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Mount Union wins national title

14-0 year capped by 34-24 win

     SALEM, Va. - The Rowan Profs may have been bigger than the Mount Union Purple Raiders.  They may have been stronger.  They may have been faster.

     But they weren't better.

     The Raiders proved that with their 34-24 victory over the Profs in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl here Saturday to claim the 1993 Division III national championship.

     In fact, they proved that no one was better.  Not on this cold and windy day.  Not this season.  Maybe not ever.

     "Rowan had the best athletes, but we had the best team," beamed Mount Union coach Larry Kehres, whose team scored the game's final 13 points to win their first national title.

     The victory capped a magnificent 14-0 season for the Raiders, who began as the Division III pre-season favorites and proceeded to live up to all expectations.

     "It feels even better than I thought it would," said senior wide receiver Ed Bubonics, who closed out a stellar career with nine catches for 158 yards - six for 104 in the fourth quarter.  "It's the greatest feeling in the world."

     The Raiders reached nirvana by putting together two championship-caliber drives in the fourth period to erase a 24-21 deficit they faced heading into the frame.  It was the first time all year they trailed after three quarters.

     First, Mount Union went 73 yards on eight plays in 1:58 to score on a two-yard pass from Gagliardi Trophy winner Jim Ballard to running back Jim Gresko.  Dan Ulichney's PAT kick made it 28-24 with 13:14 remaining.

     The Raiders' defense then held Rowan on downs at the Mount Union 20-yard line with 9:35 left, getting the ball back for the Mount Union Offense.

     The Raiders knew what they had to do:  Put the Profs away with another six-pointer.

     "That's the first thing we said when we went out there - we had to score again," said Bubonics, who finished the season with 102 receptions for 1,769 yards and 14 touchdowns.

     And so they did, marching 80 yards on 12 plays, consuming 4:31 of the clock.  When Ballard dived triumphantly into the end zone for the final two markers, only 5:04 was left before the inevitable coronation.

     "I'm very proud of this team," Kehres said, "It's a great day for Mount Union College, our alumni and members of our football team who put us in a position to qualify for the playoffs and play for a national championship.  

     "We have a great team;  we have guys who have a lot of poise and composure.  We knew we might fall behind in the third quarter when they had the wind, but we knew we could come back.  And we played a great fourth quarter."

     The statistics bear that out.  Over the 15 most important minutes of the season, Mount Union led 8-3 in first downs, 164-27 in total yards and 9:49-4:11 in time of possession.

     "We blew an opportunity to score in the fourth quarter and gave them a chance," said Rowan coach K.C. Keeler, whose team finished 11-2.  "They made the plays in the fourth quarter;  we didn't.

     "We got beat by a better team today.  That team (Mount Union) is a true champion because they were forced with adverse conditions and they fought through them."

     The Raiders also had to fight through the Profs, clearly the best team they faced all season.  The physical nature of the contest was evident on the battered bodies of both teams afterward.

     "If there was a 10-game series (between the teams), by the 10th game nobody would be left (to play)," said Rowan linebacker LeRoi Jones, who made a game high 14 tackles.

     The Mount Union offensive line, in particular, absorbed a physical beating.  Lineman George Radich, Tom Kmitt, John Smith, Matt Johnson and John Owen sold out their bodies to give Ballard the extra split-second he had to have to locate receivers and deliver the ball.

     "They got up the field in a hurry," said Ballard of the Prof defensive linemen.  They wanted to get after me, and our linemen fought their hearts out and did a great job."

     Their payoff was Ballard's final numbers:   28-of-45 for 387 yards and three touchdowns.

     Tight end Rob Atwood continued his strong post-season play with nine catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns.  In the first half alone, he had five catches for 110 yards and a 24-yard touchdown.

     A 13-yard scoring grab in the third quarter was his playoff-record sixth in the last two games, and gave the Raiders a 21-9 lead.  It came on a fourth-and-seven play when Kehres elected to forgo a field goal after a false start penalty.

     "I think in the first half they were worried more about Eddie (Bubonics)," explained Atwood, "and that left the middle open.   So I just went and sat in the middle."

     Gresko contributed 10 catches for 69 yards, including the go-ahead two-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter, and 70 yards rushing and another score on 24 carries.  His touchdown came on a one-yard run in the second period, giving the Raiders a 14-9 lead.

     Jay Sawvel (10 tackles), Rob Rodgers (one interception, nine tackles), Bob Malinowski (nine tackles), Mike Hallett (eight tackles) and Mike Malchesky (interception) keyed a Mount Union defense that limited Rowan to 307 total yards, only 130 on the ground.

     "Their defensive line outplayed our offensive line, it's as simple as that," Keeler conceded.  "I thought we would be able to run the ball on them better than we did."

     The Profs scored first on a 13-yard run by Jarvis Perry in the opening period and took a 9-7 lead near the end of the quarter on a 37-yard field goal by Rob Juliano.

     After Mount Union moved out to a 21-9 advantage, Rowan rallied for their 24-21 lead on a four-yard quarterback draw by Ed Hesson (20-of-32 for 177 yards) and an eight-yard pass from Hesson to Calvin Easley.

     Ballard, who was awarded the Gagliardi Trophy Friday as Division III's player of the year, said the thrill of winning the national title surpassed all individual honors.

     "This is by far the best record I've ever accomplished," he said.  "Individual awards are nice, but this is all I've wanted since I got to college."

Mount Union 34       Rowan 24

Scoring

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Rowan, Easley 7-40, Perry 11-39, Anderson 11-33, Ramsey 1-13, Bender 1-5, Hesson 5-0;  Mount Union, Gresko 24-70, Ballard 10-0, Bubonics 1-5.

Passing - Rowan, Hesson 32-20-2-177;   Mount Union, Ballard 45-28-1-387.

Receiving - Rowan, Easley 5-36, Trent 3-33, Fox 2-25, Ramsey 2-18, DiPeitro 2-18, Johnson 2-16, Perry 2-9, Burke 1-2;  Mount Union, Gresko 10-69, Atwood 9-160, Bubonics 9-158.

  *By Richard Stallsmith.  Appeared in The Alliance Review 12-13-93