Raiders already thinking 2007

With a host of players returning from this year the outlook is good.
By GENE MARRANO
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
SALEM, Va. -- He's compiled a stunning 246-20-3 record in 21 seasons at Mount Union College but football coach Larry Kehres was not about to rest on his laurels after the Purple Raiders took home the NCAA Division III championship hardware for the ninth time Saturday night.
Kehres, with a 51-8 playoff record and winning percentage well over .900, was already throwing down the gauntlet to returnees in 2007, reminding them that nothing is set in stone, that everyone must earn their jobs before next season.
"There aren't any guarantees about your position, about winning. That's just the way we do it," Kehres said following the Purple Raiders' 35-16 victory over Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.
Sitting with Kehres at the post-game press conference were several players who had big games Saturday -- and will return for 2007.
Quarterback Greg Micheli, the game's Most Valuable Player and just a sophomore, spelled Mike Jorris all year long and brought a running dimension to the position. Kehres said Micheli's confidence was due in part to having been on a high school state championship basketball team at Upper Sandusky.
"It's a lot easier to play out there when you're surrounded by great players and great coaches. That's what we have at this program," Micheli said.
Quarterback rotation
Kehres singled out both players for the year-long quarterback rotation.
"They both led the Purple Raiders to this championship," said the coach.
Kehres said he had not spoken about some of the injuries Jorris dealt with all year long because "you're not supposed to. But the season's over now." He indicated Jorris was bothered by nerve damage in his throwing arm as the big issue.
Kehres also praised his assistant coaches for their work during practices over the previous week, formulating run schemes that would ultimately unshackle the passing game.
"We heightened the work effort trying to get better," said Kehres. "The result was we played better today and passed better."
Safety Matt Kostelnik (who had a momentum-shifting blocked punt) and first team All-American wide receiver Pierre Garcon aren't done yet either. Kehres called Kostelnik's block, which was picked up and carried into the end zone for a touchdown a "really decisive play in the game [at] a key point in the game."
Kmic just a sophomore
Nor is sophomore tailback Nate Kmic, the main reason Mount Union set an NCAA Division III playoff record with 1478 yards over five games, shattering the old mark of 1411 set by Mary Hardin-Baylor several years ago.
"Coming to Mount Union you expect to win one or two [titles]," said Kmic, "but to be a sophomore and have won two already is a big thing."
This was the last ride for defensive end Justin Stickley (11 sacks in '06), who took a medical redshirt in his freshman season and was able to be a part of two title squads. Stickley was one of the seniors hoisting the Stagg Bowl trophy for a national TV audience and several thousand MUC fans.
"As far as going out on top that's something you dream about as a little kid. That's not something you want to let that slip away. It's a great feeling and it's something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life."
Stickley said playing a more disciplined defense that "didn't allow big seams to open up," for Whitewater was a key to Saturday's win.
A hand injury that helped keep Garcon's production down to one catch in the Purple Raiders' semifinal victory over St. John Fisher might have been somewhat mental.
"It was all in the head -- it wasn't anything serious," he said Saturday. Garcon proved that theory by catching eight passes for 116 yards and two TDs.
Defense comes up big
Kehres said any questions about the defense he may have had early in the season with the graduation of key starters had certainly been answered as 2006 rolled on.
"We had a lot of major rebuilding to do on defense," he said. The Raiders wound up as one of the best in the nation against the run and surrendered less than eight points per game on the season while scoring 44.
He won't be starting spring football in a few months with a bare cupboard either.
"We'll have an excellent group of players returning," Kehres noted, "but they'll learn right away if they want to be first team -- that includes Matt, Pierre, Greg and Nate -- that they better get it in gear and keep it in gear."
Stickley addressed the issue of the Purple Raiders' dynasty: "You want to go out on top. Add that on to the tradition that Mount Union has and the things that people before you have done," he said. "Everyone that graduates before you wants to see you carry on the legacy of the team. Going into your senior year those are the kinds of things you think about."
Mission accomplished.