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National Champs!

Raiders pound Rowan 56-24

     SALEM, Va. - Mount Union is once again standing alone atop the Division III college football world after winning the nation's small college football championship today with a resounding 56-24 romp over Rowan College in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

     After trailing 24-21 at halftime, the Raiders outscored Rowan 35-0 in the second half to roll to their second national title.  Mount Union defeated Rowan 34-24 to win the title in 1993.

     Star quarterback Bill Borchert threw for 505 yards and seven touchdowns as Mount Union finished a perfect 14-0 season.

     The Raiders had 682 yards of total offense.   Receiver Kevin Knestrick caught seven passes of 211 yards, and Reiko Gollate caught six passes for 166 yards.

     Rowan quarterback Greg Lister passed for 157 yards, and running back Jyi Peterson gained 162 yards running for Rowan.

     In an unexpected wild shootout with the Profs, the game seesawed back and forth in the first half.  

     After a short Mount Union punt put Rowan in business at the Mount 42, Rowan eventually took an early 3-0 lead on a 35-yard field goal at the 11:58 mark of the first quarter.

     But Mount stormed back on its second possession of the game when junior quarterback Bill Borchert capped a 52-yard march when he found receiver Brian Flinn on a nine-yard scoring strike.  Bill Andrea booted the PAT and Mount led 7-3.

     The score was set up by an interception by Mount Union defensive back Kris Bugara, an Alliance High School graduate, who made a leaping pickoff of Rowan quarterback Lister's pass at the Mount 48.

     But it was just the start of the offensive explosion by both teams.

     Rowan went up 10-7 when running back Jyi Peterson sprinted 42 yards to the end zone at the 4:30 mark of the first period and the Profs added the successful PAT kick.

     Mount returned the scoring favor on its next possession when junior standout Knestrick leaped in the air to snag a 38-yard scoring aerial from Borchert.  Andrea added the PAT kick and Mount led 14-10 at the 2:09 mark of the first quarter.

     Rowan again regained the lead early in the second quarter when receiver Aaron Bosco caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Lister at the 12:10 mark of the second quarter and the Profs added the PAT kick for a 17-14 lead.

     But Mount struck back to take a 21-17 advantage when receiver Reiko Gollate caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Borchert at the 10:09 mark.   Andrea added the PAT kick.

     Rowan closed out the first-half scoring when Peterson scampered into the end zone from two yards out, making it 24-21 with 3:54 left before intermission.

     Both offenses watched possible scoring chances fail on their final possessions of the first half, as Mount was stopped on downs at the Rowan 11 and the Profs ended the first half at Mount's 29.

     In the first half alone, the two teams combined for over 650 yards.  The larger Profs rushed for 206 yards in the first half compared to Mount's 103, but the Purple Raiders threw for 200 yards to Rowan's 134 yards.

     But that all changed in the second half when Mount's defense shut the Profs out and the Purple Raiders' pass offense moved at will against Rowan.

     After stopping Rowan on its first possession of the second half, Mount's offense struck when fullback Eric Brock from Lake High School scampered 13 yards to score at the 7:40 mark of the third period, making it 28-24 with Andrea's kick.  Brock led all Mount rushers with 69 yards.

     Mount took the upper hand in the game with 1:29 left in the third period when Borchert drove the team to the five, and on third and goal, hit receiver Steve Evans with a four-yard scoring toss.  Andrea added the kick and Mount led 35-24.

     The score was set up minutes earlier when Gollate made a beautiful 57-yard catch of a Borchert aerial at the Profs' five.

     Mount Union defensive coordinator Don Montgomery made several adjustments at halftime and Mount's defense stymied the Profs.  B.J. Payne had several sacks defensively for the Purple Raiders.  Linebacker Mike Burgbacher stopped another Rowan possession with an interception near midfield and defensive back Jason Knapp had another pickoff.

     The Raiders began to put the game away when Borchert fired a 45-yard strike to a wide-open Gollate with 14:41 left, making it 41-24 with Andrea's kick.

     Knestrick caught a 65-yard toss from Borchert to set up another score.  Moments later, Borchert hit Flinn with a 12-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.  Andrea again added the PAT kick, making it 49-24 at the 12:14 mark of the fourth period.

     Borchert added his seventh touchdown pass of the game with 3:57 left, tossing a 18-yard screen toss to Brian Tyla who covered the remaining distance.

     The score was set up by a sack of Lister by Vince Kehres and B.J. Payne forcing a fumble Jim Eismon recovered.

     Mount's defense held Rowan under 100 yards offense in the second half, while Mount ended with nearly 682 yards total offense for the game, following its second half explosion.

Mount Union 56       Rowan 24

Scoring

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Mount Union, Brock 13-69, Lantos 7-54, Borchert 7-27, Evans 5-11, Pollock 1-6, Eshler 3-6, Zeppernick 1-4;  Rowan, Peterson 15-162, Foster 10-63, Bosco 6-35, Lister 12-8, Thorpe 1-(-2). 

Passing - Mount Union, Borchert 38-26-1-505;  Rowan, Lister 27-14-3-157.  

Receiving - Mount Union, Knestrick 7-211, Gollate 6-166, Brock 4-29, Flinn 3-34, Evans 3-25, Tyla 1-18, Lantos 1-11, Kershner1-11;  Rowan, Bosco 5-89, Green 4-30, Foster 3-22, Sadowski 1-9, Trinidad 1-7.  

  *By Mike Brown.  Appeared in The Alliance Review 12-14-96; photos by Bill Gough.