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Running back Kmic sets three conference, school records in win
By Stephanie Storm Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Sunday, Nov 18, 2007
ALLIANCE: Records were set and firsts of all kinds occurred Saturday afternoon at Mount Union Stadium as the host Purple Raiders faced a stiff test in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Mount Union (11-0) survived a surprisingly imposing Ithaca offense that racked up 337 yards (the most against the Purple Raiders since the 2005 Stagg Bowl), prevailing 42-18 on the strength of four Nate Kmic rushing touchdowns.
Kmic, who scored on runs of 1, 2, 48 and 64 yards, set three school or conference marks.
With his 217 yards on 29 carries, the junior became the Ohio Athletic Conference's all-time leading rusher with 4,791 yards and its all-time leader in touchdowns with 76. He also set a Mount Union record of 5,953 all-purpose yards.
The yardage records topped
the marks set in 2001 by former Purple Raiders standout Chuck Moore, whose photos adorn walls throughout the stadium. It probably won't be long before snapshots of Kmic are posted alongside those of Moore. The game also was Kmic's seventh career 200-yard rushing game, including four in the playoffs.
''The playoffs are a whole different atmosphere,'' Kmic said. ''Every play counts. Every game counts. You lose and you're out. So you have to bring your best cards to the table to move on in the postseason.''
The record-setting day didn't belong to Kmic alone.
Ithaca (8-3) stunned the packed house by scoring the game's first touchdown with 3:34 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Jamie Donovan. It was the first touchdown scored on Mount Union's first-team defense this season.
The Bombers' extra point was blocked, but the six points were the first scored against the Purple Raiders in the first quarter this season. The touchdown also put Mount Union behind for the first time this season.
''Coming into this place to play Mount Union can easily overwhelm you,'' said Ithaca quarterback Dan Juvan, whose 19 completions and 324 yards also were season highs against the Purple Raiders. ''No one is even expecting you to score a point. But we were confident we could move the ball.''
And they did. That is, until Mount Union changed things up in the second half.
With the Bombers trailing just 21-12 at halftime, Mount Union went with a no-huddle offense to speed up the game. The result was three third-quarter scores, including touchdowns on the Purple Raiders' first two possessions of the second half.
''We didn't seem to have much rhythm in the first half, so we didn't huddle much in the third and tried to pick up the pace,'' Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. ''It was our best quarter offensively.''
Next up for the Purple Raiders is a home game Saturday against the College of New Jersey (9-2), which topped Rens-selaer Polytechnic Institute 17-14 to advance to the second round.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
ALLIANCE: Records were set and firsts of all kinds occurred Saturday afternoon at Mount Union Stadium as the host Purple Raiders faced a stiff test in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
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