SWC75
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Mighty Mount Union, the defending national champions and winners of 11 of the last 21 national championships, looked mighty vulnerable for the second straight week. After beating Wesley College of Delaware 62-59 last week, (after a 31-0 first quarter), this time won a back-and-forth game against North Central of Illinois, surviving, 41-40 to reach the national finals. They have now given up 99 points in the last two games- and won both of them! Just as remarkable, this high scoring game was played in a snowstorm. Here is the running score of this game: 0-7, 7-7, 7-10, 13-10, 13-16, 20-13, 27-17, 27-22, 27-28, 27-34, 35-34, 35-40, 41-40. Division 1A doesn’t have the only exciting college football games. Mount Union had the edge in yards, 424-391 and first downs 26-23.
In the bad weather, quarterback Kevin Burke of the Purple Raiders decided to keep the ball in his hands as much as possible, He ran it 28 times for 131 yards and 2 scores. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 163 yards and another score. Bradley Mitchell ran for another 124 yards and a score. North Central’s Spencer Stanek, the nation’s #1 rated quarterback with 41TDs to only a single interception put the ball in the air more, completing 19 of 37 for 198 yards and 2 scores while Matt Randolph ran for only 68 yards but scored 3 times.
North Central’s opening score was set up by a 58 yard kick-off return by John Kopkna. Mount Union’s answer was made possible by a 49 yard run by Mitchell. Everyone knew from that what kind of a game it was going to be. Linebacker Jonathan Gonnell had a 37 yard pick-six off of Stanek to make it 20-16 for the Purple Raiders. The Cardinal’s go ahead score, (at 27-28), was set up by a 48 yard punt return by Shane Dierking. A bad snap on a punt resulted in a 27-34 score and Mount Union had to launch a fourth quarter comeback.
Here is the Cleveland Plain dealer’s description:
“Burke guided a 65-yard drive and backup tailback Logan Nemeth scored on a 15-yard run. Instead of kicking the extra point for a tie, Kehres called Burke's number for a two-point conversion. Burke leaped over a defender at the goal line for a 35-34 lead with 5 minutes remaining. A 32-yard kickoff return set up 51-yard North Central drive and a 1-yard TD plunge by Matt Randolph on first-and-goal. NC led, 40-35, with 1:38 to play. North Central coach John Thorne later lamented not taking a knee for one or two downs before scoring to eat up the clock. The 98 seconds were about a minute more than Burke needed. Burke grabbed the lead back three plays and 31 seconds later. He threw passes of 10 yards to (Logan)Nemeth -- the last option on the play while Burke scrambled -- and 19 yards to Luc Meacham to the 26. (Mike) Collichio, a sophomore, broke open on double-move down the right sideline and Burke's pass over the defender settled like the falling snow into Collichio's arms in the end zone.”
In the finals they will again meet their old playmates, the Wisconsin0Whitewater Warhawks, who lost to them in 2005, 2006 and 2008 but beat them in 2007 and three times in a row from 2009-2011. I was glad to see that era end so we would see some other teams in the finals. But apparently, it just took a year off. Whitewater also got into the finals by the skin of their teeth, beating Mary Hardin-Baylor for 5th time in 5 meetings, (three in the playoffs), 16-15.
The “Cru” from Texas took a 12-0 lead on a first quarter field goal and safety and extended it to 12-0 in the second on a 10 yard run by Elijah Hudson. Whitewater came storming back with a 70 yard drive leading to a 3 yard TD run by Jordan Ratcliffe. The Warhawks missed a 42 yard field goal on the last play of the half. Ratcliffe scored again on a 5 yard run in the third quarter. A two point conversion failed but a subsequent field goal game Whitewater the lead going into the fourth period. Cody Jones returned a punt to the Warhawk 20 with 6:19 left. They got to the 4 but a false start and a dropped pass in the end zone forced the Crusaders to settle for a field goal. Whitewater was able to run out all but one second of the clock and a rugby play at the end produced nothing for MHB. The Warhawks had the edge in yardage, 294-241, first downs 19-12 and turnover margin, (1 vs. 2).
