NCAA DIV. III FOOTBALL Mount makes most of Moore's yards

The Purple Raiders (12-0) ripped Wittenberg, 49-21.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
ALLIANCE -- Chuck Moore's dream statistic helped put the Mount Union College football team in the Division III national semifinals.
The senior running back from Mogadore tore through the Wittenberg defense for 346 yards and four touchdowns as the Purple Raiders won 49-21 Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.
"I was dumbfounded because I couldn't believe it," Moore said. "That's like a dream stat. I've never seen anything close to that."
Moore's single-game yardage total, which netted him a career-high 1,843 for the season, was the highest in Mount Union history. He knew early it was going to be his day.
"When I take the field, I can always tell if it's going to be a good day by the way my legs are feeling," he said. "[Quarterback] Rob [Adamson] came up to me and was like, 'Man, I can just tell you're going to have a good day.' "
The Purple Raiders (12-0) set the tone on their first possession. Moore carried for 45 yards on the nine-play, 68-yard drive that ended in junior Dan Pugh's 1-yard touchdown run.
"We broke some good runs," Moore said. "It seemed like they couldn't stop us. They didn't know what to cover."
That was just the beginning. Moore scored on touchdown runs of 15, 15, 28 and 62 yards, respectively, in leading the Purple Raiders into next Saturday's national semifinal at Mount Union Stadium against St. John's (Minn.), which defeated Pacific Lutheran 31-6.
Compliment: "He's as good of a back as I've seen in Division III," Wittenberg coach Joe Fincham said of Moore, who's a candidate for two player of the year awards. "He has speed, vision and a great feel for the game."
Moore had 166 yards at halftime, reached his career high (215 yards) early in the third quarter and broke the 62-yarder with 13 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the game that put him at 339.
"The line did a great job opening the holes, but the wide receivers get overlooked," Moore said. "They had some great blocks on the corners and safeties."
Moore, sporting a green Mogadore T-short underneath his uniform, said he wasn't really aware of how many yards he was accumulating until a teammate mentioned late in the game that he had eclipsed the 300-yard mark.
"He's a running back that had this kind of game in him," Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. "Today, he got the carries [32] and blocking that he needed and produced an awful lot of yards."
Mount Union dominated the game, out-gaining Wittenberg in total yards 583-304, with 449 coming on the ground.
"Our running of the football today was tremendous," Kehres said. "That's the best we rushed the ball in a couple years."
The only threat Wittenberg (11-2) presented came with 13:16 remaining in the first half. That's when junior Daniel Grove broke free for a 64-yard touchdown run that cut Mount Union's lead to 14-7.
"That gives you some confidence, but when you're not playing well [overall], it's not going to carry you through a game like this," said Grove, who ran for 160 yards.
After Grove's score, the Purple Raiders came right back on their next possession and scored on Pugh's 3-yard run. Pugh finished with 73 yards rushing and the team's other three touchdowns.
"At times throughout the season, we haven't tackled very well," Fincham said, "and we didn't tackle very well today."
Moore, who averaged 10.8 yards per carry, had something to do with that.
"I had two small offers from Akron and Kent, but I wasn't sure if that's what I wanted," Moore said. "I came here and I loved it, and I wouldn't change my mind for anything."
richesson@vindy.com