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    2008 Playoffs

     Despite losing a number of talented players to graduation from the 2007 season, Mount Union did not miss a beat in posting a dominant performance week in and week out during the 2008 regular season.  It started with a 33-3 win over 10th ranked St. John Fisher in the season opener in a rematch of two teams that had met in each of the previous two seasons during the playoffs. 

     Following a bye week, the Purple Raiders drilled 25th rated Ohio Northern 44-7 in an evening contest at Mount Union Stadium and the home team's faithful fans knew this would be another season to remember.

     After the conference opening win against ONU, Mount Union went on the road for the first time to post wins over Muskingum (51-13) and Baldwin-Wallace (48-3).  The Raiders capped the first half of the schedule by returning home to paste #4 Capital 49-7.

     The Purple & White would shutout three of its final five regular season opponents, beginning in week six when the Raiders defeated Heidelberg 49-0 at Mount Union Stadium.  They followed that up with a 55-0 blanking at Wilmington, before returning home for the final time during the regular season to stop John Carroll 41-7.

     Otterbein, ranked 12th in the nation, was next on the schedule, and the battle between two unbeatens for sole possession of first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference at Memorial Stadium in Westerville was all Purple & White as the Raiders led by three touchdowns at halftime and finished with a 49-20 victory.

     Mount Union capped the regular season by shutting out Marietta 49-0.

     The Purple and White won its 17th consecutive OAC championship, and the college's 20th football conference title overall. 

     In doing so, Mount Union led the nation in total offense (541.8 ypg), total defense (158.9 ypg), scoring defense (6.0 ppg), rushing defense (43.0 ypg), sacks (3.9 pg) and passing efficiency (207.56), while finishing second in scoring offense (46.8 ppg) and pass defense (115.9 ypg).  In addition, Micheli led the nation in passing efficiency (215.77) and Kmic finished second in scoring (16.8 ppg) and third in rushing (164.0 ypg).

     Following the regular season four Raiders were honored with 2008 OAC Special Awards and a total of 16 players were named to the All-Conference Team, including 12 first team selections.

     The special award winners were senior running back Nate Kmic, who earned the Bob Packard Award (formerly Mike Gregory Award) as the conference’s top offensive back, junior wide receiver Cecil Shorts, who received the Ed Sherman Award as the top wide receiver, senior cornerback Daryl Ely, who nabbed the Lee Tressel Award given to the top defensive back, and junior defensive end James Herbert, who got the Paul Hoernemann Award as the top defensive lineman.

-First Round-

     Mount Union received an automatic bid into the playoffs as champions of the OAC and the number one seed in the region.  The Purple Raiders hosted Randolph-Macon, a number eight seed, in the first round of the playoffs.  Randolph-Macon received the Old Dominion Athletic Conference's automatic bid after finishing in a four-way tie for first and winning the complicated tie breaker.  The Yellow Jackets entered the playoffs with a 6-4 record.  This was the first ever meeting between these two schools.

     Nate Kmic ran for a season high 290 yards and scored four times in leading Mount Union to a 56-0 victory.  He scored on runs of 67, nine, 19 and one yards.  With the performance, the senior running back became just the second player in Division III football history to run for 7,000 yards.  His career total of 7,214 was just 139 yards shy of R.J. Bowers' record of 7,353 yards (Grove City, '97-'00).

     Senior quarterback Greg Micheli scored on a 13-yard run on the first drive of the game, giving the Raiders a 7-0 lead.  Kmic made it 14-0 with the 67-yard dash on the next series and then senior cornerback Daryl Ely stepped in front of Jackets quarterback Austin Faulkner's pass and returned it 62 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0 just 8:41 into the game.

     The Raiders would make it 28-0 at the half when Micheli hit sophomore wide receiver A.J. Claycomb on a 16-yard touchdown with 1:03 remaining in the second quarter.

     Kmic would score the next three touchdowns, on runs of 9 and 19 yards in the third, and on a one-yard plunge on the first play of the fourth, before junior running back Scott Panchik finished the scoring with a 31-yard scamper with 11:40 remaining in the game.

     Micheli completed 11 of 13 passes for 218 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, and added 33 rushing yards on four carries and one score.  Junior wide out Cecil Shorts led all receivers with 84 yards on four receptions while the Raiders finished with 676 yards of total offense and limited Randolph-Macon to 207.

     The Yellow Jackets never entered Mount Union's red zone, but did go for it four different times on fourth down, coming up empty on each occasion.

     Defensively, junior cornerback Roger Stewart and sophomore linebacker Sam Kershaw led the way with nine tackles apiece, while senior linebacker Chas Yoder and junior defensive tackle Clantz Liggett each chipped in with eight.

Mount Union 56       Randolph-Macon 0

Scoring

-Second Round-

     The Hobart Statesmen traveled to Alliance for a second round match-up after defeating Lycoming 33-15 in round one.  These two teams had met twice before but not for 35 years as Hobart won both ends of a home and home during the 1972 and 73 seasons.  The Statesmen were the fourth seed in the region and brought a 9-1 record into the contest as champions of the Liberty League.

