Unbeaten Mount one step from Stagg Bowl

Staff report

A trip to the Stagg Bowl for the NCAA Division III national championship is on the line Saturday when Mount Union hosts Wesley.

Kickoff for the national semifinal is noon between the Purple Raiders (13-0), ranked No. 2 by d3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association polls, and No. 7 Wesley (12-1).

Mount Union has won a record 10 national championships and appeared in 14 title games, including the last six, all against Wisconsin-Whitewater.

For the Purple Raiders to make a return trip to Salem, Va., they’ll need to defeat a Wesley team that has won 11 consecutive games since a 31-28 loss at Kean (N.J.).

Mount Union completed its sixth straight undefeated regular season to win its 23rd overall and 20th straight Ohio Athletic Conference title, and has dispatched Benedictine (Ill.), 47-7, No. 25 Centre (Ky.), 30-10, and No. 9 Wabash (Ind.) 20-8 in the postseason.

The Purple Raiders are in the national semifinals for the 17th consecutive season and are 72-12 all-time in the postseason.

Wesley scored a 35-28 win over Hobart (N.Y.) in the first round, a 49-34 victory against No. 5 Linfield (Ore.) in the second round and a 27-24 win in the quarterfinals at No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas).

The Wolverines are making their eighth playoff appearance and have an 18-7 record in the postseason. Wesley has made the semifinal round five times in the last seven years.

The teams met once previously, a 24-7 victory by Mount Union in the 2009 national semifinals in Alliance.

Wesley’s offense centers on South Region offensive player of the year, quarterback Shane McSweeney, who has completed 65.3 percent of his passes this season for 2,669 yards and 31 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions. McSweeny has also rushed for 712 yards on 158 carries with a team-high 12 TDs.

Junior Askia Jahad has 795 yards and 9 TDss rushing, while senior tight end Sean McAndrew is the top receiver with 35 catches for 407 yards and 10 TDs.

On defense, All-South Region first team senior defensive end Chris Mayes (20.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and three forced fumbles) was lost for the season with an injury in the second round win against Linfield. Senior linebacker Jeff Morgan has a team-best 99 stops with seven sacks while defensive backs senior Dakevis Howard and sophomore Leon Jones each have four interceptions.

The Mount defense is led by junior safety Nick Driskill, who was named D3football.com North Region defensive player of year. He has a team-high 92 tackles. Last week Driskill had a sack, forced fumble, a fumble recovery and blocked a kick.

Junior defensive end Charles Dieuseul, the OAC’s defensive lineman of the year, was named to the All-North Region first team. He is second on the team in tackles (70) and has a team-high 18.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks and three forced fumbles.

Junior running back Jeremy Murray had 152 rushing yards and two TDs against Wabash for his ninth 100-yard rushing performance this season and 16th of his career. In 27 career games, Murray has 3,167 yards, good for fifth on the school’s all-time rushing list.

Junior tackle Antonio Tate and senior center/guard Brett Ekkens both earned All-North Region first team, while senior defensive back Alex Ferrara and junior wide receiver Jasper Collins were both named to the third team.