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September 2003 News

Posted by Ric 9/30/03

Mount Union received 45 of 46 first-place votes in this weeks AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll, and remains the number one team in Division III football.  John Carroll moved up one spot to number nine, while Baldwin-Wallace jumped two places to 17th.  Capital also received votes.  You can see the entire poll here.

Also, Mount Union's JV football team defeated Washington & Jefferson last night 30-6 to improve to 3-0 on the season.  You can see the entire junior varsity football schedule and results here.

Posted by Ric 9/29/03

Mount Union remains the unanimous number one team in Division III football according to the D3Football.com's Top 25.  The Purple Raiders received all 25 first-place votes in the latest poll, released today.  Baldwin-Wallace moved up one spot to 10th this week while John Carroll remained 18th and Capital received votes.  You can see the entire D3Football.com Top 25 here.

Also, the Mount Union College SID's office has posted a preview of this Saturday's Ohio Athletic Conference game between the Purple Raiders and the Otterbein Cardinals at Mount Union Stadium.  You can read it here.

Posted by Ric 9/28/03

I've posted our game story of Mount Union's dominant performance over previously unbeaten Muskingum on Saturday.  You can read it here.  We'll have pictures to add later in the week.

Posted by Ric 9/27/03

Mount Union defeated Muskingum 58-0 this afternoon in New Concord, Ohio to improve to 3-0 on the season.  The Purple Raiders dominated in all facets of the game, gaining 678 yards of total offense, while limiting the Muskies to just 84 total yards.  The defense has now gone nine straight quarters without giving up a point.

Jesse Burghardt and Zac Bruney combined at quarterback to throw for 433 yards on 20 of 28 passing, with five touchdowns and no interceptions.  Randell Knapp led all receivers with 174 yards on eight catches, including three touchdowns, while Nick Sirianni and Scott Casto also had touchdown grabs.  On the ground, Jeff Strauch, Ricky Ciccone and Mike Deitrick each recorded a touchdown.

Defensively Antoine Dillard and Shawn Spisak each had six tackles to lead Mount Union, while Ross Watson had his first career interception.

With the victory, the Purple Raiders have now won 45 straight games, the longest current win streak in all of college football.  Mount Union returns home next week to host Otterbein with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. at Mount Union Stadium.

Posted by Ric 9/25/03

A number of pictures taken by Carol & Gary McDonald from the sidelines during Mount Union's conference opening win over Baldwin-Wallace have been added to our game story.  You can see them here.

Posted by Ric 9/24/03

Mount Union remains number one in this weeks AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll, receiving 45 of 46 first-place votes.  John Carroll moved up to the 10th spot, while Baldwin-Wallace fell to 19th.  Capital and Muskingum also received votes.  You can see the entire poll here.

Posted by Ric 9/23/03

Mount Union's junior varsity football team was schedule to play split squad games last night, at Otterbein, and home vs. Wooster.  The contest scheduled for Westerville against Otterbein was cancelled by the Cardinals due to inclement weather.  The JV's defeated Wooster at Mount Union Stadium 43-12.  You can see the entire junior varsity football schedule and results here.

Posted by Ric 9/22/03

Mount Union received all 25 first-place votes and again is the number one team in this week's D3Football.com Top 25 football poll.  Baldwin-Wallace dropped to 11th following it's loss to the Purple Raiders this past Saturday, while John Carroll moved up four spots to 18th and Capital cracked the poll at number 25.  Muskingum also received a vote.  The entire D3Football.com Top 25 is here.

Also, the Mount Union College Sports Information Director's office has previewed this Saturday's Ohio Athletic Conference match-up between the Purple Raiders and the Fighting Muskies in Muskingum.  You can read it here.

Posted by Ric 9/21/03

I've posted our game story of Mount Union's conference opening win over Baldwin-Wallace, written by Dick Ross.  You can read it here.  We'll add pictures later in the week.

Posted by Ric 9/20/03

Mount Union defeated Baldwin-Wallace 24-0 today in front of a new Mount Union Stadium record crowd of 8,732.  The Purple Raiders opened up a 14-0 halftime lead and turned the Yellow Jackets away four times from inside its own 20-yard line with no points in the game.

Junior quarterback Zac Bruney completed 11 of 16 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns while senior quarterback Jesse Burghardt added a five of nine passing effort for 65 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Senior Nick Sirianni grabbed nine passes for 179 yards and two scores while senior Joe Bugara hauled in a touchdown reception.  Junior Ricky Ciccone gained 78 yards on 17 rushes while junior running mate Jeff Strauch added 70 yards on eight carries.  Junior place kicker Chad Teague rounded out the scoring with a 32-yard field goal.

Defensively the Purple Raiders shutout the Yellow Jackets for the second time in four years and allowed just 274 total yards while picking up 416 themselves.

