Mount Union rolls

Dan Pugh led the Purple Raiders into their third straight Division III title game.
By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
ALLIANCE -- Senior running back Dan Pugh turned in one of those football games he'll remember for a lifetime.
He rushed for a career-high 254 yards and tied a NCAA Division III playoff record by scoring five touchdowns, as Mount Union College trounced John Carroll University 57-19 in a semifinal game Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.
Mount Union (13-0) advanced to the national championship game for the seventh time in 10 years, where it will play Trinity (Texas), which defeated St. John's (Minn.) 41-34 in the other semifinal. The Purple Raiders will be going after their third straight national title.
Another record crowd
A stadium record crowd of 8,387 fans watched Mount Union all but put the game out of reach by building a 28-7 margin at the intermission. The old mark of 8,072 was set when the same schools met earlier in the season.
Two breaks at the start of the contest got the Purple Raiders' potent offense under way.
An interference call was charged on the Blue Streaks following a punt, giving Mount Union a first down at the John Carroll 41-yard line.
Wide receiver Derrick Leach caught a 37-yard pass from quarterback Rob Adamson, who was 12-of-17 for 225 yards and two touchdowns, for a first down at the 4. Pugh burst over from there.
Three plays following the kickoff, Matt Caponi of Mount Union intercepted Tom Arth's pass at the Purple Raiders' 25.
It took Mount Union just six plays to get on the scoreboard again, as wide receiver Nick Sirianni caught a 21-yard strike from Adamson.
Goes over 2,000 yard mark
Pugh carried 27 times in the first half for 125 yards and two TDs. In the second, he became the second player in school history to eclipse 2,000 yards rushing in a season. Chuck Moore holds the mark of 2,349. Pugh finished the game with 2,050 for the season. Asked if he was tired after having so many carries, Pugh said, "No. The more carries, the better."
About tying the touchdown record, Pugh said, "I didn't pay any attention to that. I just went out and ran our game plan and it came about."
Mount Union, which beat John Carroll (12-2), 35-16 on Oct. 19 in an Ohio Athletic Conference game, dominated the playoff encounter with 516 total yards of offense compared to 278 for the Blue Streaks.
"We knew coming in that John Carroll had a great quarterback [Tom Arth], so we got good pressure on him most of the game and he had to scramble for everything that he got," said Mount Union coach Larry Kehres.
Streaks praise Raiders
Arth completed 21-of-35 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns. He said, "Their [defensive] line is good and they have great cover guys. They just play great defense."
The Blue Streaks' Ryan DeGeorge rushed 17 times for 35 yards. He said, "We tried to run the ball, but everywhere I tried to go, they were there and stopped whatever we tried."
John Carroll had only 32 yards on 27 rushes. Coach Regis Scafe said, "They controlled the line of scrimmage today, both offense and defense. They just did a tremendous job.
"Some teams have great offense, defense and special teams and Mount is solid with a lot of talent."
The Purple Raiders kept college football longest winning streak going at 41 games and they have now won 95 of their last 96 games.