     Nate Kmic became the career rushing leader in Division III in helping the Purple Raiders to a 42-7 win as the senior running back ran for 235 yards and scored four times.  His career total of 7,449 rushing yards surpassed the previous Division III mark of 7,353 yards by R.J. Bowers of Grove City ('97-'00).  Only Danny Woodhead's total of 7,962 rushing yards for Division II Chadron St. ('04-'07) is more in NCAA football history.

     The Raiders led 14-0 at halftime on the strength of two Kmic touchdowns.  The first, a 4-yard run, capped a 13-play, 60-yard drive to open the game.  The second came on the very next offensive series, when Kmic dashed 41 yards to cap a two-play, 56-yard march.  Ten minutes into the game it was 14-0 and the Purple & White had all the points it would need.

     Hobart's two biggest plays were a 24-yard pass from Tyler Vincent to Orlando Patterson and a 20-yard run by Vincent.  Both plays came when the Statesmen lined up to punt but were successful on fake punt attempts by Vincent.

     Kmic scored twice on four-yard runs in the third quarter, sandwiched around a Rich Doyle to P.J. Overdorf 14-yard touhdown for Hobart, making it 28-7 after three.

     Greg Micheli threw two touchdowns in the final stanza, an eight-yard strike to junior wide receiver Cecil Shorts on fourth and seven, and then a 13-yard toss to junior wide out Vince Petruziello.

     The senior quarterback, named as one of ten finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy during the week, finished with 223 yards on 14 of 22 passing, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

     Petruziello led the way with seven of those receptions covering 109 yards while the Raiders finished with 503 yards of total offense and limited Hobart to 196.

     Defensively, senior linebacker Chas Yoder led the way with nine tackles, while sophomore linebacker Sam Kershaw recorded eight.

Mount Union 42       Hobart 7

Scoring

-Quarterfinals-

     The Purple Raiders hosted Cortland State in the Regional Final at Mount Union Stadium.  The Red Dragons advanced with a 42-0 win over Curry in the second round after defeating Plymouth State 31-14 in the first round.  Cortland State was seeded third in the region and traveled to Alliance toting a 11-1 record and New Jersey Athletic Conference championship.

     Nate Kmic ran for 227 yards and scored four touchdowns in leading Mount Union to a 41-14 win.  While the senior running back was the workhorse, carrying the ball 45 times and scoring on runs of one, two, two, and three yards, the Raider defense shut the door on the Red Dragon running game, allowing net zero yards rushing on 15 carries and Cortland State's Andrew Giuliano, averaging 122.6 yards rushing per game and 5.6 yards per carry, was limited to just nine yards on eight runs.

     The Purple & White defense allowed two touchdowns, the first on a five-yard pass from Ray Miles to Dave Murphy on the first drive of the game that gave the Dragons a 7-0 lead and marked the first time all year that Mount Union trailed.  The second score came at the end of the first half and cut the Raider lead to 20-14 when Miles hit Jeffrey Lang on a 31-yard pass.  The two scoring drives accounted for 129 of Cortland State's 200 yards.

     Mount Union's ability to run the ball and shut down the run enabled it to hold  a 42:33 to 17:27 advantage in time of possession and run 47 more offensive plays (81 to 34).

     Kmic's first touchdown came on the Raiders' first possession, tying the game at 7-7.  His second score made it 20-7 and was a big touchdown considering Cortland State held the Purple & White to two Ryan Wilk field goals (21 and 19 yards) on the two prior drives.

     The second half was dominated by Mount Union.  Not only did the Raiders outscore Cortland State 21-0, but they limited the Dragons to just 15 offensive plays, 51 total yards, minus -15 yards rushing, and only 7:27 time of possession.

     The only score of the third quarter came on a two-yard run by Kmic.  He then scored on a three-yard run in the first minute of the fourth period to make it 34-14.

     The final score of the game came on a 22-yard pass from Greg Micheli to Chad Reynolds.  Both seniors had good games.  The quarterback threw for 242 yards, connecting on 16 of 21 passes with one touchdown and no interceptions, and added 52 rushing yards on nine carries, while the tight end caught five passes for a game high 111 yards.

     Defensively, senior linebacker Chas Yoder led the way with five tackles, while junior end James Herbert and junior safety Drew McClain each added four. 

Mount Union 41       Cortland State 14

Scoring

-Semifinals-

     Mount Union hosted the Wheaton (IL) Thunder in the semifinal round at Mount Union Stadium.  The Thunder won their bracket with victories over Trine (14-0), Wabash (59-28) and Franklin (45-28), and entered the contest 11-2 and runners up of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.

