STAGG BOWL Raider nation united again

Mount Union College plays Trinity today for the Div. III national championship.
SALEM, Va. (AP) -- The numbers scream dynasty for Mount Union.
The Purple Raiders (13-0) head into today's Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl with one loss in their last 96 games, six NCAA Division III football national championships in the last nine years and an NCAA-best 41-game winning streak dating to the 1999 playoffs.
The challenge facing Trinity (14-0) got much bigger on Wednesday when the San Antonio school suspended quarterback Roy Hampton, the triggerman for the most potent offense in Division III, after his public intoxication arrest a few days earlier.
Passed for over 4,000 yards
Hampton threw for nearly 4,100 yards and 43 touchdowns in 14 games, but will turn the job over to Dan Desplaines for the biggest game in school history. Desplaines, a junior, completed 23 of 34 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns this year.
Making matters even more daunting for Desplaines and the Tigers, they'll be going against a defense that allowed just 240 yards and 13.3 points per game this year.
But Trinity coach Steve Mohr said his team, especially the senior class, is eager to take the field and challenge the best in "a culmination of four years of hard work."
No team from Texas has ever played in the Stagg Bowl.
"Our players understand that this opportunity does not come around often," said Mohr, who has a 102-43 record in 13 seasons. The Tigers have won 10 consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Association titles and made the playoffs six years in a row.
On the other side, Mount Union coach Larry Kehres knows winning is never easy, and his team has three-point victories in each of the last two Stagg Bowls as proof.
"Obviously we'll have our hands full," Kehres said Friday. "Offensively they are explosive ... and defensively they are very aggressive and fly to the ball well. They force you into mistakes and have the athletes to take advantage of those mistakes."
Pugh leads Raiders
Mount Union is led by running back Dan Pugh, who needs three touchdowns to break the all-divisions single-season record of 39 set by Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State in 1988. Pugh has run for 2,050 yards and 31 touchdowns, caught 31 passes for 378 yards and five touchdowns and also returned a kickoff 91 yards for a score.
Pugh won the Gagliardi Trophy as the top player in Division III this season, but the players know awards won't mean a thing when the championship game kicks off.
"They know the challenge that is in front of them," said Kehres, in his 17th season as coach. "Hopefully the focus and attention to detail will be there. At this point in the year, you can't afford to make many mistakes because of the quality of the opponent."
Pugh isn't the Purple Raiders' only offensive force.
Quarterback Rod Adamson has completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,202 yards and 27 touchdowns in just 10 games. And five receivers have caught at least four TD passes, led by 6-foot-4 tight end Randell Knapp with 10 scores among 52 catches.
Pressure on running game
The absence of Hampton, who had thrown for 11 touchdowns and run for three more in the first four rounds of the playoffs, will put more pressure on running back Jeremy Boyce to spearhead the Tigers' attack. Boyce has run for 1,407 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, helping Trinity lead the nation with 540 total yards per game.
Wide receivers Jason Hunt (93 catches, 1,313 yards, eight TDs) and Jerheme Urban (72 catches, 1,255 yards, 17 TDs) also will give Desplaines reliable targets to throw to, and Jacob Respondek (32 catches, 705 yards, 10 TDs) is another strong option.
The odds, however, still heavily favor the Purple Raiders.
Mount Union's dominance also includes 84 consecutive victories in the regular season and 57 consecutive victories on the road. The Purple Raiders' overall record of 161-7-1 since the start of the 1990 season is easily the best in all of college football.
Kickoff for the 30th Stagg Bowl is set for noon at Salem Stadium.