheon in the Campus Grounds, and recruiting in the Alumni Room, taxed the campus center facilities to its limits.  In deference to those waiting in line, I eschewed my usual second helpings and headed for the stadium.

     Mount Union was on the field when I got there, going through their drills in solid purple.  Ohio Northern under interim head coach Stacey Hairston, ONU grad and former Cleveland Brown, were warming up in gray sweatshirts, without jerseys or pads.  I've seen Mount do this in hot weather but the Polar Bears must have been making a statement in the mid thirty degree range.  When they took the field, for real, they wore solid white with black numerals and helmets.

     This week, with plenty of time, I circled the south end and watched the band make their entrance.  Over the years, stadium remodeling has forced one change to their routine, the old wooden gate on the south end of the field no longer exists.  The band still comes down the single block of McKinley Street by the field house but enters through the vehicle gate, off a parking lot, from what used to be the Lamborn Floral Co. property.

     The Purple Raiders won the coin toss, took the ball, and headed into the wind coming from the north.  Parents Day and Community Day filled the visitors stands and though there were holes in the season ticket sections, the attendance was recorded as a respectable 6,237.  Mount Union went 69 yards on 10 plays, highlighted by a 14-yard pass from Jr. QB Zac Bruney of Martins Ferry to Jr. WR Joe Bugara of Alliance on a fourth and four, immediately followed by a four-yard touchdown plunge by Jr. RB Ricky Ciccone of Coshocton, the conversion by Jr. George Wilders of Loveland/Kings put Mount Union up by seven.

     After a three and out by Ohio Northern, Mount's Scott Casto, speedy So. WR from Uniontown/Green returned a punt to the Northern 40 to set up a short drive.  Casto made almost half the remainder with a catch from Bruney who has been leading the team as an injury continues to sideline his alternating partner, Sr. Jesse Burghardt of Uniontown/Lake.  With his alternate, Jeff Strauch of Avon Lake also out, Ciccone picked up his second touchdown on a 10-yard left side run, midway through the quarter.

     The Ada Bears mounted their best drive of the day, 60 yards, mostly on a single 23-yard pass play, to close the first quarter scoring but that was to be as close as it got.

FIRST QUARTER SCORE: MOUNT UNION 14, OHIO NORTHERN 7

     Ohio Northern's first drive into the wind ended with a "floater," well down field.  Sr. FS Matt Caponi of Pittsburgh/Baldwin looked like he was treading water with his hands as he waited for the ball like an outfielder, picking it off and returning it 15 yards before being bounced out of bounds circling the bench and hiding the ball under an equipment bag.  The officials found an extra ball for the offense and with the wind now at his back, Bruney clicked off quick passes to Sr. WR Nick Sirianni of Jamestown, NY, Sr. WR Randell Knapp of Kent/Field and to Ciccone, who was pushed out of bounds and over the southwest pylon, for the touchdown.  Things went downhill rapidly in the uphill end, after that, for the western Ohio team.

     Sr. kicker Chad Teague of Orrville put the kickoff on the 14-yard line, a penalty put it inside the 10, a short series, a short punt and a long return by Jr. WR Jason Cavell of Concord Twp/Painesville Riverside, put the ball back on the 10, headed the other way.  Two handoffs later Ciccone had his fourth touchdown of the day, in front of the student bleachers, one short of the college record for scores in a half held by Dan Pugh in the Otterbein game last year.

     Mount Union's next series, a 73 yard Bruney to Sirianni pass, also didn't take long, upping the count to 35.  The Raiders final drive of the first half took longer, 9 plays, 62 yards, concluded with a 17-yard pass to Jr. TE Drew Hanley of Tiffin Columbian, the extra point drifting off to the right in the following wind.

HALFTIME SCORE: MOUNT UNION 41, OHIO NORTHERN 7

     The Mount Marchers pulled out all the stops for their "Big Band Review," an exciting finish for their final home performance, as a prelude to the presentation of the M-Club awards.  Anyone who has ever earned a varsity letter from the college is a member of the club.  Others, who have contributed to the college's sports programs may be eligible for honorary membership.

     Jeff Shreve, longtime play-by-play broadcaster, was inducted into the club for his contributions and a record eleven members of the club were inducted into the Hall of Fame, for their on-the-field accomplishments, 15 or more years ago.  This year's honorees included Russ Kring '88 and six former football teammates from the years when the program first started to become dominant: Tony Colao '84, Victor Harris '88, John Heather '85, Ed Hogya '89, Scott Gindlesberger '87, and Mike Groff '87.

     As the third quarter got going, Mount Union's defense continued to chase the opposing quarterback, catching him at least three times.  About one-third of the way into the quarter Sr. DE Johnny Joseph of Mogadore and So. DL Justin Stickley of Massillon/Jackson met at the opposing quarterback, with Josef forcing a fumble which rolled free until Sr. DT Josh Ludwig, from East Liverpool, chased it down for a 16-yard gain, setting up Sr. RB Brian Miller of Orrville for a one-play, 14-yard touchdown run.

     On the next series Sr. RB Michael Dietrick of Seven Hills/Normandy took the point with 25 yards worth of pass receptions and a one-yard dive, for the final touchdown, in the  north end.

THIRD QUARTER SCORE: MOUNT UNION 55, OHIO NORTHERN 7

     A scoreless fourth quarter seemed a lot longer than it really was and it seemed like the first teamers played longer than usual, getting ready for the playoffs.

     On the day Bruney went 18 of 26 for 355 yards passing with three touchdowns, Ciccone had four touchdowns, three rushing and one receiving, before the half, and Sirianni set a personal best with 164 receiving yards.  Mount Union won its 51st straight game and clinched at least a share of its 12th consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference title and 15th overall.

FINAL SCORE: MOUNT UNION 55, OHIO NORTHERN 7

     My wife watched the Ohio State game and reports that Bob Griese, during that broadcast, had some very nice things to say about Mount Union and our team's accomplishments.  Also, you may have seen that John Gagliardi, legendary coach of St. John's (MN), notched victory #409, a new record for college football coaches, at any level.  His team is currently ranked second, to us, and might be an opponent sometime before Christmas.

     BUT FIRST- Wilmington, the final regular season game, next Saturday, November 15th at a pleasant place just beyond Columbus.

See you there!

Dick Ross
Class of '66