     Nate Kmic ran for 310 yards and scored three touchdowns in leading Mount Union to a 45-24 victory over Wheaton.  The win over the Thunder is the Purple & White's sixth in six playoff games.  Wheaton is 9-6 overall in the playoffs, 0-6 against Mount Union and 9-0 against everybody else.

     Kmic's final carry of the day, a 42-yard touchdown run with 6:12 left, gave his team a 45-17 lead and gave him 7,986 rushing yards for his career, the most ever in NCAA football history.

     The Raiders jumped out to a 24-0 first half lead on a Ryan Wilk 23-yard field goal, an 11-yard pass from Greg Micheli to Cecil Shorts, a one-yard run by Micheli and a 49-yard run by Kmic.  With 6:20 still to play in the second quarter, the Thunder found themselves with a steep hill to climb.

     The first touchdown was set up when Clantz Liggett forced an Andrew Hershey fumble, which was recovered by Ryan Renbarger at the Thunder 40.

     Wheaton finally scored with 2:44 left in the half when Sean Norris hit Alex Pokomy for a 29-yard touchdown.  That opened the door for two more scores before intermission as Micheli hit A.J. Claycomb for a 20-yard touchdown with 1:05 left and Tim Ellingsen kicked a 45-yard field goal for the Thunder with :03 remaining to make it 31-10 at the break.

     The teams traded third quarter touchdowns as Kmic scored on a 17-yard run for Mount Union and Norris hit Freddy Ellis on a 41-yard score for Wheaton, making it 38-17 after three.

     Kmic's record setting run gave Mount Union its final points before Kyle Bradley hit Pokomy for a 10-yard touchdown with 3:44 left to finish the scoring.

     Micheli completed 19 of 26 passes for 225 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he added another 76 rushing yards and one score.  Vince Petruziello led all receivers with 133 yards on nine catches.

     Defensively, Chaz Jordan led the way with eight tackles, while Joe Millings recorded seven.

Mount Union 45       Wheaton 24

Scoring

-Stagg Bowl-

     Mount Union faced Wis-Whitewater in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the fourth consecutive year.  The Warhawks advanced with a 39-13 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor in the semifinals following a regional final win over Wartburg (34-17), a second round win over Willamette (30-27) and a first round victory over St. John's (MN) (37-7).

     The Purple Raiders jumped out to a 14-0 early lead on two long Greg Micheli to Cecil Shorts touchdowns and went on to defeat Whitewater 31-26.

     Micheli was named the game's Most Outstanding Player after throwing for 262 yards and rushing for another 56.  His first touchdown strike to Shorts came on the game's fourth play from 55 yards and marked the first time in the four championship games against Whitewater that the Raiders scored first.

     The Purple & White doubled the lead the next time it had the ball when Micheli hit Shorts for a 41-yard touchdown.

     Following a one-yard touchdown run by Antwan Anderson, Nate Kmic scored from two-yards out, giving the Raiders a 21-7 lead at the end of the first period. 

     The teams traded second quarter field goals as Jeff Schebler kicked a 21-yarder early in the period for Whitewater before Ryan Wilk matched it with a 29-yard effort late in the quarter.  The Purple & White led 24-10 at the break in what had suddenly become a defensive struggle.

     The only scoring in the third quarter was a 31-yard Schebler field goal narrowing Mount Union's lead to 24-13.

     The biggest play of the quarter came at the Whitewater goal line when Micheli was hit by Wesley Hicks after scrambling for two yards on second and goal from the three, forcing a fumble that was recovered in the end zone by Zach Christopherson.  The fumble ended an 11-play, 77-yard drive that would have given the Purple & White a 31-10 lead.

     But the biggest play of the game came with 12 minutes remaining and was made by Mount Union's defense.  The Warhawks had moved 25 yards to the Raiders' 27.  Trailing by 11 and facing a third and nine, Jeff Donovan attempted a pass that went off the hands of Aaron Rusch and right into the waiting arms of Drew McClain, who returned it 78 yards for a touchdown, giving the Purple & White it's largest lead of the game at 31-13.

     Whitewater scored the game's final two touchdowns on a two-yard Anderson run with 6:46 left and a onie-yard Donovan carry with 1:12 remaining.

     Chad Reynolds recovered the ensuing onside kick and Mount Union ran out the clock on a 10th national title in 12 championship game appearances.

     Shorts had seven receptions for a game high 178 yards.  Kmic ran for 88 yards on 22 carries, a 4.0 yards per carry average.  Defensively, Chaz Jordan led the Raiders with 11 tackles, while Sam Kershaw added nine.  James Herbert and Kershaw each recorded quarterback sacks.

     It was a small group of seniors that played their last game for Mount Union, with only eight seniors starting, five on offense and three on defense.  But it was a class that won four Ohio Athletic Conference titles, had four Stagg Bowl appearances, won three national championships, and posted an overall four-year record of 58-2.  Over that four-year period, no Division III football team was better.

Mount Union 31       Wis-Whitewater 26

Scoring