2014 Mount Union Football
#3/3 University of Mount Union Purple Raiders (3-0, 2-0 OAC) vs Capital University Crusaders (2-1, 1-1 OAC)
Saturday, October 4 - 12:30 pm - Bernlohr Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
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THE GAME
No. 3 ranked Mount Union takes on Capital in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup Saturday, Oct. 4 at 12:30 pm at Bernlohr Stadium in Columbus.
Senior quarterback Kevin Burke (Westlake/Lakewood St. Edward) matched a career-high with five touchdown passes as he led the Purple Raiders to scores on eight of their nine first half possessions to build a 50-0 halftime lead on their way to a 63-7 win over Marietta. The Mount Union defense held Marietta to 157 total yards and did not allow the Pioneers to cross the 50-yard line until its only scoring drive late in the third quarter.
Capital turned the ball over three times and surendered 416 yards rushing to Muskingum as the Crusaders lost 30-16 in New Concord last Saturday. In his first start, freshman quarterback Nick Iske threw for 175 yards with two scores and ran for 83 yards.
THE SERIES
This is the 49th meeting between the teams with Mount Union holding a 36-12 lead in a series that dates back to a 17-0 Purple Raider win in 1958. Mount Union has won 28 straight meetings with Capital's last win coming in its OAC Championship season of 1987, 26-25 in Columbus.
THE COACHES
Vince Kehres (Mount Union '98) is 17-1 (.944) 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.
Craig Candeto (Navy '04) is 5-8 (.384) in his second season as head coach at Capital. Candeto played quarterback and graduated from the Naval Academy and then was a fighter pilot before becoming a football coach. He was an assistant at Navy and was the quarterbacks coach at The Citadel before getting the Capital job.
STORYLINES
Quarterback Kevin Burke is currently the nation's highest rated passer at any level of college football with a QB rating 232.5.
Former backup quarterbacks -- juniors Roman Namdar and Taurice Scott -- are Mount Union's top two wide receivers. Namdar has 16 catches for 343 yards with an OAC best five TD's while Scott has 10 catches for 206 yards with three TD's.
Sophomore running back Bradley Mitchell had a rushing touchdown last week to extend his streak of games with a rushing TD to 10.
Mount Union has out-scored its first three opponents 113-0 in the first half this season. The Purple Raiders are the nation's highest scoring team averaging 61.0 points per game while allowing opponents 6.7 points per game.
SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Capital posted wins at Earlham (54-20) and home against Wilmington (34-21) before taking a loss last Saturday at Muskingum (36-20). The Crusaders 2-1 start to the season is their best record through three games since 2011.
Capital's triple-option attack on offense generates 328.7 rushing yards per game. Sophomore running back Brent Walton leads the OAC with 153.7 yards per game rushing as he averages 8.4 yards per carry with five touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Chase Longwell has thrown three TD passes (9-of-20 passing, 225 yds) and ran for two more scores but did not play last week as freshman Nick Iske accounted for 258 (175 passing, 83 rushing) of the Crusasders 344 yards at Muskingum. The top receiver is junior Jake Skelton who has caught three touchdown passes (6 rec., 127 yds).
On defense, the Crusaders are led by senior linebacker TJ Langermeier, who has 21 tackles while freshman lineman Jared Johns has 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss and freshman defensive back Joe Rodriguez is second in tackles with 19 with an interception.
KEVIN BURKE AKA "PAUL BUNYAN" PLAYING BIG
Nicknamed "Paul Bunyan" by ESPN's QB guru George Whitfield -- Mount Union senior quarterback Kevin Burke (Westlake/Lakewood St. Edward) matched his career-high with five touchdown passes as he was 14-of-19 for 247 yards passing in the first half in last Saturday's 63-7 win versus Marietta.
Burke, an All-American and reigning Gagliardi Trophy winner, is the nation's highest rated passer in all divisions of college football this season with a passerrating of 232.5. He has completed 73-percent of his passes (54-of-74) for 930 yards and an OAC-best 12 TD's.
Last week, Burke was selected as one of 167 semifinalists for the 2014 William V. Campbell Trophy®, presented by Fidelity Investments®. There will be 16 award winners hosted at the New York Athletic Club, this December.
Along with his play on the field, he holds a 3.37 grade point average as a Business Management major and has done a variety of community service projects including organizing a Relay for Life fundraiser, promoting literacy with elementary students through the 2nd and 7 Foundation and helped with a Be the Match bone marrow registry drive on campus.
On three different occasions, a Mount Union football player has been chosen as one of 16 award recipients to go to New York City. In 2007, offensive lineman Eric Safran, quarterback Greg Micheli in 2008 and safety Nick Driskill in 2012.
BACKFIELD IN MOTION
Three different Mount Union running backs found the end zone against Marietta. Bradley Mitchell (Detroit, Mich./South Lake) had 10 carries for 89 yards with a touchdown and now has a rushing TD in 10 straight games dating back to last season. Freshman Jamal Johnson (New Philadelphia/New Philadelphia) had eight carries for 81 yards and scored for a second straight game. Last but not least, junior Brandon Williams (Oakland, Calif./Livermore) had a one-yard touchdown run and has also scored in two-straight games.
CATCHING ROMAN
Junior wide receiver Roman Namdar (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) had his second 100-yard receiving game last week with 105 yards on five catches with a career-best three receiving touchdowns against Marietta. Namdar leads the OAC with five touchdown receptions and is averaging 21.4 yards per catch and 114.3 yards per game so far this season.
GOING BACKWARD
Mount Union's defense allowed Marietta just 157 yards of total offense and the Pioneers failed to cross the 50-yard line until late in the fourth quarter. The Raiders are No. 2 in the nation in total defense allowing just 165.3 yards per game.
The defense also forced a pair of fumbles and Tre Jones (Twinsburg/Twinsburg) got his first interception of the season. Hank Spencer (Greencastle, Ind./North Putnam) had a season-best eight tackles and Mount Union also had eight tackles for loss against Marietta.
UP NEXT
Mount Union next play Oct. 11 at Ohio Northern University with a 1:30 pm kickoff in Ada before returning home for homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1:30 pm against Heidelberg.
