2014 Mount Union Football
#3 University of Mount Union Purple Raiders (1-0, 0-0 OAC) vs Muskingum University Muskies (0-1, 0-0 OAC)
Saturday, September 20 - 1:30 pm - McGonagha Stadium (New Concord, Ohio)
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THE GAME
No. 3 ranked Mount Union returns after a bye week to open up Ohio Athletic Conference play against Muskingum Saturday at 1:30 pm at McGonagha Stadium in New Concord.
Mount Union was picked in the OAC coaches and media preseaon polls to win the confernce title in 2014. The Purple Raiders have won 25 conference titles overall including the last 22 in a row.
Two weeks ago, the Raiders opened the season with a 58-7 win at Bethany (W.Va.). Quarterback Kevin Burke tossed a career-high 411 passing yards with three touchdown passes as Mount Union ran out to a 38-0 halftime lead. His top receiving target was junior Roman Namdar, who in his first career start, caught eight passes for 162 yards while the defense held Bethany to 211 yards with three sacks.
Muskingum was shutout in its opener falling 33-0 at Waynesburg (Pa.) two weeks ago. The Muskies had 185 rushing yards but were 1-of-13 on third down and had two interceptions -- one that was returned for a touchdown.
THE SERIES
This is the 69th meeting between the teams with Mount Union holding a 37-29-2 lead inthe series that dates back to a 23-0 Muskingum win on November 3, 1906. The Raiders have won 25-straight meetings since a 17-17 tie in 1988 in Alliance. The last Muskie win in the series came in a 24-19 victory in 1984 in Alliance.
THE COACHES
Vince Kehres (Mount Union '98) is 15-1 (.937) in his second season as head coach. He went 14-1 in his first season in 2013 to set an NCAA record for most wins (14) by a first year college football coach. He earned OAC Coach of the Year and Lee Tressel Ohio College Football Coach of Year awards. Kehres spent 13 years, eight as defensive coordinator, on the Raiders coaching staff for his father Larry Kehres. As either a player of coach, Vince Kehres has been part of 10 of Mount Union's 11 national championships.
Al Logan (Muskingum '82) is 19-52 (.267) in his eighth season at his Alma mater. Logan came to New Concord after serving for four years as the offensive coordinator at Wittenberg. Logan also had assistant coaching stints at Davidson (N.C.), Sewanee (Ga.), John Carroll and Miami (Ohio).
STORYLINES
- Senior quarterback Kevin Burke's 411-yard passing performance at Bethany took him over 8,000 career passing yards. He is the fifth player in school history to surpass that mark and enters this week 44 yards shy of 10,000 career yards of total offense.
- Both of Burke's top receivers at Bethany -- juniors Roman Namdar and Taurice Scott -- made their first career starts in the game as each have been backup quarterbacks earlier in their careers at Mount Union.
- Mount Union had a school record 189 punt return yards at Bethany with a school record 150 of those by sophomore Tim Kennedy. The previous individual best was 148 yards by current assistant coach Chris Denton at Franklin in 2012.
SCOUTING THE MUSKIES
Muskingum returns 14 starters (seven on offense and seven on defense) from a team that went 2-8 in 2013.
The offense is led by junior dual threat quarterback Cody Williams. In the opener against Waynesburg, Williams went 7-for-20 passing for 93 yards and two interceptions while he had 20 rushes for 51 yards on the ground. A pair of freshmen contributed in week one as running back William Cole-Young had a team-high 76 yards rushing on 11 carries while Damon Jones had a team-best 41 yards receiving.
On defense, senior linebacker Damond Goggins leads the unit as he was third in the OAC last season in tackles. Junior linebacker Zach Barry had a team-high 11 tackles at Waynesburg. Junior linebacker Chaney Fulton and sophomore lineman Stetson Zumbrun each had a sack in the opner.
Sophomore punter Samuel Green was an All-OAC second team selection a year ago and averages 38.1 yards per punt.
BY THE NUMBERS
729
Mount Union has an NCAA Division III best 729 wins as a program. The Raiders are one of only 24 programs in college football history with at least 700 wins.
196-8
Mount Union's win-loss record since 2000.
55, 54
The Raiders hold the NCAA's two longest consecutive win streaks -- 55 from 2000-03 and 54 from 1996-99.
