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December 2002 News

Posted by Ric 12/30/02

Mount Union senior running back Dan Pugh has been selected to play in the 2003 East West Shrine Game January 11th at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco, CA.  Pugh is a member of the East squad, coached by Notre Dame head coach Tyrone Willingham.  The Shrine Game's rosters are made up mostly of Division I football standouts.

Pugh won the Gagliardi Trophy as the most outstanding player in Division III football this season and set numerous records while leading the Purple Raiders to a third consecutive national championship.

Posted by Ric 12/28/02

 
I've added a number of pictures taken by Bill Gough from the sidelines during Mount Union's Stagg Bowl victory over Trinity to one of our two game stories.  You can see them here.  Additional pictures will be added to our second game story soon.

Posted by Ric 12/26/02

Mount Union landed four players on the Associated Press Little All-America team, including two first team selections.

Senior running back Dan Pugh and senior cornerback Chris Kern were named first team, while senior defensive end Matt Campbell and junior offensive lineman Larry Kinnard were named to the second team.

The Little All-America team is comprised of players from Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. 

Posted by Ric 12/25/02

From my family to yours... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  And let's not forget the reason for the season! 

Posted by Ric 12/24/02

 
The final 2002 AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll has been released and Mount Union ran the table from beginning to end as the number one team in Division III football.  The Purple Raiders were a unanimous selection as the best team in the nation following their 48-7 victory over Trinity in the Stagg Bowl and have been ranked number one in the AFCA Top 25 for 30 consecutive polls dating back to October 3, 2000.  You can see the entire poll here.

Posted by Ric 12/23/02

 
Mount Union senior cornerback Chris Kern has been invited to play in the 2003 Hula Bowl featuring the nation's best Division I senior football players on February 1st in Hawaii.  Kern, a two-time First-Team Division III All-American, is the second Mount Union player to play in the Hula Bowl.  Center Tom Bauer played in the 2000 Hula Bowl following his senior season.

I've posted our recap of Saturday's Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl win by Mount Union over Trinity.  You can read what Dick Ross has to say here.  Great job Dick and thanks for your help again this season.  We'll have pictures to add later in the week.

Posted by Ric 12/22/02

Five Purple Raider football players were named to the D3football.com 2002 All-American Team.  Senior running back Dan Pugh, junior offensive tackle Larry Kinnard, senior defensive end Matt Campbell and senior cornerback Chris Kern were first team selections.  In addition, senior quarterback Rob Adamson was named honorable mention.  You can see the entire 2002 All-American Team here.

Posted by Ric 12/21/02

 
Mount Union won its third straight Division III football national championship today with a 48-7 victory over Trinity at Salem Stadium in Salem, VA.  The Purple Raiders have won six of the last seven championships and seven titles overall.

Running back Dan Pugh was named the game's Most Valuable Player, scoring four touchdowns and rushing for a game high 253 yards on 49 carries.  Pugh broke Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State) NCAA all divisions record for touchdowns scored in a season (39 in 1988) with 41 in 2002.

Pugh outscored Trinity in the championship game 26-7 and outgained them with 257 total yards compared to 203 for the Tigers.  Mount Union gained 490 total yards in the contest.

Quarterback Rob Adamson finished his Purple Raider career with a perfect 25-0 record as a starter, leading the Purple & White to two championships.  He threw three touchdown passes in his final game, completing 12 of 23 passes for 222 yards. 

Wide receiver Derrick Leach caught two of the touchdowns and wideout Randell Knapp grabbed the other.

Head Coach Larry Kehres did a masterful job of coaching with the game played in a fierce wind.  He used his running game in the first and third quarters when the Raiders went into the wind, using as much clock as possible, thus shortening the quarters.  The team picked up the pace and opened up the offense in the second and fourth periods when they had the win to their advantage.

With the win, Mount Union has now won 42 consecutive football games, the longest current streak in the NCAA.  The Purple Raiders have also won 96 of its last 97 games played.  The seven national champions are more than any other collegiate team that takes part in a playoff format.  

Posted by Ric 12/19/02

 
For the first time in school history, Mount Union placed four players on the CoSIDA Hewlett Packard Division III First-Team All-America Squad this season.

Senior running back Dan Pugh, the 2002 Gagliardi Award winner as the Division III Player of the Year, senior defensive end Matt Campbell, senior cornerback Chris Kern and junior offensive tackle Larry Kinnard were named to the first team.  In addition, senior outside linebacker Stan Watson earned Honorable Mention honors for his play this season.

The Hewlett-Packard All-American Team is chosen by a panel of Division III Sports Information Directors from across the country.

I've also added a number of pictures taken by Bill Gough from the sidelines during Mount Union's semifinal playoff victory over John Carroll to our game story.  You can see them here.

Posted by Ric 12/18/02

 
Mount Union senior running back Dan Pugh has been named the 2002 Gagliardi Trophy recipient as outstanding Division III football player.  He will receive the award this week at a luncheon in Salem, Virginia kicking off festivities for the 2002 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

The Gagliardi Trophy recognizes excellence in academics, athletics and community service.  Pugh has a 3.18 GPA in psychology and is a volunteer at Habitat for Humanity and is involved in an internship program at the Stark Regional Community Correction Center.  He has set numerous Mount Union and Ohio Athletic Conference records, and has rushed for over 3000 yards in his Purple Raider career.

Pugh is the fourth football player from Mount Union to receive this honor.  Jim Ballard won the inaugural award in 1993, while Bill Borchert won the trophy in 1997 and Chuck Moore was the recipient last year.  No other institution has had more than one winner.  You can see the entire list of Gagliardi Trophy winners here.

