Mt. Union's dominance ended by St. John's, 24-6

The Raiders had their 55-game winning streak snapped by the Johnnies.
By GENE MARRANO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SALEM, Va. -- St. John's (Minn.) brought Mount Union's dominance of NCAA Division III football to a screeching halt Saturday with a convincing 24-6 win in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl national championship game.
Stagg Bowl outstanding player Blake Elliott shook off hamstring problems to rack up 110 yards rushing on just 11 carries and 51 yards receiving on five catches for St. John's (14-0).
"A lot of people outside the program had their doubts about us competing with a team like [Mount Union]," said Elliott, who was recently awarded a trophy named after his legendary head coach, John Gagliardi, as Division III player of the year. "They've been king of the hill for a long time, but we got them this time. That's the beauty of the playoff system."
Kehres lauds Johnnies
Mount Union coach Larry Kehres added, "We got outplayed today and lost to a team that played an exceptionally good game. But I'm very proud of what our seniors have accomplished here at Mount Union."
Those seniors will leave the program after the only blemish on a four-season record of 55-1.
"Nothing we did today diminished what Mount Union has done," Gagliardi said. "That's an unbelievable streak [55 straight wins] that's hard to comprehend. I give credit to these guys for stopping it. Somebody had to do it -- thank God it was us."
Mount Union (13-1) hogged the ball for most of the first quarter (23 plays, 109 yards total offense, 11:56 time of possession versus 7, 19 and 3:04 for St. John's) but did not score in the opening period for the first time all year.
The Purple Raiders took care of that on the first play of the second quarter when halfback Ricky Ciccone ran 1 yard up the middle for the touchdown to cap a 13-play, 74-yard drive that took 6:23 off the clock. George Wilders' extra point kick was blocked and Mount Union settled for a 6-0 lead.
Set season point record
The touchdown allowed Mount Union to break its own NCAA record for total points in a season (with 660), topping a mark set last year.
An anemic ground attack that netted just 16 yards for St. John's in the first quarter turned around in the second as the Johnnies rushed for 76 yards.
A fourth-and-1 sneak by quarterback Ryan Keating (who was also 10-for-16 passing, netting 91 yards on a blustery day) kept a drive alive with time running down. A 10-yard run by Josh Nelson put the ball at the Mount Union 14-yard line.
Raiders trailed at halftime
Then Jake Theis took a pitch-out and cruised 14 yards into the end zone as time ran out. The extra point gave St. John's a 7-6 halftime lead -- the first time Mount Union had trailed at the half since a September 22, 2001 game against John Carroll.
It was also the first time all year Mount Union didn't end the first half with double-digit scoring totals.
Mount Union had some success running sideline routes underneath the pass coverage (Nick Sirianni caught eight balls for 106 yards), but the Johnnies didn't allow themselves to get beat downfield often.
It didn't get any better for Mount Union in the second half.
The Johnnies stunned the Purple Raiders with a long run from scrimmage and a 100-yard interception return that secured Gagliardi's first NCAA championship since 1976.
The fourth quarter had barely gotten underway when Elliott shed tacklers and hurtled downfield on a 51-yard run that made it 17-6.
"I kind of closed my eyes and spun way," said Elliott. "Next thing I know, I'm 20 yards downfield trying to run on one leg basically."
Mount Union looked like they might respond when quarterback Jesse Burghardt, who sat out part of the second quarter with a toe sprain, drove the Purple Raiders to the Johnnies' 1-yard line.
A pass intended for All-American wide receiver Randall Knapp, who was shut out on the day, instead was intercepted at the goal line by St. John's cornerback Mike Zauhar, who ran it back a Stagg Bowl-record 100 yards for the clinching score.
"It was excellent [pass] coverage," noted Kehres, "as good as we've seen all year."
Burghardt and Zac Bruney again split quarterback duties for Mount Union; both were intercepted twice by St. John's.
"The biggest problem we had on offense today was the great play by [their] defense," said Burghardt (13-for-23, 167 yards). "We came out and moved the ball effectively, but they came up with some good plays and shut our offense down inside the 20."
Johnnies defense difference
Kehres insisted that "the play of their defense was the key to the game today. Not that [St. John's] offense didn't play a fine game, but their defense really had control of us most of the time."
That's one big reason Mount Union's NCAA-record 55-game winning streak is now a thing of the past, with Kehres and company losing for the first time ever in eight Stagg Bowl visits.
"It's difficult to lose, but I would never trade back the last four years I had here with these guys," said Mount Union senior defensive back Mike Miller. "I made lifelong friends and won three national championships. You can't beat that."