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2009 Coaching Staff

Larry Kehres, Head Coach

     Kehres enters his 24th 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 275-21-3 (.924) is phenomenal by itself, but that is just the beginning.

     His teams have posted 17 undefeated regular seasons (86-90-92-93-95-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-06-07-08), won 60 of 69 playoff games, 19 Ohio Athletic Conference championships (86-90-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-00-01-02-03-04-05-06-07-08) and have been Division III National Champions 10 times (93-96-97-98-00-01-02-05-06-08).

     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 2009 season having won 179 of his last 184 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 OAC Coach of the Year six times (86-90-92-94-96-97) and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III National Coach of the Year nine times (93-96-97-98-00-01-02-06-08).

Vince Kehres, Assistant Coach / Defensive Coordinator & Linebackers

     Kehres returns for his 10th year as part of the coaching staff this season where he excelled on the gridiron during his college career.  He is the defensive coordinator for a fourth year and will also coach the linebackers again this season after handling the defensive line four two years and spending four seasons in charge of the defensive ends prior to coaching the offensive line.  For a second straight season, his defense was the top rated unit in all of Division III.  In 2008, the Raiders held opponents to 199.5 yards and 8.7 points per game.

     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.

Zac Bruney, Assistant Coach / Offensive Coordinator

     Bruney returns to Mount Union and will take over offensive coordinator duties this season after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Toledo the past two seasons.

     Bruney graduated from Mount Union College in 2005, during which time he was a two-year starter and four-year letter winner at quarterback for the Purple Raiders.  During his playing career he led all of Division III in passing efficiency in 2003 and earned the Mike Gregory Award as the OAC's best offensive back his senior year.  Bruney ranks fifth all-time at Mount Union with 5,769 passing yards.

     He earned the Clyde Lamb Award as the college's top male student-athlete in 2004-05, and also was named to "ESPN's The Magazine" 2004 Football Academic All-American Team, and holds a masters degree from the University of Toledo.

Jeff Wojtowicz, Assistant Coach / Secondary

     Wojtowicz is in his 23rd 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, and in 2006, was honored by being named the AFCA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year.

     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 College, and coaches the men's and women's tennis teams.  He was named OAC Tennis Coach of the Year in 2000.

Clyde Ross, Assistant Coach / Kickers

     Ross returns for a 15th 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
Bowling Green State University (1968), where he graduated.  He also attended and played collegiate football at Southern Illinois State University (57-58) and Morris Harvey College (now Charleston
University) (55-56).

Keith Wakefield, Assistant Coach / Offensive Line

     Wakefield returns to Mount Union for a fourth consecutive season, coaching the offensive line 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.

Jesse Wells, Assistant Coach / Defensive Line

     Wells enters his fourth year with Mount Union as an assistant coach and will again help with the defensive line.  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.

Paul Gulling, Assistant Coach / Wide Receivers

     Gulling is in his second season in his second stint on the Raiders coaching staff and will handle the wide receivers again this year. He is a graduate of Mount Union College and served as an assistant for six seasons from 1997-2002.

     During his college career at Mount Union, he was a three-time First-Team All-OAC wide receiver (1977-79).  He was named a 1979 Little All-American and signed a two-year contract with the Canadian Football League's Hamilton Tiger-Cats following graduation from Mount Union College in 1980.

Michael Casco, Assistant Coach / Running Backs

     Casco is in his second season as an assistant coach at Mount Union and will work with the running backs.  He is a 2005 graduate of Kent State University and holds a masters degree from Case Western Reserve University.

Matt Kostelnik, Assistant Coach / Safeties

     Kostelnik returns for a second year as an assistant with Mount Union after graduating from the college in 2008.  During his Purple Raider playing career, he was a two-time All-OAC and All-American selection and was a member of the 2005 and 2006 national championship teams.

Chris Kappas, Assistant Coach / Cornerbacks

     Kappas enters his second year as an assistant with the Raiders and will again work with the cornerbacks.  A 2008 graduate at Mount Union College, Kappas was a three-time letterwinner at defensive back and earned Academic All-OAC and Academic All-District honors while playing for two national championship teams (05-06).

Aarik Gault, Assistant Coach / Offensive Line

     Gault is in his second season as an assistant coach at Mount Union and will work with the offensive line.  He played linebacker at Mount Union in 2003 and 2004.

Troy Chaffin, Student Coach / Linebackers & Defensive Line

     Chaffin is in his first season as an assistant at Mount Union and will work with both linebackers and the defensive line.  He was a two-year letterwinner at linebacker for the Purple Raiders and part of the 2006 national championship team.

Daryl Ely, Student Coach / Safeties & Cornerbacks

     Ely begins his first year as an assistant coach with Mount Union and will work with both the safeties and cornerbacks.  He was a three-year letterwinner for the Purple Raiders at cornerback and one of the team captains in 2008.  He was a two-time All-OAC and All-American defensive back and won the Lee Tressel Award in 2008 as the conference's best defensive back.

Luke Summers, Student Coach / Offensive Line

     Summers is in his first season as an assistant with Mount Union and will work with the offensive line.  He played in 53 games over the past three years on the offensive line, including starting all 15 games in 2008 at right tackle, earning All-OAC and All-American honors.

Jake Warrens, Student Coach / Offense

     Warrens is in his first year as an assistant coach with the Raiders and will work with the offense.  He spent the last two seasons assisting in scouting, film work and recruiting.  Prior to coming to Mount Union, he spent time at Sebring High School where he worked as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.