MOUNT UNION Purple Raiders looking to put loss behind them

St. John's ended Mount's 55-game win streak in last year's championship game.
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Despite rolling to an incredible 55 straight wins, the most memorable game of their college career for several Mount Union College football players is the loss that broke that streak.
That came in a 24-6 jaw dropper at the hands of St. John's University in last year's Division III National Championship game.
For several seniors, it was their first intercollegiate loss, it came in their final game as a college player and it snapped the Purple Knights' streak of four consecutive national titles.
"We forgot how it was to lose," said Josh Ludwig, a defensive lineman back this season for his senior year.
"I don't think it even really sunk in until the bus ride home. It was weird. Words can't describe it.
"I felt really bad for the guys who were out of eligibility... A lot of guys make the choice to come to Mount Union so they can win a national championship."
Clearly, the loss hurt.
"For those players, they had been on winning teams for three straight years and hadn't had any losses, so it was difficult if you were a senior on the Mount Union team to lose your last game," admits Mount Union coach Larry Kehres. "But you have to deal with it, and you have to bounce back from it."
Clockwork
The victories had come like clockwork.
Go to practice.
Do your homework.
Arrive for the game.
Win. Repeat.
Sometimes it was more automatic than others, though Kehres tries to keep his players from taking anything for granted.
"The coaches do a good job, whether we're playing a team that's 8-0 or 0-8," quarterback Zac Bruney said. "We approach every team the same."
Still, it was difficult not to be overconfident when a player's last loss came in a high school uniform.
"You kind of knew when a team's been 0-10 for a couple of years that you're going to win," said Ludwig.
All that ended in the 2003 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.
With less than nine minutes left in the game, St. John's DB Mike Zauhar returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, upping the lead to 24-6.
"Even they couldn't pull it off anymore," St. Johns coach John Gagliardi said.
Making another run
This season Mount Union will attempt to start another run and coaches and players vow not to change the approach that led to such a remarkable streak in the first place.
"In terms of young guys doing the work that they need to do, I don't think that really changed anything," Kehres said.
"Whether the team won or lost, that game, I think that once that day's over with ... we had to go home, come back to school in January and begin the process of preparing for the next football season."
The team's first test comes against Washington University of Missouri Saturday on the road. Several key components of last year's squad return for Mount Union, including Bruney, who threw for 28 touchdowns against only eight interceptions in 2003.
Still, players and coaches know the streak was something of a 12th man, inspiring awe in opponents and confidence in the Purple Raiders.
"Now your emotions might be a little different from time to time," Kehres said.