MOUNT UNION Coach low key about success

The Purple Raiders have a rematch Saturday against John Carroll.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mount Union football coach Larry Kehres has become a master of downplaying the dominating performances of his Purple Raiders.
So it's no surprise that he's not getting too revved up about Saturday's Division III national semifinal matchup with Ohio Athletic Conference rival John Carroll.
"The commissioner of the conference would think 'Wow, we've got two teams in the Final Four,' " Kehres said. "Unfortunately, most of the teams have shifted their gears to basketball, final exams and Christmas."
Too bad.
This could be the best college football game in Ohio this season that doesn't involve Ohio State.
"This is beautiful, there's no better way to complete the season than to play John Carroll," said Mount Union star tailback Dan Pugh.
Ohio supremacy
The winner claims small-college football supremacy in Ohio and will play for the Div. III championship in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Dec. 21 in Salem, Va.
The Purple Raiders (12-0) come in riding a 40-game winning streak -- the nation's longest -- and need just two victories to claim a third straight national title and seventh in 10 seasons.
Mount Union also has won 94 of its last 95 games, with the one loss coming at home against Rowan, 24-17, in the 1999 semifinals.
With the Purple Raiders preparing this week for a home game in the same round of the playoffs, Pugh said the players are well aware of what happened at Mount Union Stadium three years ago.
"You have to respect your opponent. You can't go out there and be overconfident, no matter who it is," said Pugh, who set OAC records with 1,467 yards rushing and 26 touchdowns during the regular season.
"They're going to try to throw anything they can at us. Anybody can be beaten. It's just a matter of time."
Relaxation is rare
Even though the Purple Raiders usually go years between losses -- the Rowan loss ended an NCAA-record 54-game winning streak -- Kehres never relaxes.
"I try to approach every game that this game can be the one lost based on the quality in the preparation of our team," he said. "If you're here, there's very little talk about the playoffs and winning streaks."
John Carroll does present some problems for Mount Union.
Quarterback Tom Arth does a good job spreading the ball around -- he has completed at least 20 passes to five receivers -- and Ryan DeGeorge ran for more than 1,000 yards for an offense that averages 35 points a game.
Three road playoff victories have put the Blue Streaks (12-1) in their first national semifinal.
Coach Regis Scafe is happy to be playing Mount Union, which has beaten John Carroll 12 straight times since a 20-20 tie in 1991.
"We always had a feeling that if we got through our bracket we would meet up with Mount Union," he said.
In each of the last 11 seasons, Mount Union has beaten John Carroll on its way to the OAC title. The other victory was a 59-7 blowout over the Blue Streaks in the quarterfinals of the 1997 playoffs.
Some of the other games have been close. Mount Union needed three overtimes to beat John Carroll 57-51 in 1999 and a touchdown with 26 seconds to play to win 33-30 last season.
"They think they can play with us. If we don't bring our A game, that may be the case," Pugh said.