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    1993 Playoffs

     The Mount Union College Purple Raiders were a team on a mission in the fall of 1993.  The previous year the Raiders were, oh, so close to making their first Stagg Bowl appearance as they suffered a heartbreaking 29-24 loss on the frozen field in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  The Eagles of La Crosse went on to win the 1992 National Championship.  Part One of the mission was the regular season.  Mount Union was never really challenged that autumn as they defended their Ohio Athletic Conference Crown.  The Raiders opened the season with a 42-0 road victory at Adrian, Michigan and never looked back.  Mount Union shutout five regular season opponents.  Highlights included a 35-7 road win at Baldwin-Wallace and a 21-0 Homecoming victory over John Carroll. 

-First Round-

     Mount Union met and muzzled the Allegheny Gators 40-7 in the opening round of the 1993 playoffs before a full house at Mount Union Stadium.  The Raiders raced to a 26-7 halftime lead and coasted to a five-touchdown victory.  Senior All-American quarterback Jim Ballard led the assault by completing 26 of 40 passes for 347 yards and five touchdowns.  All-American wide receiver Ed Bubonics caught eight passes for 146 yards and a touchdown.

     The Raiders scored on their first drive of the game as Ballard teamed up with junior wide receiver Sean Lyons on a 11-yard aerial.  Mount increased its lead to 12-0 on the very next possession as Ballard completed a six-yard scoring pass with senior running back Jim Gresko.  Allegheny, averaging better than 43-points per game, cut the Raider lead to 12-7 on an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Paul Bell to flanker Andrew McKenzie.  That late first quarter score would be the last of the afternoon for the soon to be 9-2 Gators.

     Ballard completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Bubonics midway through the second quarter and finished off the first-half scoring with another pass to Gresko, this time from nine yards out.  Gresko's third touchdown of the day came on a one-yard run in the third quarter and Ballard hooked up again with Lyons on a five-yard TD toss in the final stanza.  Place-kicker Dan Ulichney converted four PATs.

     As well as the offense played, head coach Larry Kehres praised his defense, led by All-American Mike Hallett, Jim Frink, Greg Schaefer and Rich Dine.  The Mount Union defense held the Gators to 209 total yards.

Mount Union 40       Allegheny 7

Scoring

-Quarterfinals-

     For the second consecutive week, running back Jim Gresko scored three touchdowns and led Mount Union to a come from behind 30-16 victory against previously unbeaten Albion College at Mount Union Stadium on a wet and rain-soaked turf.  The Britons took a 16-14 lead late in the third quarter when defensive end Marc McDonald tackled Gresko for a safety in the Raider end zone.   Mount Union found itself in unfamiliar territory.  But the Raiders scored on their final offense play of the third quarter and added a fourth-quarter touchdown to move on in the playoffs.

     Gresko, who would rush for 175 yards on 24 carries, opened the scoring early in the contest with a 53-yard touchdown scamper on the Raiders first possession of the game.  The Britons tied the score at 7-7 on a four-yard run by Jeff Robinson.  Gresko scored again on a 49-yard run midway through the second quarter but Albion answered that score with a two-yard plunge by Todd Morris and the battle was tied at 14-14 at intermission.

     After the Britons stunned the Raiders late in the third quarter with the safety, Mount Union signal-caller Jim Ballard completed short passes to wide receiver Ed Bubonics and tight end Rob Atwood.  The hard-running Gresko rushed to the Mount Union 48-yard line and on the next play Ballard teamed up with Bubonics on a 52-yard touchdown pass across the middle on a short crossing route.  The Raiders took a 22-16 lead as Ballard connected with Atwood for the two-point conversion.

     Gresko's third six-pointer came midway through the final stanza on a one-yard dive.  Gresko then took a toss from Ballard for the conversion and the 14-point victory.  Gresko made the understatement of the day by telling reporters following the game that, "I like the mud.  It doesn't bother me."  The Raiders were on their way to the semifinals.

