Rowan next stop for Mount Union

The Purple Raiders had to come from behind to defeat Capital, 34-31.
BY ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
ALLIANCE -- For the 11th straight year, the Mount Union College football team is headed to the NCAA Division III national semifinals.
And thanks to an old rival, the Purple Raiders won't have to travel far to get there.
Mount Union rallied from a 31-27 fourth-quarter deficit, as quarterback Mike Jorris found Anton Antonucci for a 2-yard touchdown with 3:41 remaining, to lift the Purple Raiders to a 34-31 victory over Ohio Athletic Conference rival Capital on Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.
Semifinal with Rowan
Mount Union's win, coupled with Rowan's 27-21 upset of Delaware Valley in the East Region final, sets up next week's national semifinal contest in Alliance at noon.
It will be the Purple Raiders' 28th consecutive home playoff game (not including their Stagg Bowl appearances), dating to 1996 when they traveled to Wisconsin-Whitewater for a national semifinal.
Mount Union and Rowan will renew their rivalry, having not met since 1999 when Rowan came to Alliance and upended the Purple Raiders in the national semifinals to snap Mount Union's 54-game winning streak. Mount Union owns a 3-1 advantage in the series, including wins in the Stagg Bowl in 1993, 1996 and 1998.
"We expected this to be a close football game," said Mount Union coach Larry Kehres. "I was worried all week about Capital because they've really been on a roll the last few weeks and came in here confident -- especially after playing us tough the first time.
"Our defense played particularly well in the fourth quarter against Capital's great quarterback [Rocky Pentello]. Our defensive line is really the heart of our defense and they put some pressure on him when we needed it."
Lots of yardage
Mount Union and Capital combined for 887 total yards, including 627 through the air. Pentello (312) and Jorris (315) each threw for over 300 yards and combined for seven touchdowns.
The Crusaders led four times in the contest, including a 31-27 advantage with 7:05 remaining in the fourth quarter. That score came on a 22-yard pass from Pentello to Louis Lowes.
Lowes, who did not play in this season's earlier meeting between the teams, had 12 catches for a school-record 245 yards and three scores.
But Mount Union countered Capital's passing assault with a balanced attack. In addition to Jorris' day through the air, freshman Nate Kmic went over the 150-yard mark for the third straight playoff game, going for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Big kickoff return
With Capital ahead 31-27, Mount Union went to work thanks to a key special teams play. Senior Robert McDavid returned the kickoff 45 yards up the right side to the Capital 46.
With a short field, the Purple Raiders marched the distance in eight plays, capped by the go-ahead TD pass from Jorris to Antonucci.
"We needed a big return in that situation and Robert gave us one," explained Kehres. "That was a critical play because it gave us field possession across the 50 and a chance to win the game."
Jorris went over the 3,000-yard mark in passing for the season. He joins Bill Borchert (4,035 in 1996 and 4,335 in 1997) and Jim Ballard (4,572 in 1993) as the only Mount Union quarterbacks to eclipse that mark. Including playoffs, Gary Smeck went over 3,000 yards in 1998 and 2000, but the NCAA did not include playoff stats prior to 2002.
Sophomore wideout Pierre Garcon caught a career- high 11 passes for 181 yards. It was the most receptions by a Mount Union receiver this season.