The championship game will be played T 7Pm on Friday, December 20th at Salem, Virginia on ESPNU. The match-up:
MOUNT UNION (Ohio) 14-0 (686-266) #1, 81-12 (11)
Vs.
WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER 14-0 (501-122) #5, 38-7 (4)
Comments: Whitewater has beaten Mount Union the last three times they played and they look like the better team because the Purple Raider defense has been springing so many leaks in these last two games.
In the bad weather, quarterback Kevin Burke of the Purple Raiders decided to keep the ball in his hands as much as possible, He ran it 28 times for 131 yards and 2 scores. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 163 yards and another score. Bradley Mitchell ran for another 124 yards and a score. North Central’s Spencer Stanek, the nation’s #1 rated quarterback with 41TDs to only a single interception put the ball in the air more, completing 19 of 37 for 198 yards and 2 scores while Matt Randolph ran for only 68 yards but scored 3 times.
North Central’s opening score was set up by a 58 yard kick-off return by John Kopkna. Mount Union’s answer was made possible by a 49 yard run by Mitchell. Everyone knew from that what kind of a game it was going to be. Linebacker Jonathan Gonnell had a 37 yard pick-six off of Stanek to make it 20-16 for the Purple Raiders. The Cardinal’s go ahead score, (at 27-28), was set up by a 48 yard punt return by Shane Dierking. A bad snap on a punt resulted in a 27-34 score and Mount Union had to launch a fourth quarter comeback.
Here is the Cleveland Plain dealer’s description:
“Burke guided a 65-yard drive and backup tailback Logan Nemeth scored on a 15-yard run. Instead of kicking the extra point for a tie, Kehres called Burke's number for a two-point conversion. Burke leaped over a defender at the goal line for a 35-34 lead with 5 minutes remaining. A 32-yard kickoff return set up 51-yard North Central drive and a 1-yard TD plunge by Matt Randolph on first-and-goal. NC led, 40-35, with 1:38 to play. North Central coach John Thorne later lamented not taking a knee for one or two downs before scoring to eat up the clock. The 98 seconds were about a minute more than Burke needed. Burke grabbed the lead back three plays and 31 seconds later. He threw passes of 10 yards to (Logan)Nemeth -- the last option on the play while Burke scrambled -- and 19 yards to Luc Meacham to the 26. (Mike) Collichio, a sophomore, broke open on double-move down the right sideline and Burke's pass over the defender settled like the falling snow into Collichio's arms in the end zone.”
In the finals they will again meet their old playmates, the Wisconsin0Whitewater Warhawks, who lost to them in 2005, 2006 and 2008 but beat them in 2007 and three times in a row from 2009-2011. I was glad to see that era end so we would see some other teams in the finals. But apparently, it just took a year off. Whitewater also got into the finals by the skin of their teeth, beating Mary Hardin-Baylor for 5th time in 5 meetings, (three in the playoffs), 16-15.
The “Cru” from Texas took a 12-0 lead on a first quarter field goal and safety and extended it to 12-0 in the second on a 10 yard run by Elijah Hudson. Whitewater came storming back with a 70 yard drive leading to a 3 yard TD run by Jordan Ratcliffe. The Warhawks missed a 42 yard field goal on the last play of the half. Ratcliffe scored again on a 5 yard run in the third quarter. A two point conversion failed but a subsequent field goal game Whitewater the lead going into the fourth period. Cody Jones returned a punt to the Warhawk 20 with 6:19 left. They got to the 4 but a false start and a dropped pass in the end zone forced the Crusaders to settle for a field goal. Whitewater was able to run out all but one second of the clock and a rugby play at the end produced nothing for MHB. The Warhawks had the edge in yardage, 294-241, first downs 19-12 and turnover margin, (1 vs. 2).
The championship game will be played T 7Pm on Friday, December 20th at Salem, Virginia on ESPNU. The match-up:
MOUNT UNION (Ohio) 14-0 (686-266) #1, 81-12 (11)
Vs.
WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER 14-0 (501-122) #5, 38-7 (4)
Comments: Whitewater has beaten Mount Union the last three times they played and they look like the better team because the Purple Raider defense has been springing so many leaks in these last two games.