115
Mount Union has 115 consecutive regular season road wins dating back to a 21-18 loss at Baldwin Wallace on Sept. 28, 1991. Overall Mount Union has won 95 straight road games dating back to a 34-33 loss at Albion in the 1994 NCAA Playoffs.
136-0
Since 1996, the Raiders are 136-0 when winning the turnover battle.
181-1
Since, 1990, the Raiders record when winning the turnover battle with that one loss being a 20-17 defeat to Wisconsin-LaCrosse in a national semifinal game in Alliance. In that game, Mount Union had a plus-1 advantage in turnovers.
11
The Raiders 11 national titles are a record for college football teams in a playoff format.
84 and 76
Mount Union has won 84 straight regular season games and 76 straight home games dating back to a 21-14 loss to Ohio Northern on October 22, 2005.
KEVIN BURKE NOW #PAULBUNYAN
Mount Union senior quarterback Kevin Burke (Westlake/Lakewood St. Edward) was featured on ESPN's College GameDay this past Saturday and noted quarterback guru George Whitfield referred to him as #PaulBunyan (a giant lumberjack with tall tales) saying he plays much bigger than his 5-10 frame.
Burke, an All-American and reigning Gagliardi Trophy winner, picked right up where he left off as he threw for a career-best 411 yards at Bethany. It was the most yards passing for a Mount Union signal caller since Mike Jorris threw for 421 yards in a 70-0 win at John Carroll in 2005.
The performance also took Burke over 8,000 career passing yards and he is just one of five players in Mount Union to history to pass that mark. Another milestone he is approaching this week as he is 44 yards away from 10,000 yards of total offense. He currently has 9,956 yards which is fourth-best in Mount Union history -- 1 yard ahead of Greg Micheli (9,955 -- 2005-08).
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Mount Union had a school record 189 punt return yards at Bethany. Sophomore Tim Kennedy (Hudson/Hudson) grabbed the individual school single-game record with 150 punt return yards on six returns while freshman Braeden Friss (Avon/Avon) had a 39 yard punt return. It was also a good day for senior punter/placekicker Edward Ruhnke (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional) who averaged 37 yards per punt with two of his three punts getting inside the 20 yard line while he also accounted for 16 points as he kicked three field goals and was 7-for-7 on extra points.
IN THE ZONE
Sophomore running back Bradley Mitchell (Detroit, Mich./South Lake) scored three rushing touchdowns as ran for 63 yards on 12 carries at Bethany. It was his first multi-touchdown game of his career and extended a streak of eight straight games dating back to last year that he scored a rushing touchdown. A year ago, he set a Mount Union record for rushing yards by a freshman with 1,365 yards. Junior Logan Nemeth (McBain, Mich./McBain) led the team in rushing at Bethany with 73 yards on 10 carries and he had a 15-yard touchdown run.
THROWING IT IN REVERSE
The Mount Union defense had 13 tackles for loss at Bethany. It was the most tackles for loss in a single game for the Raiders since getting 13 at Heidelberg a year ago. In 2013, Mount Union had six games with at least 10 tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Jonathan Gonell (Pembroke Pines, Fla./University School, Fla.) and junior lineman Mike Furda (Wintersville/Indian Creek) each had a team-best 2.5 tackles for loss at Bethany.
UP NEXT ... MOUNT UNION STADIUM TURNS 100
The University of Mount Union will celebrate the 100th birthday of Mount Union Stadium next Saturday, Sept 27, 2014 with an afternoon of events culminating with the Purple Raiders home opener against Marietta College at 7 pm. Since its dedication in 1914, Mount Union Stadium has hosted everything from Mount Union and Alliance High School football games, concerts, campus and community events along with being the home of the Raiders' men's and women's track and field, men's and women's soccer and men's and women's lacrosse teams. The stadium is the oldest college football stadium in Ohio.
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm - Stadium Rededication
Public ceremony that includes the unveiling of an Ohio Historical Marker just outside the stadium in the Southwest corner of the facility.
3:30 pm - 6:30 pm - Tailgate Party
The tailgate pregame party will be held on Hartshorn Street between the townhouses and the Gulling Training Center parking lot. For just $5 you can grab a bite to eat while listening to music from Jimmy and the Soulblazers, John Hampu Band and Ohio Weather Band
Log on to http://athletics.mountunion.edu/sports/fball/stadium100 for more info.