Posted by Ric 12/17/02

 
Mount Union senior cornerback Chris Kern has been named to the 2002 American Football Coaches Association Division III All-America Team.  Kern is one of only 25 players nationally that are named to this prestigious team.  He has posted 48 tackles, four interceptions and 10 pass breakups thus far this season.

Posted by Ric 12/16/02

 
I've posted the game story written by Dick Ross of the Purple Raiders semifinal playoff victory over John Carroll at Mount Union Stadium.  You can get to it here.  We'll have game pictures later in the week.

Posted by Ric 12/15/02

 
The Mount Union College SID's office has posted a preview of this weekend's Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl between the Mount Union Purple Raiders and the Trinity Tigers.  You can read it here.

If you are planning on attending the Stagg Bowl and did not purchase game tickets yesterday in Alliance, you can reserve tickets by calling the Salem Civic Center ticket office beginning Monday at 10:00 a.m.  The ticket office phone number is (540) 375-3004.  The Purple Raiders will be the visitors in the game and Mount Union fans will be located on the east side of Salem Stadium. 

Posted by Ric 12/14/02

Mount Union jumped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead en route to a 57-19 thrashing of John Carroll this afternoon in front of a standing room only crowd of 8,387 fans at Mount Union Stadium in the NCAA Division III national semifinals. 

Running back Dan Pugh posted career highs with 254 rushing yards on 45 carries and scored five touchdowns as Mount Union returns to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the seventh time in ten seasons.  The Purple Raiders have won six national championships, including two in a row.

Quarterback Rob Adamson completed 12 of 17 passes for 225 yards and touchdowns to wide receivers Randell Knapp and Nick Sirianni, and to tight end Josh Liddell.  Knapp caught a game high five passes for 129 yards.

The Purple Raiders dominated play from beginning to end and had 516 yards of total offense compared to 278 for the Blue Streaks.  Mount Union will face Trinity (TX) for the Division III national championship next week in Salem, Virginia.  The Tigers defeated St. John's (MN) 41-34 in the other national semifinal to advance to its first Stagg Bowl. 

Mount Union and Trinity have faced each other one prior time, in the semifinal round of the 1998 playoffs.  The Purple Raiders won that contest 34-29 at Mount Union Stadium. The Raiders will take a 41-game winning streak into that game, the longest current streak in all of college football. 

Posted by Ric 12/13/02

Four seniors from Mount Union have been named to Don Hanson's Football Gazette NCAA Division III All-North Region Team.

Running back Dan Pugh, defensive end Matt Campbell, cornerback Chris Kern and linebacker Stan Watson have been selected to the first team in voting by sports information directors from around the region.

In addition, Pugh was selected Offensive Player of the Year and Kern was named Defensive Player of the Year in the region.  Pugh was the Mike Gregory Award winner as the Ohio Athletic Conference’s top offensive back and is a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy as the nation’s best Division III player.  Kern earned the OAC’s Lee J. Tressel Award as the league’s top defensive back for the second straight year.

Posted by Ric 12/10/02

I've added ten pictures taken by Bill Gough from the sidelines during Mount Union's quarterfinal playoff victory over Wabash to our game story.  You can see them here.

Posted by Ric 12/9/02

The Mount Union College Sports Information Director's office has posted a preview of this weekend's semifinal playoff match-up against John Carroll at Mount Union Stadium.  You can read it here.

Posted by Ric 12/8/02

 
I've posted the game story by Dick Ross of Mount Union's quarterfinal playoff victory over Wabash.  You can get to it here.  We'll have game pictures later in the week.

Posted by Ric 12/7/02

Mount Union scored two touchdowns 20 seconds apart late in the second quarter to open up a 31-3 halftime lead en route to a 45-16 victory over the previously unbeaten Wabash Little Giants this afternoon at Mount Union Stadium in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA playoffs.

Running back Dan Pugh had 165 rushing yards on 25 carries and scored twice as Mount Union improved to 12-0 on the year.  Quarterback Rob Adamson completed 15 of 23 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns.  Wide receiver Randell Knapp had seven catches for 125 yards and two scores and tight end Josh Liddell had two receptions for 21 yards and one touchdown.

Defensive end Chris Carter returned an interception 21-yards for a touchdown as the Purple Raiders' defense created three turnovers in the game, while the offense did not turn the ball over.  Linebacker Stan Watson and cornerback Matt Sotcan also had interceptions for the Purple and White.

Mount Union will host John Carroll next Saturday at Mount Union Stadium in semifinal playoff action with kickoff set for 12:00 noon.  The Blue Streaks advanced to next week's contest with a 16-10 overtime win over Brockport St.  Mount Union will take a 40-game winning streak into that game, the longest current streak in all of college football.  

Posted by Ric 12/4/02

I've added a number of pictures taken from the sidelines during Mount Union's playoff victory over Wheaton to our game story.  Thanks to Carol & Gary McDonald for the great photography!  You can see the pictures here.  

Posted by Ric 12/3/02

 
Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres has been named the Division III Region 4 American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year for the 10th time.  Kehres has led the Purple Raiders to an 11-0 record this season, and is preparing the team for the NCAA Division III playoff quarterfinals.  Kehres' 10 regional awards ties Penn State's Joe Paterno for the most in AFCA history.  He has also won the AFCA National Coach of the Year Award a record six times.

Posted by Ric 12/2/02

 
The Mount Union College SID's office has posted a preview of this weekend's quarterfinal playoff match-up between the Purple Raiders and the Wabash Little Giants at Mount Union Stadium.  You can read it here.

Posted by Ric 12/1/02

 
I've posted the game story by Dick Ross of Mount Union's second round playoff victory over Wheaton.  You can read it here.  We'll have game pictures later in the week.