Mount Union has won 44 straight games, the longest current win streak in all of college football.  The Purple Raiders travel to Muskingum next week with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. from McConagha Stadium in New Concord, Ohio.

Posted by Ric 9/17/03

Mount Union College has announced that the Purple Raiders football game Saturday vs. Baldwin-Wallace at Mount Union Stadium is sold out.  Standing room only tickets can be purchased in person only at the Hoover-Price Campus Center's information desk. 

Standing room only tickets will also be sold Saturday at the stadium beginning at 11:30 a.m.  The gates will open at noon and kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.

Posted by Ric 9/16/03

 
The first AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll of 2003 was released today.  Mount Union begins the season as the number one ranked team in Division III, while Ohio Athletic Conference rival Baldwin-Wallace is 10th, John Carroll 14th and Capital received votes.  The Purple Raiders, who picked up 45 of a possible 46 first place votes, have been ranked number one for 31 consecutive polls dating back to October 3, 2000.

The AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll is in its fifth season in 2003.  A Board of Coaches made up of 46 AFCA-member head coaches from NCAA Division III schools around the country vote each Sunday for the top 25 teams in Division III.  You can see the entire poll here.

Posted by Ric 9/15/03

Mount Union remains the unanimous choice as the number one Division III football team in the nation according to the latest D3Football.com Top 25 football poll.  The Purple Raiders received all 25 first place votes.

Baldwin-Wallace is tabbed third and John Carroll 22nd, while Capital and Ohio Northern each received votes.  You can see the entire D3Football.com You can see the entire top 25 here.

This week's Ohio Athletic Conference clash between the Purple Raiders and Yellow Jackets is the D3Football.com Game of the Week and can be heard live on the net here.

Posted by Ric 9/12/03

The Mount Union College SID's office has previewed the Purple Raiders' Ohio Athletic Conference football opener against Baldwin-Wallace.  You can read it here.

Posted by Ric 9/11/03

I've added a number of pictures taken by Bill Gough and Carol & Gary McDonald from the sidelines during Mount Union's season opening victory over Wis-Whitewater to our game story.  You can see them here.

Posted by Ric 9/9/03

Mount Union's junior varsity football team started it's season with a victory by defeating John Carroll yesterday at Don Shula Stadium 20-16.  It took a tremendous goal line stand to preserve the win after the Blue Streaks had a first and goal late in the game but couldn't get the ball into the endzone on four tries from inside the five-yard line.  You can see the entire JV football schedule here.

Posted by Ric 9/8/03

D3football.com has posted its first Top 25 Football Poll and Mount Union is the unanimous selection at number one.  The Purple Raiders received all 25 first place votes, selected by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members, including myself, balanced throughout the four Division III football regions.

Ohio Athletic Conference rival Baldwin-Wallace is ranked third in the poll and John Carroll is 22nd, while Ohio Northern and Capital each received votes.  You can see the entire D3Football.com Top 25 here.

Posted by Ric 9/7/03

I've posted our game story written by Dick Ross of Mount Union's season opening victory over Wis-Whitewater.  His entertaining style is a must read and you can get to it here.  We'll have pictures to add to the story later in the week.

Posted by Ric 9/6/03

Mount Union opened the 2003 football season with an impressive 40-17 victory over Wis-Whitewater this afternoon at Mount Union Stadium in front of 4,722 fans.  Purple Raider wide receiver Randell Knapp set a new Mount Union single game receiving record with 310 yards.  The senior added two touchdown receptions and had 11 catches overall.  Senior wideout Nick Sirianni registered four receptions for 96 yards and junior tight end Drew Hanley grabbed a touchdown pass.

Senior quarterback Jesse Burghardt threw for 335 yards on 11 of 14 passing with three touchdowns and one interception.  Junior Zac Bruney added 129 passing yards while each quarterback scored a rushing touchdown.

Junior tailback Ricky Ciccone ran for 63 yards on 18 attempts and scored once to lead a Mount Union ground game that produced 167 yards on the day.

Overall Mount Union racked up 631 yards offensively while Whitewater managed 286.  The Raiders three times got inside the Warhawks' 10-yard line without scoring, twice turning the ball over and once taking a knee to end the game, and still scored 40 points.  Overall it was a very impressive performance against a very good football team.

With the victory, Mount Union has now won 43 consecutive games, the longest current streak in all of college football.  The Purple Raider have a bye next Saturday before opening Ohio Athletic Conference play on September 20th against Baldwin-Wallace at Mount Union Stadium.

Posted by Ric 9/4/03

Mount Union has announced its senior captains for the season.  They are Jesse Burghardt, Matt Caponi, Antoine Dillard, Larry Kinnard and Mike Miller.  Good luck to all the Purple Raiders in 2003!