Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Family found dead in Ohio home
Man gets 3 years in prison for having sex with horse
Robbers order bar patrons to empty pockets
Sex-toy study at Duke University raises some eyebrows
Akron man turns himself in after authorities turn up heat
Man appears alive at own funeral
Take comfort in knowing Browns could be bigger losers
Blogs:
Pets:
Not 101 Dalmations…but close!
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your perusal
Akron Zips:
No. 1 UA soccer remains perfect, Zips football defeats rival Flashes
Tribe Matters:
Tribe makes roster moves
Cleveland Browns:
Lewis doesn't like boycott
Kent State Sports:
Kent State falls to Akron, 20-28
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Knicks
Buckeye Blogging:
Weekly ‘B’ Deck Report – New Mexico St.
Varsity Letters:
Wrestling, bowling teams prepare for season
All Da King's Men:
If It Looks Like Islamic Terrorism…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Dems Message To Women: Don't Enjoy The Sex
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (62) The Stupak Amendment
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Perfect Weather for an Autumn Drive
Let's Talk Real Estate:
RUMORS: Downtown Restaurant Explosion
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
The Black Keys to perform benefit concert at Musica on November 27
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
New 'Call of Duty' could set entertainment record
Short-handed Bethel no match; Purple Raiders in title game
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sportswriter
POSTED: 07:00 p.m. EST, Dec 08, 2007
ALLIANCE: It's tough enough to beat Mount Union playing at your absolute best. Try knocking off the Purple Raiders amid a bevy of turnovers and without a starting quarterback and defeat is likely.
Visiting Bethel (Minn.) learned that lesson quickly Saturday, as the Purple Raiders took advantage of several Royals' miscues in a 62-14 victory at Mount Union Stadium in the Division III semifinals.
The Purple Raiders (14-0) advance to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Saturday, where they will face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a 16-7 winner over Mary Hardin-Baylor, for the national championship.
The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN. It will be the third consecutive season that Mount Union and Whitewater will be facing each other for the championship, so far resulting in back-to-back championships for the Purple Raiders.
The Warhawks advanced to the championship after a close game, but the Purple Raiders had all but wrapped up their rout by the end of the first half.
Mount Union scored on its first seven possessions to take a 41-0 halftime lead. A handful of those points were set up by Bethel mistakes, and the Royals played a majority of the game without their Most Valuable Player, quarterback Ben Wetzell.
‘‘It's a real deficit to face when you lose your senior quarterback and your league's best player,’’ Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. ‘‘I admire Ben for trying to play with a separated shoulder ` he gave it a great effort.’’
The Purple Raiders wasted little time getting on the board, needing just three plays to march 60 yards on the opening drive for their first touchdown ` a 46-yard pass play from quarterback Greg Micheli to wide receiver Pierre Garcon.
A few possessions later, a botched Bethel punt gave Mount Union a short field and resulted in a Micheli 7-yard touchdown pass to Chad Reynolds to push the Raiders' lead to 17-0.
‘‘Today we flubbed up some things we usually don't, and they jumped right on it,’’ Bethel coach Steve Johnson said. ‘‘We needed some good stuff to happen, and instead, we had too many unforced errors.’’
Early in the second quarter, a Royals fumble was recovered by Pat McCullough to set up the second Mike Zimmerman field goal of the game.
It seemed that halftime couldn't come soon enough for the reeling Royals, who had their most productive drive of the tumultuous half slowed by a false-start penalty then halted by an interception.
Craig Nickoli’s first interception of the game set up a two-minute, 86-yard Mount Union drive that was completed just before the first half expired thanks to a Micheli 8-yard quarterback keeper into the end zone. Nickoli's second interception came later in the fourth quarter, a ball that he returned for a 20-yard touchdown.
In the second half, Mount Union's offense looked a little like Bethel's, committing turnovers on its first two possessions. But unlike Mount Union's quick-score offense, Bethel could not take advantage of the gifts against the stingy Purple Raiders defense ` resulting in a punt and a missed 37-yard field goal.
