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2004 Season Preview

 
     The Mount Union College football program opens preseason camp in preparation of the 2004 season on August 14th with a determination to reclaim the top stop in NCAA Division III football.  The Purple Raiders' 55 game winning streak, which set a new mark for consecutive wins at any level of college football, ended in the championship game last December as Mount Union returned home from Salem, Virginia as runner-ups for the first time in eight trips to the Stagg Bowl.

     The Raiders claimed a 12th straight Ohio Athletic Conference championship in 2003, finishing 13-1 overall,  and were ranked first nationally in total offense and tenth in total defense.  This season, Mount Union returns 11 starters and 41 letterwinners, and is again poised to battle for a conference title and a national championship.

     Defensively, the Raiders will be an aggressive group that will be tough for opposing offenses to deal with.  Don Montgomery returns for his 27th year as an assistant at Mount Union and his 19th season as defensive coordinator.  His unit returns six starters from last year's squad that gave up just 60 points during the regular season and only 108 points overall.  The Raiders' "D" posted six shutouts in 14 contests a year ago, including a stretch where they held opposing offenses scoreless for 13 consecutive quarters early in the campaign.

     Two returning First-Team All-OAC performers at linebacker highlight the returnees on defense, as senior middle linebacker Shaun Spisak (123 tackles, six for loss) and senior outside linebacker Anthony Frate (57 tackles, 17 for loss, three sacks, two interceptions / one TD, three forced fumbles, two recovered fumbles, blocked kick) return for an encore performance in 2004.  Spisak also garnered CoSIDA First-Team All-American honors, leading the Purple & White in tackles, while Frate played like a man possessed, especially in the playoffs, when he made big play after big play. 

     Senior Johnny Josef (44 tackles, 14 for loss, eight sacks, two forced fumbles) returns to anchor one of the defensive end spots.  Josef led the defense in sacks last year while grabbing Second-Team All-Conference honors.  The other end spot will likely be filled by junior Justen Stickley (34 tackles, 10 for loss, six sacks, interception / TD, two forced fumbles, fumble recovery, blocked kick).  It's not often a sophomore performs like Stickley did a year ago, finishing second on the team in sacks.  Needless to say big things are expected from the Massillon Jackson native this fall.

     Senior Josh Ludwig (46 tackles, eight for loss, three sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, blocked kick) will return to hold down one of the two defensive tackle positions, while junior Jesse Wells (40 tackles, three for loss, fumble recovery), who emerged last season with considerable playing time, will probably grab the other spot.

     In the secondary, junior Ross Watson (57 tackles, interception, fumble recovery) returns at cornerback, while junior Ken Whitfield (49 tackles, interception, fumble recovery / TD), who started a number of games, and saw extensive playing time at nickel back, returns at strong safety.  Senior Jesse Clum (25 tackles, interception), who saw considerable action at free safety last fall, will probably start at that position, while seniors Wade Kirk (six tackles, interception) and Josh Reger (2 tackles) will see playing time.  Senior Jamoni Robinson will also be in the mix in the secondary.

     Also looking to make a mark on defense this year are senior linebacker Joe Culler (17 tackles, two for loss, sack), junior linebackers Mike Gibbons (33 tackles, five for loss, two sacks) and Aarik Gualt (32 tackles, three for loss, sack, interception, forced fumble), senior defensive linemen Buddy Wolf (12 tackles, two for loss), Karl Jackson (10 tackles, one for loss, sack) and junior defensive linemen Sam Vucelich (27 tackles, two for loss, sack, forced fumble) and Greg Brauer (16 tackles, three for loss, sack), among others.

     Offensively, Mount Union returns five starters and a handful of receivers that saw a good amount of playing time in 2003.  Leadership duties will fall to senior quarterback Zac Bruney (62% completion percentage, 2,439 yards passing, 28 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 4.5 yards per rush, three rushing touchdowns), who returns to run the offense after receiving Honorable Mention All-Conference honors a year ago.  Bruney split time at quarterback the last two seasons but will be the main signal caller for the Purple & White this year.  Michael Jorris (seven of 10 passing for 135 yards) should also see playing time at quarterback.  The strong armed sophomore was impressive running the junior varsity last season, and saw action in four varsity games for the Raiders.  Senior Robert McDavid (7.8 yards per rush) will also get some snaps.