Mount Union 30       Albion 16

Scoring

-Semifinals-

     The Mount Union Purple Raiders simply over-whelmed second ranked St. John's en route to a one-sided 56-7 victory over the undefeated Johnnies at Mount Union Stadium.  How bad was it?  The Raiders roared to a 43-0 halftime lead and amassed 16 first downs to none for St. Johns.   Jim Ballard threw for a Division III record eight-touchdown passes and 325 yards on 20 completions in 28 attempts.  Mount Union scored on five of its first six offense possessions.  Ballard passed for six touchdowns in the first half alone as he out-dueled the Johnnies highly touted quarterback Willie Seiler, who finished the afternoon 16 of 28 with two interceptions.

     Ballard teamed up with tight end Rob Atwood for four touchdowns on passes of 4, 43, 12 and 24 yards.  The latter three scoring receptions all came in the second quarter.  Atwood had eight receptions for 141 yards.  Ed Bubonics was on the receiving end of seven Ballard aerials including touchdown receptions of 35 and 15 yards as he totaled 101 yards.  Mount Union's other two scores were a two-yard pass from Ballard to Ed Gresko which opened the scoring and a 65-yard third-quarter pass from Ballard to senior receiver Mike Sirianni.

     St. John's legendary coach John Gagliardi called the Raiders, "The best team I've ever seen."  He also referred to Ballard as the best quarterback he had seen.  The Mount Union defense was also up to the task as they held the high scoring Johnnies, who entered the game averaging 57.8 points per game, to a single touchdown and a mere 106 yards of total offense.   The defensive troops were credited with a safety when a retreating Seiler slipped down in the end zone in the second quarter.  Head coach Larry Kehres credited his team's great defensive effort on the fact that the Johnnies lofty offensive statistics caught their attention in their preparation for this game.  He noted that the Raiders defense was focused.  And so was record setting Jim Ballard.

Mount Union 56       St. John's 8

Scoring

-Stagg Bowl-

     It may have been a cold and blustery afternoon in the hills of Salem, Virginia but the sun shined brightly on the Mount Union Purple Raiders and their fans as Larry Kehres's charges completed a storybook season with a 34-24 triumph over the talented Rowan Profs in the Stagg Bowl.   The National Championship victory completed a perfect 14-0 record for the Purple Raiders.  But the title didn't come easy...

     The Profs scored first midway through the first quarter as halfback Jarvis Perry scampered 13 yards to put Rowan on top 6-0.  Mount Union answered that score three minutes later as quarterback Jim Ballard teamed up with tight end Rob Atwood for a 24-yard scoring pass and the Raiders took the lead 7-6.  But Rowan came right back and grabbed a 9-7 advantage on a 37-yard field goal by Rob Juliano.  The Raiders scored the only second quarter points as early in the period running back Jim Gresko scored from a yard out for a 14-9 halftime lead.

     Mount Union increased its lead to 21-9 as Ballard teamed up again with Atwood on a 13-yard scoring pass midway through the third quarter.  But the Profs stormed back.  First it was signal caller Ed Henson scoring on a four-yard quarterback draw to cut the lead to 21-16 and late in the third stanza Henson completed an eight-yard scoring pass to Calvin Easley along with a two-point conversion to give the New Jersey school a 24-21 lead.

     The fourth quarter belonged to Mount Union as Ballard engineered a 73-yard, eight-play drive capped off with a two-yard TD pass to Gresko, and an 80-yard, 12-play drive with Ballard diving into the end zone from two yards out.  That score gave the Raiders their final margin of 34-24.   Ballard was brilliant as he completed 28 of 45 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns under miserable conditions.  Wide receiver Ed Bubonics was also outstanding as he caught nine passes for 158 yards including six fourth-quarter receptions for 104 yards.  Atwood was sensational with nine receptions for 160 yards and Gresko had a great day with 10 receptions for 69 yards and 70 yards rushing in 24 attempts.

     Mount Union's defense came up big in the final quarter as the Raiders stifled the high-powered Rowan attack.  Jay Sawvel led the defense with 10 tackles as Rob Rodgers and Jay Malinowski both registered nine tackles.  Rodgers and Mike Malchesky both snared interceptions of Henson passes.   Prof head coach K. C. Keeler acknowledged what all Raider fans already knew when he stated, "We got beat by a better team today."

Mount Union 34       Rowan 24

Scoring

 
*Read more about the 1993 Stagg Bowl and see complete statistics from the game here.