Purple Raiders hit 'enough big plays'

Mount Union exploited an aggressive defense and a fumble to pull away.
ALLIANCE -- Carthage College rode an aggressive, blitzing defense and a big-time running back into the Division III playoffs.
In Saturday's loss to Mount Union, both made key mistakes in key situations.
Carthage's defense philosophy is a simple one -- load up anywhere from eight to 10 players at the line of scrimmage and send some or all of them.
That leaves the cornerbacks in single coverage on just about every play. Twice in the fourth quarter, the Purple Raiders exploited that coverage for long touchdown passes.
"Definitely that is one of the best defenses we've faced," said Mount Union coach Larry Kehres. "By their nature they are the most aggressive defense we've played.
"The key was to make big plays, because it's hard to maintain consistency. It's hard to chunk it out against an eight-man pressure front.
"Looking at the statistics, we had enough big plays -- 18 yards, 12 yards, 21 yards, 53 yards," said Kehres.
The biggest play was a 53-yard pass from Zac Bruney to Drew Hanley with 10:25 remaining in the game. It gave the Purple Raiders a 31-20 lead.
"That was a back-breaker," said Carthage coach Tim Rucks.
The score was tied at 17 midway through the third quarter when the key turnover occurred.
Carthage running back Dante Washington, who finished with 155 yards on 37 carries, was hit by Mount Union linebacker Shaun Spisak at the Redmen 25. It was recovered by Marcello DeAngelis and set up the Purple Raiders' go-ahead touchdown.
First of the season
It was the first lost fumble this season for Washington, who set a Division III record with 463 rushing attempts in 13 games. Including receptions, he had 489 touches this season alone.
"That was the fastest defense we faced this season," said Washington, of Mount Union. "They really fly around to the ball."
Kehres said the goal for the Purple Raiders was to not allow big plays.
"Washington had a good, solid game, but so did we [defensively], I thought," he said. "He averaged about 4 yards per carry, and it's hard enough holding him to that.
"What I didn't want to see was 60- or 80-yard runs."
Rucks guided Carthage to a huge turnaround from last season, when the Redmen finished with a 3-7 record.
They finished 11-2 and had the biggest improvement in the 59-year history of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. Last year, Carthage was 1-6 in conference play.