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    1997 Playoffs

     The Mount Union College Purple Raiders entered the 1997 campaign as defending Division III National Champions.  All of the pieces were in place for another run at the national throne.  The Raiders were everyone's pick to retain their crown.  Sports Illustrated did a feature story on All-American quarterback Bill Borchert.  The magazine not only eluded to his ability to lead Mount Union to wins on the gridiron but his knack for keeping the team uniforms clean in the laundry room.  Such is life at a Division III powerhouse.  The Raiders laundered their 10 regular season opponents in '97 by a combined score of 544-56.  Amongst the wins were five whitewashes.  Mount Union entered the playoffs with the top offense and defense in the nation.

-First Round-

     Allegheny head coach Ken O'Keefe must have not allowed his Gators to read the Raiders' press clippings as Allegheny valiantly battled the Purple Raiders before succumbing by a 34-30 score in front of a full house at Mount Union Stadium.  The victory was not sealed until Alliance native, senior safety Kris Bugara picked off a Kyle Adamson pass on the Raiders 15-yard line in the game's final 12 seconds.  Mount Union was deadlocked 24-24 early in the fourth quarter for the first time since the semifinal loss to Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1995.

     The Raiders took a 7-0 first quarter lead on a 41-yard scoring strike from Bill Borchert to Kevin Knestrick.  Bill Andrea upped the lead to 10-0 with a 20-yard field goal early in the second quarter.  But the Gators came right back to score on a six-yard quarterback keeper by Adamson and a 43-yard field goal by Kevin Bowser and tie the score at 10-10.  Mount Union answered the Allegheny charge and took a 17-10 halftime lead on a 15-yard pass from Borchert to Reiko Gollate in the final minute before intermission.

     The Raiders roared out of the locker room and Borchert teamed up again with Gollate with a 31-yard scoring toss early in the third period.  Back came the Gators.  A sustained drive resulted in a three-yard run by tailback Jim Mormino and a 24-17 Mount Union advantage.  O'Keefe then stunned the Raiders by successfully executing an onside-kick and marching 52-yards to knot the score at 24-24 on another Mormino touchdown plunge at the 14:57 mark of the fourth quarter.  Mount Union then responded with a 28-yard Andrea field goal and a third touchdown pass form Borchert to Gollate of 12 yards to regain the momentum at 34-24.  During this period, key defensive plays were made by Jeremy Yoder, Mark Black and B.J. Payne.  Again the Gators responded on a 48-yard run by Mormino who finished the game with 148 yards on 28 carries.  After taking over on their 19-yard line with 1:18 left in the game, Allegheny moved to the Mount Union 38-yard line where Bugara sealed the Raiders' win with his interception.

Mount Union 34       Allegheny 30

Scoring

-Quarterfinals-

     After the Allegheny scare the previous week, the Raiders destroyed Ohio Athletic Conference foe John Carroll 59-7 in the quarterfinals in front of a crowd of over 4,000 fans at Mount Union Stadium.  The Purple and White, who earlier in the year defeated the Blue Streaks 42-14 in Alliance, roared to a 28-7 halftime advantage and never looked back.  The Mount Union defense responded this afternoon with three interceptions and four sacks of John Carroll quarterback Nick Caserio.  The game marked the worse loss ever in the coaching career of John Carroll head coach Tony DeCarlo.

     Tailback Marc Lantos spearheaded the Raiders rushing attack with 155 yards on 20 carries including a 53-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.  Later, he would add a nine-yard scoring jaunt.  Ryan Gorius would add 91 yards on 16 rushing attempts.  In all, Mount Union would rush for 345 yards.  Quarterback Bill Borchert finished the day completing 18 of 26 passes for 278 yards.  Tight end Bryan Tyla caught six passes for 106 yards.  Matt Shenigo, B.J. Payne and Jim Eller led the Raiders defense in tackles.

Mount Union 59       John Carroll 7

Scoring

-Semifinals-

     Once again the Raiders displayed their dominance which carried them through the regular season with a 54-7 whipping of previously unbeaten Simpson College of Iowa.  The Storm ran into a blizzard as the Raiders completely dominated this game played in the snow at Mount Union Stadium.  The Mount Union defense shut down Simpson's highly touted ground game which averaged 330 yards per game and featured two 1,000 yard rushers to a meager 119 yards.  Meanwhile, the Raiders racked up 644 yards of offense including 396 yards on the passing arm of Bill Borchert who completed 20 of 38 aerials including four scoring strikes, two each to Marc Lantos and Reiko Gollate.

     The Mount Union ground attack was led by Steve Evans who gained 92 yards on 11 carries which included touchdown runs of 60 yards, five yards and a one-yard plunge.  Safety Kris Bugara added the other Mount Union score on a 47-yard interception return in the third quarter.  Kevin Knestrick caught three passes for 118 yards.  Matt Shenigo led the Raider stop troops with nine tackles while Matt Domin, B.J. Payne and Bugara added eight tackles apiece.  Chris Cicchinelli and Jason Knapp added interceptions. The victory was the 500th in the history of Mount Union College.  On to the Stagg Bowl.....

Mount Union 54       Simpson 7

Scoring

-Stagg Bowl-

    Mount Union College successfully defended its national championship with a one-sided 61-12 trouncing of unbeaten Lycoming College of Pennsylvania.  The Warriors, who a week earlier defeated Rowan 28-20, were no match for the Purple and White.  Lycoming head coach Frank Girardi stated afterwards that "They (the Raiders) are by far the best team we have faced, and they are the best team in the country.  They are just outstanding."  Mount Union broke or tied 10 Stagg Bowl records on this afternoon as they were led by Gagliardi Trophy winning quarterback Bill Borchert who threw for 411 yards on 24 of 40 passing.  The All-American senior passed for six touchdowns bringing his season total to 63.  The Raiders also added 286 yards on the ground to set a new Stagg Bowl record of 697 yards of total offense.

     The Purple Raiders took a 14-0 first quarter lead on a 20-yard touchdown run by tailback Ryan Gorius and a 23-yard pass from Borchert to Mark Lantos.  The Warriors cut the lead to 14-6 on a five-yard toss from quarterback Jason Marraccini to wide receiver Joe Spang.  Mount Union answered with two scores on passes from Borchert to Reiko Gollate of 36 yards and three yards to tight end Brian Tyla to take a 28-6 halftime lead.  The Raiders added three quick scores in eight minutes in the third quarter on a 10-yard scamper by Borchert and scoring strikes of 18 yards to Tyla and 14 yards to Gorius.  The advantage was 49-6 at the end of the third quarter.  Gollate caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Borchert in the fourth quarter and Steve Evans capped the drubbing with a two-yard dive.

     The 61 points enabled Mount Union College to establish a national record for points in all divisions of 752.  George of Kentucky had held the record of 744 points.  Head Coach Larry Kehres stated that "This was an excellent game and it started with the defense."  His son, defensive end Vince Kehres, recovered a blocked punt early in the third quarter which led to the first score of the second half.  In all, the Raiders defense sacked Marraccino six times for losses of 64 yards and harassed him all day.  Following the game Kehres stated, "I think this group of seniors can call themselves the best team that ever played at Mount Union."  This team reached a standard for future Raider teams to take aim.  It was the third national title for Mount Union College.

Mount Union 61       Lycoming 12

Scoring

 
*Read more about the 1997 Stagg Bowl and see complete statistics from the game here.