Main Page             Email

    1995 Playoffs

     Following the one-point loss in the 1994 playoff quarterfinals, Mount Union had the sense of unfinished business entering the 1995 season.  The Purple Raiders were really only tested once during the regular season, winning the first three games by 45 or more points and winning by less than three touchdowns only once all season.

     That came in a week five match-up between two unbeaten teams on a Saturday evening in Marietta.  The contest was back and forth the entire way but Mount Union survived as the game ended with the Pioneers throwing into the end zone on the final plays looking for the winning score.  The Purple Raider defense made the plays it had to and an incredible halftime adjustment enabled Mount Union to pull out a four-point victory.

     The 10-0 regular season gave Mount Union its fourth straight Ohio Athletic Conference championship and seventh overall.

-First Round-

     Mount Union welcomed the Heart Collegiate Athletic Conference champion in the first round of the playoffs.  The Hanover Panthers entered the contest unbeaten but not ready for the offensive juggernaut of the Purple Raiders.

     Sophomore quarterback Bill Borchert had a record setting day, as the muddy field did not slow the Mount Union offense.  The Raiders rolled up 773 yards of total offense, 614 through the air.  Borchert’s 584 yards passing eclipsed Jim Ballard’s playoff record of 461.  Senior wide receiver Todd Zufra also penciled his name in the record books, hauling in 16 receptions for 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

     Mount Union jumped out to a 12-0 lead after one quarter on a pair of Borchert touchdown passes.  After Hanover cut the lead in half early in the second quarter, the Raiders put the game away with three straight touchdowns and led 32-12 at the half.

     In all, the sophomore quarterback threw for five touchdowns on the afternoon and ran for a sixth.  Brian Flinn had six catches for 148 yards, including an 81-yard score.  Steve Evans grabbed a touchdown pass and Eric Brook ran for two scores.  The Mount Union train was in second gear.     

Mount Union 52       Hanover 18

Scoring

-Quarterfinals-

     Alliance High School graduate and Mount Union outside linebacker Mark Black was the hero on this day as he came up with a huge fumble recovery on the first play of the third quarter that led to a go ahead Mount Union touchdown and intercepted a fourth quarter pass that sealed the win.

     The Wheaton Crusaders, champions of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, played toe to toe with the Purple and White into the third quarter, but Mount Union outscored the visitors 33-7 in the second half in front of the home crowd and pulled away for a 40-14 victory.

     Bill Borchert threw for 357 yards and scores to Eric Brock, Todd Zufra, Brian Tyla and Mark Lantos, while Brock and Steve Evans added rushing touchdowns.  Zufra’s 52-yard touchdown came on the infamous inside-screen play Mount Union quarterbacks and wide receivers had come to perfect, and gave the Purple Raiders the lead for good with just under ten minutes to play in the third quarter.

     The defense came up big the entire afternoon, twice holding Wheaton on downs inside the Purple Raider 20-yard line in the first half and grabbing four turnovers throughout the game.  “The plays made by the defense set up the offense in the second half,” said Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres.“  Our defense really stepped up when it counted most.”

     The win gave Mount Union a ticket into the Division III “Final Four” for the third time in four years.  The train was in third gear.

     Mount Union 40       Wheaton 14

Scoring

-Semifinals-

     The Mount Union football team had rolled past its ten regular season opponents and its first two playoff opponents without having to think much about applying the breaks.  But one stop shy of the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the train hit a brick wall with the name "Eagles" on the front.  Wis-La Crosse found a way to defeat the Purple Raiders in the 1992 semifinal despite being beaten in most statistical categories.  But on this day, the Eagles used size to end the Mount Union run.

     Wis-La Crosse averaged 284 pounds along the offensive line and 254 across the defensive front with linebackers 40 pounds heavier than Mount Union's running backs.  Despite this, the Purple Raiders jumped out of the gate in a hurry, grabbing a 10-7 lead after the first quarter on a Bill Andrea field goal and a Mark Black interception return for a touchdown.  That electrifying play by the sophomore linebacker is one that those in attendance routing for the Purple and White will not soon forget.

     After Wis-La Crosse took a four-point advantage, Bill Borchert teamed up with Steve Evans for what would be the lone offensive touchdown of the afternoon, and for 73 seconds Mount Union had the lead.  The Eagles came back quickly with lady luck on its side.  From its own 30-yard line, the Eagles tried a pass over the middle that looked like it was going to be intercepted by a Mount Union safety.  But the ball sailed through his hands and into the arms of a wide out for a gain to the Mount Union 41-yard line.  On the very next play, the Eagles' receiver out jumped the Purple Raider cornerback in the end zone for what would be the deciding score of the game.

     Mount Union had numerous second half chances, three times getting inside the Wis-La Crosse 30-yard line without scoring.  The final opportunity came with 4:20 left and Mount Union starting on its own 24-yard line.  Borchert led the Raiders downfield, converting a couple key third down situations.  But on second and ten from the Eagle 30-yard line with 1:27 left, Borchert was flushed out of the pocket, and rolling to the right side, tried to hit a receiver back across the field.  The pass was intercepted and with it, Mount Union's season ended one week before the home fans had hoped it would.

Wis-La Crosse 20       Mount Union 17

Scoring