     So the big question is, "Who will these guys be throwing to?"  Well the tight end position is set with senior Drew Hanley (21 receptions, 335 yards, five touchdowns) returning.  Hanley is coming off a season in which he was named First-Team All-OAC, and will be the leading returning receiver in 2004.  You can always expect the tight end in Larry Kehres' offense to be a playmaker and that will be no different this year.

     Mount Union also returns a number of receivers who saw considerable action a year ago and are expected to battle for major playing time this fall.  They include senior wide receivers Joe Bugara (13 receptions, 188 yards, three touchdowns) and Jason Cavell (seven receptions, 124 yards), and junior wideout Scott Casto (six receptions, 99 yards, touchdown).  In addition, look for sophomore Steve Palte to make a mark with the team.  Palte was impressive last year as a freshman and probably would have made the playoff roster if not for a season ending injury during a junior varsity contest.

     The backfield behind Bruney is set as the two leading rushers return.  Seniors Ricky Ciccone (739 yards, 4.5 yards per rush, 11 touchdowns) and Jeff Strauch (583 yards, 4.9 yards per rush, seven touchdowns) combined to rush for more than 1300 yards and score 18 touchdowns on the ground and grab 14 catches for over 100 yards and three scores through the air.  The combo will again share tailback duties, while sophomore Aaron Robinson should see playing time as well.  Robinson missed all of last season due to an injury after an impressive freshman year in 2002 with the junior varsity. 

     In addition, junior Kelechi Ibeh (36 yards, 12 yards per carry) broke into the lineup at fullback by years end in 2003 and will battle for the starting spot this season.  Junior Brett Jordan (26 yards, 3.7 yards per carry) will also get some carries.

     Up front new offensive line coach Vince Kehres has some work to do.  Four starters graduated off a veteran unit while only senior Rick Prescott (5-10, 263) returns.  Prescott worked his way onto the starting unit by years end and was a solid performer at center for the Purple Raiders.  You can also expect to see juniors Michael Gill (6-5, 259), Jeff Goodwill (6-0, 273) and Tom Manning (6-0, 266), and sophomores Ryan Creachbaum (6-5, 242) and Jason Lewis (6-5, 285), along with others battle for playing time this season.

     Special teams have always been special at Mount Union and that's because of the time and effort put into that facet of the game.  The 2004 version should be no different as juniors George Wilders (67 points) and Chad Teague (51 points) return for place kicking chores.  The duo combined to connect on 79 of 88 PAT's and 13 of 19 field goals attempted last year.  Jason Cavell and Scott Casto will again share punt return duties.  Each averaged 11.9 yards per return while Cavell returned two punts back for touchdowns last year.

     Head Coach Larry Kehres returns for his 19th season.  Kehres has an overall record of 205-18-3 (91.4%) and has been named Division III National Coach of the Year seven times ('93, '96, '97, '98, '00, ‘01, '02) as voted by the American Football Coaches Association.

     Mount Union enters the 2004 season having won 94 consecutive regular season games, including 85 straight OAC contests.  Overall the Purple Raiders have won 109 of the last 111 games they have played.

     The Purple & White will most likely be selected by both the coaches and media as favorites to grab a 13th consecutive conference football championship on Media Day, which will be held July 28th this year. But once again the conference will be one of the best in all of Division III with Capital's emergence as a playoff contender, along with always strong Baldwin-Wallace and John Carroll.  In addition, Ohio Northern, with new coach Dean Paul (Mount Union '90), will look to bounce back to the upper echelon of the conference.  Heidelberg, Marietta, Muskingum, Otterbein and Wilmington will all also look to make a move into the first division of the league.

     It should be another exciting season in the friendly confines of Mount Union Stadium this fall, and let's see if the campaign can't end with another pleasant road trip to visit all our nice friends in Salem, Virginia.

                                                                                         Ric Brienza