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    1998 Playoffs

     Mount Union entered the 1998 football season having won back to back national championships and riding a 28-game winning streak.  But this was going to be a year of transition as graduation took a huge toll on a number of key positions on both offense and defense.

     The Purple Raiders survived an early season contest at Ohio Northern, holding on for a five-point victory, and one week later trailed John Carroll for most of the first half in Alliance before scoring a late touchdown to win by seven.  Mount Union rolled through the rest of its schedule setting up a week ten showdown in Berea against Baldwin-Wallace for the Ohio Athletic Conference championship.

     Once again the Yellow Jackets were formidable opponents, leading late into the second half.  But the Mount Union offensive line took control of the contest and a big Jason Hall interception turned the tide as the Raiders went on to a nine-point win and a fourth straight unbeaten regular season.  It was Mount Union’s seventh straight OAC championship and the school’s tenth overall. 

-First Round-

     The Albion Britons were the first opponent for the Purple Raiders in the playoffs.  Albion had run off eight straight wins since it’s opening day 38-24 loss to Mount Union.  That contest wasn’t really that close as the Raiders built a big halftime lead and cruised to victory.

     Again Mount Union jumped out to an early lead as Chuck Moore returned the opening kickoff 90-yards to give the Purple Raiders a 7-0 lead 15 seconds into the contest.  The home team added a touchdown later in the quarter when quarterback Gary Smeck hit wide receiver Adam Marino on a short pass and Mount Union led 14-0 after one.

     Albion’s defense tightened up after that and the Britons scored the lone second quarter score on a short run to make it 14-6 at halftime.  Wide receiver Darrin Kershner caught Smeck’s second touchdown pass of the day midway through the third quarter to give the Purple and White a 21-6 lead entering the final quarter.

     Mount Union still held the 15-point advantage when they lined up to punt from midfield with less than nine minutes remaining in the game.  Albion’s biggest play of the day came when the Britons blocked the punt and returned it for a touchdown.  The two-point conversion try was stopped by Mount Union, which turned out to be a huge play because Mount Union still led by two scores.  Nevertheless, Albion cut the Raiders lead to 21-12 and momentum was on its side.

     After a Purple Raider punt Albion drove 97-yards in only six plays and scored on a short run to cut the lead to two points with just over four-minutes remaining.  The Britons then forced another Raiders punt, and with 2:49 left, marched 51-yards in eight plays to the 17-yard line.  On fourth down, with 22-seconds left, Albion lined up for what would be a game winning field goal attempt.  Following a low, bobbled snap, Brandon O’connell’s kick sailed wide right into a fierce wind and landed in the north end zone and Mount Union survived to play again.

     “We knew going into this game it would be a tight one,” said Purple Raider head coach Larry Kehres.  “I believe this game was more indicative of what a great team Albion is compared to the first time we played them when we were able to get out to a big early lead.  We were fortunate to survive.”

Mount Union 21       Albion 19

Scoring

-Quarterfinals-

     On a beautiful late November day, under sunny skies and balmy 70-degree temperatures, Mount Union welcomed an old friend to Mount Union Stadium.  The Wittenberg Tigers returned to Alliance for the first time in ten years.  Wittenberg owned the series between the two schools with a record of 18-7 dating back to the first meeting in 1916, but Mount Union had won four of the last five meetings before the Tigers departed for the North Coast Athletic Conference following the 1988 season.

     The Purple Raiders held a 14-0 lead at halftime following a first quarter Chuck Moore touchdown run and a second quarter Gary Smeck to Adam Marino touchdown pass.  Mount Union missed the first extra point attempt but converted the second on a scamper by Moore.  On the play Smeck dropped back to pass, but was quickly spun around by a Tiger defender.  He was about to be dropped by another Wittenberg player when he saw Moore standing behind him at about the 7-yard line.  While falling, Smeck pitched the ball to Moore, who took one step toward the middle of the field around one defender and then charged into the end zone, dragging two opposing players with him.  That effort for two points turned out to be the difference in the game.

     Wittenberg scored on its first possession of the second half on a short touchdown run but missed the extra point to make it 14-6.  They then cut the lead to two after Smeck fumbled the football as he was being sacked deep in his own territory.  The ball was recovered by Wittenberg and returned for a touchdown.  But as they did the prior week against Albion, the Mount Union defense stopped a big two-point conversion try and the Raiders held on to a two-point lead rather than having the score tied.  

