ALLIANCE Mt. Union opens bid for Div. III title

The Purple Raiders earned their 13th consecutive OAC championship.
ALLIANCE -- Coming off a first round bye, Mount Union College (10-0) will play host to Wheaton (Ill.) in Division III second-round playoff game Saturday.
Kickoff at Mount Union Stadium is noon.
The Thunder (10-1), who finished tied for the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season title, advanced with a 31-7 win over Mount St. Joseph's last week.
Wheaton quarterback Jeremy Chupp completed 16-of-28 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Garrett Granberg rushed for 73 yards, setting a school season rushing record of 1,298 yards, while wide receiver Brad Musso had seven catched and one touchdown. Defensive back Travis Todd had an interception.
Wheaton is making its third straight playoff appearance and fourth overall. The Thunder are 4-3 all-time in the postseason.
Season leaders
This season, Chupp is 214-of-339 for 2,761 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Musso has 90 catches for 1,195 yards and nine scores, and Colin Sinclair has 79 receptions for 1,039 yards and 13 TDs.
Granberg has 13 rushing scores.
The Thunder are led on defense by linebackers Phil Montes and Jared Heckendorn, end Jason Isaacson and Todd.
The Purple Raiders earned their 13th consecutive Ohio Athletic Conference championship and 16th overall and finished their 10th straight undefeated season. Mount Union has won 104 consecutive regular season contests and is 119-2 in its last 121 games.
Offensively, the Raiders are led by quarterback Zac Bruney (142-of-219, 2,151 yards, 26 TDs), and running backs Jeff Strauch (122 carries, 750 yards, 7 TDs) and Rick Ciconne (147-693-8).
Wide receiver Jason Cavell has 27 catches for 609 yards and seven scores, and tight end Drew Hanley has 25 receptions for 372 yards and three TDs.
Linebackers Shaun Spisak and Mike Gibbons have 79 and 64 tackles, respectively, and safety Jesse Clum has four interceptions.
Nation's best
The Raiders are ranked No. 1 in Div. III in rushing defense (44.8 yards per game). They are No. 2 in the NCAA in scoring defense (7.8 points per game).
Mount Union has defeated Wheaton three previous times in the playoffs. The Raiders defeated the Thunder 56-10 in last season's quarterfinals. In 2002, Mount Union earned a 42-21 victory in the second round and in 1995, the Raiders won 40-14 in quarterfinals.