Another Purple Raider rout: Mt. Union drops W-LaCrosse

The Raiders scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to pull away, 39-14.
By MARK W. MILLER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
ALLIANCE -- Junior running back Jeff Strauch, playing for the first time in five weeks, scored three touchdowns as the Mount Union College football team turned back Wisconsin LaCrosse 39-14 Saturday in a NCAA Division III north region semifinal game at Mount Union Stadium.
The Eagles (10-2) surprised the Purple Raiders (11-0) by scoring the first touchdown of game and then tallied the first TD to start the third quarter to get within 20-14.
But it was the defense and special teams that helped produce 28 points for Mount Union as its offense wasn't quite as sharp as in its previous 10 victories.
Leading 14-7, the Purple Raiders' sophomore Ken Whitfield blocked a LaCrosse punt with 34 seconds remaining in the first half.
Strauch, recovered from an injury, replaced teammate, junior running back Rick Ciccone, who was hurt in the second quarter and didn't return.
Junior quarterback Jeff Bruney threw a 7-yard TD pass to Strauch giving the Purple Raiders a 20-7 lead at intermission.
"I was pleasantly surprised today at Strauch's performance," Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. "He was out five weeks, came in in a tough situation, did what he had to do and played well."
Big plays
With the score tied 7-7, senior outside linebacker Anthony Frate returned an intercepted pass 48 yards for a TD to put Mount Union ahead 14-7.
Frate, who also had a key sack, also forced a fumble that Mount recovered that resulted in a TD. He also had four solo tackles and assisted on five others.
"It was my turn to make some big plays today and that helped turn the momentum in our favor," Frate said.
Senior tailback Andrew Mocadlo gained 175 yards on 32 rushes and scored twice for the Eagles. It was the most yards rushed by a running back against Mount Union this season.
"Give Mount Union credit, they are a great team," Mocadlo said. "We thought we gave the nation's best team a good game and that should help our program."
Pulling away
His second TD got the Eagles within six points, but Stauch, who gained a career-high 92 yards on 19 carries, scored on runs of 2 and 1 yards to put the game out of reach 32-14.
With 6:06 remaining, Mount Union stopped a LaCrosse drive on the Purple Raiders' 22-yard line. Strauch carried eight straight times to the LaCrosse 6-yard line. Fullback Brian Miller picked up two yards, then scored on a 4-yard run for the Purples Raiders to end the scoring.
"You can't have costly penalties, an interception, two blocked punts and a fumble against an opportunistic team like Mount Union," Coach Larry Terry of LaCrosse said. "Those mistakes accounted for 28 of Mount Union's points. We had too many turnovers and they capitalized on them and their special teams did a great job."
Mount Union outside linebacker sophomore Ross Watson, an Austintown Fitch graduate, had three solo tackles and assisted on three others. He also batted away a pass. Junior Josh Ludwig of East Liverpool assisted on five tackles.
The Purple Raiders continued their winning streak, which reached 53 -- one away from their record 54.
Mount Union had 405 total yards of offense and LaCrosse had 297.
miller@vindy.com