     Late in the quarter Smeck threw his second touchdown pass of the day to Marino, but the nine point lead didn't last long as Wittenberg connected on a long touchdown pass of its own early in the fourth stanza to make it 21-19.

     Mount Union's defense came up big after that, allowing just 21 yards of offense on 15 plays on the Tigers last three possessions of the game, and registering a pair of takeaways in the process.  This time, the final minutes were dictated by Mount Union as they ran out the clock with the ball deep in Wittenberg territory.

     The Purple Raider offense accumulated 435 total yards on the day against a Tiger defense that had given up just 205 yards per game entering the contest.  Smeck threw for 347 yards while Darrin Kershner had a personal best 11 receptions for 156 yards to go along with Marino's seven catches for 103 yards.

Mount Union 21       Wittenberg 19

Scoring

-Semifinals-

     Mount Union welcomed the Trinity Tigers of San Antonio, Texas to Alliance for the right to play in Virginia the following week for the national championship.  The Purple Raiders surrendered a safety on a botched punt attempt early in the game but then scored three straight touchdowns to grab a 21-2 halftime lead.  Chuck Moore registered the first score on a short touchdown run, followed by Gary Smeck touchdown passes to Adam Marino and Darrin Kershner.

     The Tigers didn't come all this way to give up that easily though, and they shocked the home crowd by scoring twice in the third quarter and adding an early fourth quarter score to take a 22-21 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game.  But as they have done all season, the Purple and White came right back.  Smeck threw three straight passes to running back Ryan Gorius for 49 yards.  Following a one-yard run by Gorius, Smeck hit Marino in the back of the end zone to regain the lead at 28-22 after a two-point conversion pass failed.  The drive took just 1:19 off the clock.

     Mount Union got the ball back after a three and out by Trinity, and Smeck hooked up with Marino on a third and ten situation for a 40-yard gain.  Two plays later the two connected again and the Purple Raiders led 34-22 with 6:25 remaining.  The Tigers added a late touchdown but Mount Union ran out the clock and won the right to play for a third consecutive national championship and fourth overall.  Smeck threw for 353 yards in the contest, while Marino caught eight passes for 213 yards.  Gorius led the Raider ground game with 102 yards on 21 carries.

     Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres was asked if qualifying for the Stagg Bowl with a youthful team makes it all the more meaningful.  "This was the most difficult season to qualify," he said.  "I think this team probably had to play through more tough games to do it and tough games take on more meaning, so it is very meaningful."

Mount Union 34       Trinity 29

Scoring

-Stagg Bowl-

     For the third time in four trips to Virginia to play in Division III's national title game, Mount Union's opponent is the Rowan Profs.  The Purple Raiders won the two previous match-ups with Rowan, in 1993 (34-24) and 1996 (56-24).  Rowan qualified for the championship game with playoff wins over the College of New Jersey (26-2), Buffalo St. (19-17) and Wis-Eau Claire (22-19).

     Rowan sandwiched a pair of first quarter scores around a Gary Smeck to Darrin Kershner touchdown pass and after one it was 14-7, Rowan.  The Purple Raiders blanked the Profs in the second though, while taking the lead on a Rodney Chenos field goal and Chuck Moore touchdown run.  At halftime it was 16-14 Mount Union.

     Rowan scored the first ten points of the third quarter to go in front 24-16, but as the quarter was winding down Mount Union turned the tide for good.  First the Raiders completed a 62-yard, six-play drive when Smeck hit Dave Hassey for a short touchdown pass, and then connected with Kershner for a two-point conversion to tie the score at 24.  Two plays after the kickoff, Jason Hall sacked the Rowan quarterback for a 13-yard loss, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jeremy Yoder at the nine-yard line.  Moore scored on the first play and following the extra point, the Raiders had completed a 15-point turnaround in three and a half minutes, and took the lead for good at 31-24 entering the final period.

     The Purple Raider defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way while Ryan Gorius added two fourth quarter scores, one by ground and one by air, and Mount Union completed it's third straight championship and fourth overall, with a 44-24 victory over Rowan.  Smeck threw for 307 yards, while Adam Marino caught seven passes for 131 yards and Kershner, playing with an severly injured hip, caught five passes for 89 yards.

     After the game Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres said, "We had to win more close games to get here.  We had to win in some big tests through the playoffs as well as the regular season because we weren't as dominating.  Certainly that brings more meaning for the players and the fans."

Mount Union 44       Rowan 24

Scoring

 
*Read more about the 1998 Stagg Bowl and see complete statistics from the game here.