‘‘It was real difficult running on their defense,’’ said Royals running back Logan Flannery, who gained 51 yards on 19 carries. ‘‘Their front was especially tough ` they run a lot of twists and stunts.’’
With the Royals' season winding down to mere minutes and plenty of Purple Raiders subs in the game, Bethel finally got into the end zone on a 7-yard pass from backup quarterback Dan Einerson to tight end Nick Otto with 7:46 remaining. With 31 seconds left, the Royals scored on Jared Bangs' 26-yard touchdown reception from Einerson.
With 104 yards and three touchdowns, Mount Union running back Nate Kmic had his 22nd 100-yard game in 33 starts.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
ALLIANCE: It's tough enough to beat Mount Union playing at your absolute best. Try knocking off the Purple Raiders amid a bevy of turnovers and without a starting quarterback and defeat is likely.
Visiting Bethel (Minn.) learned that lesson quickly Saturday, as the Purple Raiders took advantage of several Royals' miscues in a 62-14 victory at Mount Union Stadium in the Division III semifinals.
The Purple Raiders (14-0) advance to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Saturday, where they will face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a 16-7 winner over Mary Hardin-Baylor, for the national championship.
The game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN. It will be the third consecutive season that Mount Union and Whitewater will be facing each other for the championship, so far resulting in back-to-back championships for the Purple Raiders.
The Warhawks advanced to the championship after a close game, but the Purple Raiders had all but wrapped up their rout by the end of the first half.
Mount Union scored on its first seven possessions to take a 41-0 halftime lead. A handful of those points were set up by Bethel mistakes, and the Royals played a majority of the game without their Most Valuable Player, quarterback Ben Wetzell.
‘‘It's a real deficit to face when you lose your senior quarterback and your league's best player,’’ Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. ‘‘I admire Ben for trying to play with a separated shoulder ` he gave it a great effort.’’
The Purple Raiders wasted little time getting on the board, needing just three plays to march 60 yards on the opening drive for their first touchdown ` a 46-yard pass play from quarterback Greg Micheli to wide receiver Pierre Garcon.
A few possessions later, a botched Bethel punt gave Mount Union a short field and resulted in a Micheli 7-yard touchdown pass to Chad Reynolds to push the Raiders' lead to 17-0.
‘‘Today we flubbed up some things we usually don't, and they jumped right on it,’’ Bethel coach Steve Johnson said. ‘‘We needed some good stuff to happen, and instead, we had too many unforced errors.’’
Early in the second quarter, a Royals fumble was recovered by Pat McCullough to set up the second Mike Zimmerman field goal of the game.
It seemed that halftime couldn't come soon enough for the reeling Royals, who had their most productive drive of the tumultuous half slowed by a false-start penalty then halted by an interception.
Craig Nickoli’s first interception of the game set up a two-minute, 86-yard Mount Union drive that was completed just before the first half expired thanks to a Micheli 8-yard quarterback keeper into the end zone. Nickoli's second interception came later in the fourth quarter, a ball that he returned for a 20-yard touchdown.
In the second half, Mount Union's offense looked a little like Bethel's, committing turnovers on its first two possessions. But unlike Mount Union's quick-score offense, Bethel could not take advantage of the gifts against the stingy Purple Raiders defense ` resulting in a punt and a missed 37-yard field goal.
‘‘It was real difficult running on their defense,’’ said Royals running back Logan Flannery, who gained 51 yards on 19 carries. ‘‘Their front was especially tough ` they run a lot of twists and stunts.’’
With the Royals' season winding down to mere minutes and plenty of Purple Raiders subs in the game, Bethel finally got into the end zone on a 7-yard pass from backup quarterback Dan Einerson to tight end Nick Otto with 7:46 remaining. With 31 seconds left, the Royals scored on Jared Bangs' 26-yard touchdown reception from Einerson.
With 104 yards and three touchdowns, Mount Union running back Nate Kmic had his 22nd 100-yard game in 33 starts.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
Most Commented Stories
- 28
Judicial colleagues give magistrate job to judge who lost election
20
- 16
- 16
- 16
- 15
- 14
- 13
- 12
- 12
