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A TRIPLE PLAY!

Three national crowns in a row for our Raiders

Mount rolls by Rowan, 44-24

     SALEM, Va. - The Blue Ridge Mountains of the Roanoke Valley turned Purple here Saturday following the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in honor of the Mount Union College football team.

     Through a light rain, the Purple Raiders walked off the field with fireworks blasting and the Mount Union faithful cheering.

     In a year of transition, a year the Raiders weren't expected to make it back to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl and give up their reign as the NCAA Division III national champions, they had proved their doubters wrong.

     Looking up to the scoreboard, it read: Mount Union 44, Rowan 24. 

     It was the fourth national crown in the 1990s for the Purple and White - tying Augustana (IL) for the most small-school titles in history - and their third in a row.  And it had come in a season with a first-year quarterback and facing eight top-15 ranked teams of their 14-game schedule, winning many of those in close or comeback wins.

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

     For the seniors, it means finishing their four-year collegiate careers with a phenomenal 54-1 record.

     "This one was a lot more meaningful to me," said All-American linebacker Jason Hall, who ended his career with a game-leading 12 tackles, including three sacks.  "We knew this would be a different year and that we would have to play harder.  But we knew if stuck together, we could get back here.  This game today is what it's all about."

     "This is definitely the most meaningful for me," added defensive lineman B.J. Payne.  "We had eight games this season that we were down sometime in the second half or tied.  We didn't blow teams away by 50 or 60 points.  That's what makes this special."

     The Stagg Bowl was the perfect reflection of how the 1998 season played out.

     After taking a halftime lead, the Raiders were unable to generate any offense in the third quarter and fell behind by 24-16 following   touchdown by Rowan's Taman Bryant and a 44-yard field goal by Mark Migliori with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

     But the Raiders showed their trademark quality of being able to bounce back and took a 31-24 lead before the end of the third stanza.

     The national champions marched 62 yards in six plays to tie the score at 24-24 on a three-yard pass from Gary Smeck to Dave Hassey.  Smeck connected with senior Darin Kershner for the conversion pass.

     Two plays after the kickoff, hall sacked Profs quarterback Gus Ornstein for a 13-yard loss, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jeremy Yoder at the Rowan 9-yard-line.

     Four seconds later, sophomore Chuck Moore ran into the end zone to give the Raiders back the lead for good and following the Rodney Chenos PAT, the Raiders had completed a 15-point turnaround in 3:36.

     Up until that point, the Mount Union offense hadn't been able to generate any offense in the second half and had been stopped for negative-11 yards.

     "We felt the key to this game would be that we would have to be able to keep our composure and our poise," stated Kehres.   "We knew they would have the players that were able to make big plays.   Once we got behind by 24-16, we showed that poise that has become characteristic of this Mount Union team and that we've shown all year.  That's why this team is the national champions now."

     To add some insurance, senior running back Ryan Gorius scored two more TD's.  The first came on a one-yard plunge.  The second came on a pass from Smeck late in the game on a fourth-and-long conversion.  While being pressured, the sophomore QB threw the ball cross-field to a wide-open Gorius, who was three yards off the line of scrimmage and ran the rest of the way.

     "Smeck was outstanding today," lauded Kehres of his young quarterback who broke two playoff records held by former Raider quarterback Jim Ballard.  "When he was being pressured he handled it and threw to the second, third and fourth receivers.  He threw an early interception to negate a drive, but when you're a quarterback, you can't worry about those things."

     "This is a great feeling," said Smeck, who set marks in postseason completions (99) and attempts (152).  "We have great senior leadership and they showed me how to take the ball by the horns."

     Smeck ended the day by going 19-of-34 for 307 yards and one interception.  Sophomore wide receiver Adam Marino had seven catches for 131 yards, including one for 47 yards on Mount Union's first offensive play.  Hassey led the Raiders with 59 yards on 10 carries.  Payne added 11 tackles, including two sacks.

     For Rowan, quarterback Gus Ornstein went 17-of-40 for 200 yards and was sacked seven times for 64 yards.  Justin Wright, a sophomore. had 181 yards on 30 carriers, while receiver David Trinidad hauled in six passes for 78 yards.

     The Profs have now lost four times in the national title game - three to Mount Union.  The four loses ties them with Ithaca (NY) for most games lost.

     "Obviously, this is a tremendous disappointment to us," said Profs coach K.C. Keeler, who boasts 29 transfers on his squad, including 12 starters and six from Division I schools.  "My hat's off to Mount Union."

     The Purple Raiders took a 16-14 advantage to the locker room at halftime.

     The Profs scored on their first possession.   Following a blocked punt by Nicholas Lopes, Rowan drove 43 yards, scoring on a Justin Wright two-yard plunge.  Mark Migliori was successful on the PAT and the Profs held a 7-0 lead.

     The Raider "D" held the Profs to four plays and negative-11 yards to get the ball back via a punt.   On the ensuing play, Smeck connected with Kershner for the first time on a bomb at about the 20-yard-line.   Kershner, who was suffering from a hip injury, high-stepped it into the end zone for the remaining yards of the 74-yard scoring aerial.  Chenos hit the PAT to knot the score at 7-7.  

     The Profs retaliated with a 95-yard march to paydirt that was capped on a 1-yard run by David Sadowski to take a 14-7 lead with :42 left in the first quarter.

     The Raiders cut the deficit to 14-10 with a 27-yard field goal by Chenos.

     The turning point of the first half came early in the second quarter when Andy Conroy and B.J. Payne hit Rowan QB Gus Ornstein to cause a fumble that was recovered on the Profs' 26 by Matt Domin.  Four plays later, sophomore running back Chuck Moore took the ball into the end zone from two yards out for a TD.   The  PAT was blocked by Evens Pierre, but the Raiders held their first lead of the afternoon.

Mount Union 44       Rowan 24

Scoring

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Mount Union, Hassey 10-59, Gorius 12-33, Moore 8-28, Smeck 9-(-8);  Rowan, Wright 30-181, Sadowski 2-13, Ornstein 8-(-63).

Passing - Mount Union, Smeck 34-19-1-307;  Rowan, Ornstein 40-17-0-200.

Receiving - Mount Union, Marino 7-131, Kershner 5-89, Hassey 2-33, Gorius 2-24, Moore 2-23, Irgang 1-7;  Rowan, Trinidad 6-78, Woolfork 2-45, Bryant 3-26, Wright 3-23, Sadowski2-19, Dorsey 1-9.

  *Story by Jack R. Weber Jr.  Appeared in The Alliance Review 12-12-98; photos by Bill Gough.