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2007 Coaching Staff |
Larry Kehres, Head Coach
His teams have posted 15 undefeated regular seasons (86-90-92-93-95-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-06), won 51 of 59 playoff games, 17 Ohio Athletic Conference championships (86-90-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-05-06) and have been Division III National Champions nine times (93-96-97-98-00-01-02-05-06). Beginning with the first game in 1996, to the final game of 1999, his teams won 54 straight football games. He then did one better than that by winning 55 straight games from the beginning of the 2000 season to the final game of 2003, setting a new standard in college football for excellence. He guided the Raiders to a unbelievable mark of 120-7-1 (.941) during the decade of the 1990's, and enters the 2007 season having won 150 of his last 154 contests. Kehres is a native of Diamond, Ohio and went to Southeast High School. He played quarterback while attending Mount Union College (67-70) and still holds the school record for longest pass completion, 95 yards for a touchdown, in a 1970 contest versus Ohio Northern. He was a graduate assistant coach at Bowling Green State University (71-72) while earning a master's degree in health and physical education. He served as head football coach for one season (1973) at Johnstown Monroe High School before returning to Alliance and spending the next eleven years as a Purple Raider assistant coach, mostly offensive coordinator, before taking over as head coach in 1986. Kehres is also an associate professor of physical education and athletic director at Mount Union College, and has been named the GTE Division III National Coach of the Year eight times (93-96-97-98-00-01-02-06) as voted on by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Vince Kehres, Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers Kehres returns for his seventh year as part of the coaching staff this season where he excelled on the gridiron during his college career. He is the defensive coordinator and will also coach the linebackers this season after handling the defensive line the last two years and spending four seasons in charge of the defensive ends prior to coaching the offensive line. He was a four-year letter winner (94-97) as a defensive end, recording 62 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss during his playing career, while playing on two national championship teams (96-97). He earned All-Conference honors his senior season when the Purple Raiders' defense led the nation in fewest points allowed (5.6 ppg) and run defense (48.6 ypg), while posting five shutouts. In 2006, Kehres was named the OAC Assistant Coach of the Year. Jeff Wojtowicz, Secondary Wojtowicz is in his 21st year as an assistant coach for the Purple Raiders and handles the defensive backfield. Under his guidance, the 1992 Raider defense set an OAC record with 33 interceptions. In 2001, Wojtowicz earned the National Football Foundation's Northeastern Ohio Assistant Coach of the Year Award, and in 2004 was named the OAC Co-Assistant Coach of the Year as voted by the 10 head coaches in the league. He was a graduate assistant at Indiana State University (1984) and an assistant coach at Wittenberg University (1985) before returning to Mount Union in 1986. He was a three-year letter winner for the Raiders as a defensive back (81-83) and was a co-captain of the football team his senior year, earning Honorable-Mention All-OAC honors that season. Wojtowicz also is an instructor in the Health and Physical Education Department at Mount Union, and coaches the men's and women's tennis teams. He was named OAC Tennis Coach of the Year in 2000. Jason Candle, Wide Receivers Candle has been an assistant on Mount Union's staff for five years now and will again work with the wide receivers after serving as a student assistant in 2002 following his playing career with the Raiders. His involvment with the offense is not limited to the receivers though, as he will again have play calling duties a large part of the time. During his playing career, he caught 57 passes for 1,037 yards and 11 touchdowns for Mount Union, earning First-Team All-OAC honors in 2001. He played a major role on two national championship teams (00-01). Candle is a product of nearby West Branch High School. Joel Cockley, Running Backs Cockley returns this season to the Purple Raiders coaching staff for an eighth consecutive year coaching the running backs. He served under Larry Kehres from 1989-94 as well, including the final three of those seasons as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He has held a number of head
coaching positions at the high school level, including Alliance High School (81-88,
95-99), Dover High School (1979) and Buckeye North High School (76-78). In
addition, Clyde Ross, Kickers Ross returns for a 13th season
as the Raiders kicking coach after a one-year absence in 2005. He has served as an
assistant football coach at Salem High School (70-76), United High School (1969) and Keith Wakefield, Offensive Line Wakefield returns to Mount Union for a second consecutive season and will handle the offensive line this year after a very successful head coaching career at the High School level. He spent two seasons (04-05) as head coach at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School after a 22-year career (82-03) at Perry High School, where his teams won 12 Federal League titles and reached the Division I State Semifinals in 2000. Prior to that he served as head coach at both Mansfield Madison and Austintown Fitch High Schools. Wakefield is a graduate of Otterbein College with a degree in education. Jay Glaze, Tight Ends Glaze begins his first year as an assistant coach with the Purple Raiders after spending the last five seasons as the head football coach at Barberton High School (02-06). Prior to that Glaze served as the head coach at Akron Springfield High School for ten years (92-01). He graduated from the University of Akron in 1984 and earned a Master's Degree from Marygrove College in 2003. Ross Watson, Cornerbacks Watson returns for a second season with Mount Union's coaching staff and spending the prior four seasons playing cornerback for the Purple Raiders. He is a four-year letter winner and three-year starter, earning First-Team All-Conference and AFCA All-American honors in 2005. In 2005, he led the team with nine interceptions, one shy of the school record, and in his career, had 146 tackles, 14 interceptions and 29 passes broken up. John Wallace, Defensive Line Wallace enters his second
season as an assistant coach with the Purple Raiders after serving in the same capacity at
Green High School for seven years, including 2005 as the team's offensive Eric Ferguson, Offensive Line Ferguson comes to Mount Union in 2007 as an assistant coach after serving in the same capacity at St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School in 2005. Prior to that he was part of Keith Wakefield's coaching staff at Perry High School for six seasons (99-04). Ferguson is a 1982 graduate of Stark State College in Canton Ohio. Jesse Wells, Defensive Line Wells begins his first year with Mount Union as an assistant coach and will help with the defensive line this season after serving as a student assistant last year. Prior to that he was a four-year letterwinner at defensive tackle for the Purple Raiders (02-05). Wells played on two national championship teams while accumulating 204 hits during his playing days. He earned All-Conference honors in 2004 and 2005. Dan Blume, Linebackers Blume joins the the Purple Raiders coaching staff as an assistant this year after helping with the defensive linemen as a student assistant last season. He earned a degree in health and physical education from Mount Union earlier this year.
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Kehres enters his 22nd season as head coach of the Mount Union Purple Raiders as one of
the most successful head coaches in the history of college football. His overall
record of 246-20-3 (.920) is phenomenal by itself, but that is just the beginning.