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Shorts and Kmic score three TDs each to put Crusaders away early
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 08:24 p.m. EDT, Oct 11, 2008
ALLIANCE: Capital found out in a hurry Saturday that while it is ranked just three slots behind No. 1 Mount Union in the the NCAA Division III football polls, there's a big difference between the two teams.
Try a 42-point difference.
The visiting Crusaders fell behind 21-0 after the first quarter as the efficient Purple Raiders scored on four of their first five possessions to take a 28-point lead at halftime.
The 49-7 loss was Capital's first, dropping it to 4-1, 3-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Mount Union is 5-0, 4-0, and it racked up 614 total yards of offense against a defense that ranked second in the OAC.
''It's difficult shutting them down completely, so you always have to start with the run game and work from there,'' Capital coach Jim Bickel said. ''But with [Mount Union], even if you slow them down, they've got so many other ways they can hurt you.''
Mount Union quarterback Greg Micheli found his new favorite receiver over and over in the first half, connecting with junior Cecil Shorts III on three touchdowns — a 69-yarder, a 40-yard pass with 3:35 to go in the first quarter and another 19-yarder to cap the first-half scoring with 4:21 to go.
''It always helps when you get the ball early and make a big play,'' Shorts said. ''The [69-yard pass play] kind of got me in a groove to start.''
In between, senior running back Nate Kmic scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns, a 7-yard sprint into the end zone to increase the Purple Raiders' lead to 14-0 lead.
By halftime, Shorts had a career-high 158 of his 207 yards on just six catches, prompting many Mount fans to chant, ''Pierre who?''
They were referring to former Purple Raiders standout Pierre Garcon, who has the school record for career receptions (202) and school and OAC records for career touchdowns (47). He now plays for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.
Shorts has become a capable replacement for Garcon, but it's unfair to compare the two just yet.
The acrobatic Garcon was automatic with any ball within five yards of him and often even several feet above him, but Shorts missed a pass right at him late in the second quarter that ended up in the hands of Capital linebacker Sam Jacobs — Micheli's first interception of the season.
''There should be an asterisk by that interception,'' Shorts said of the Micheli pass that was right on the mark. ''I had it, but then I began to look up field and it went right through my hands.''
The game was nearly all-Shorts all the time in the first half. The second half belonged to Kmic.
After Capital scored its lone touchdown — a 16-yard pass from quarterback Marty Assmann to receiver Ryan Gunnarson on its first possession of the second half — Kmic dashed the Crusaders' momentum by moving into third place all-time in Division III history with a 13-yard power run in the third quarter.
Kmic, who finished the game with 168 yards on 21 carries, ended the drive that moved him up in the record books with a 3-yard dash into the end zone to answer Capital's score and push the host's advantage to 35-7.
Kmic capped his day with a 2-yard run with 14:03 to go in the fourth quarter. Mount's final touchdown came with just more than two minutes to go on a Scott Panchik 5-yard run.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
ALLIANCE: Capital found out in a hurry Saturday that while it is ranked just three slots behind No. 1 Mount Union in the the NCAA Division III football polls, there's a big difference between the two teams.
Try a 42-point difference.
The visiting Crusaders fell behind 21-0 after the first quarter as the efficient Purple Raiders scored on four of their first five possessions to take a 28-point lead at halftime.
The 49-7 loss was Capital's first, dropping it to 4-1, 3-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Mount Union is 5-0, 4-0, and it racked up 614 total yards of offense against a defense that ranked second in the OAC.
''It's difficult shutting them down completely, so you always have to start with the run game and work from there,'' Capital coach Jim Bickel said. ''But with [Mount Union], even if you slow them down, they've got so many other ways they can hurt you.''
Mount Union quarterback Greg Micheli found his new favorite receiver over and over in the first half, connecting with junior Cecil Shorts III on three touchdowns — a 69-yarder, a 40-yard pass with 3:35 to go in the first quarter and another 19-yarder to cap the first-half scoring with 4:21 to go.
''It always helps when you get the ball early and make a big play,'' Shorts said. ''The [69-yard pass play] kind of got me in a groove to start.''
In between, senior running back Nate Kmic scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns, a 7-yard sprint into the end zone to increase the Purple Raiders' lead to 14-0 lead.
By halftime, Shorts had a career-high 158 of his 207 yards on just six catches, prompting many Mount fans to chant, ''Pierre who?''
They were referring to former Purple Raiders standout Pierre Garcon, who has the school record for career receptions (202) and school and OAC records for career touchdowns (47). He now plays for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.
Shorts has become a capable replacement for Garcon, but it's unfair to compare the two just yet.
The acrobatic Garcon was automatic with any ball within five yards of him and often even several feet above him, but Shorts missed a pass right at him late in the second quarter that ended up in the hands of Capital linebacker Sam Jacobs — Micheli's first interception of the season.
''There should be an asterisk by that interception,'' Shorts said of the Micheli pass that was right on the mark. ''I had it, but then I began to look up field and it went right through my hands.''
The game was nearly all-Shorts all the time in the first half. The second half belonged to Kmic.
After Capital scored its lone touchdown — a 16-yard pass from quarterback Marty Assmann to receiver Ryan Gunnarson on its first possession of the second half — Kmic dashed the Crusaders' momentum by moving into third place all-time in Division III history with a 13-yard power run in the third quarter.
Kmic, who finished the game with 168 yards on 21 carries, ended the drive that moved him up in the record books with a 3-yard dash into the end zone to answer Capital's score and push the host's advantage to 35-7.
Kmic capped his day with a 2-yard run with 14:03 to go in the fourth quarter. Mount's final touchdown came with just more than two minutes to go on a Scott Panchik 5-yard run.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
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