Purple Raiders show visitor meaning of Capital offense

By Eric Hamilton

Mount Union (5-0, 4-0) rolled up 614 yards in a 49-7 rout of Capital University.

ALLIANCE — The Mount Union College football team has a history of blowing out inferior opponents, but with games against three ranked teams in the first five weeks, the Purple Raiders were expecting a challenge.

So far, they haven’t gotten one.

Mount Union rolled up 614 total yards against No. 4 ranked Capital on Saturday to turn what was billed as a tough game into a 49-7 rout at Mount Union Stadium.

In games against three NCAA Division III teams in the top 25, the top-ranked Raiders have outscored the opposition 126-17.

“As advertised, they were as good as we thought,” Capital (4-1, 3-1 Ohio Athletic Conference) coach Jim Bickel said. “We had hoped to be competitive today, but we were disappointed in what we could do. A lot of the credit goes to Mount Union though.

“You have to be impressed with their whole offensive package. They were consistent in the first period and we could never find consistency ourselves.”

The Purple Raiders (5-0, 4-0) set the tone early on their second offensive play. Quarterback Greg Micheli hit Cecil Shorts on a bubble screen and the junior receiver took it 69 yards for the touchdown.

“It definitely helps to get a big play early,” said Shorts, who finished with nine catches and a career-high 207 yards and three scores. “I saw A.J. [Claycomb] hold off his guy and I just took off. I heard their head coach yell for holding and that worried me, but I kept going.”

It was the fifth straight 100-yard receiving game for Shorts, who came to Mount Union after playing quarterback in high school. But after backing up Micheli in 2007 and playing second fiddle behind Pierre Garcon as a receiver, Shorts has made the most of his opportunity in 2008.

“It’s hard,” he said. “But I learned a lot from Greg and from Pierre and have just waited my turn. I’ve learned to be more patient and it’s been a good experience. I’m fine with where I am right now.”

Two scoring tosses from Micheli to Shorts and a 7-yard TD run by Nate Kmic put Mount Union ahead 21-0 after the first quarter.

That’s all the Purple Raiders’ defense needed. The unit limited Capital to 199 total yards — after it entered the game average 497 yards per contest.

“I think the key to the game was our defensive pass rush,” Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. “We had constant pressure on their quarterback and he had to scramble a lot and couldn’t set his feet.”

While Shorts piled up 207 yards receiving, Kmic was his usual dependable self on the ground, finishing with 168 yards and three touchdowns.

“It felt like a regular day at the office,” Kmic said. “It just happened that we threw the ball more today. I’m happy with the 49-7 win.”

Micheli completed 22-of-29 pass attempts for 335 yards and three scores. In addition to the deep ball to Shorts, Micheli had success finding Kmic in the flats.

“There are a lot of times that Nate is Greg’s check-down receiver,” said Kehres. “Greg does a nice job of checking down his options. Sometimes today, Nate was the second of third option, and other times we threw it to him on the flare screen and let him run with it.”

Capital never threatened, although it did cut the deficit to 28-7 to start the third quarter. Mount Union responded with three straight scores to seal the victory.