No stopping Mount Union?

It certainly doesn’t seem so. The Purple Raiders steamrolled Bethel (Minn.) 62-14 to advance to the Stagg Bowl, as they continue their march toward a third straight title.

After giving up 18 points to Ithaca in the opening round (a 42-18 victory), Mount Union only gave up 31 points in their next three games, outscoring opponents 173-31 in that span. Senior cornerback Scott Lieber, one of Ithaca’s most seasoned secondary members, told me that Ithaca “gave them the best game of the season.” And he’s absolutely correct. The 18 points given up by the Purple Raiders was the highest total of the season, while their 42 points scored was their third lowest output of the year.

But for the third consecutive season Mount Union advances to the National Championship game to face Wisconsin-Whitewater, 16-7 winners over Mary Hardin-Baylor in the semifinals. The game begins at 4 p.m. Saturday and will be televised on ESPN.? The guess here is that Mount Union makes it three in a row, but stranger things have happened.

Roundup: Basketball season in full swing

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. The annual stuff-your-face-with-food holiday was again good to Hat Trick, full of lots of turkey, but sadly no mashed potatoes (a crime, in my opinion).

It’s been a solid two weeks since my last post (my bad…), so there’s a lot to catch up on. First let’s take a look at the football playoff picture. Read more

Football bracket set

Ithaca is in, Alfred is out. If you’ve read any of my football posts over the past month or so, you know that I had the Saxons pegged as my dark horse National Championship contender. Oops. Three straight losses to finish the season will usually be enough to keep you out of the playoffs.

Surprisingly enough, the committee selected three teams from the Empire 8, something I thought was a virtually impossibility. But Hartwick got in by virtue of the automatic bid for winning the Empire 8. St. John Fisher got in based on their impressive season (9-1 overall) and Ithaca got in based on their spectacular six-game winning streak that helped them finish 8-2 overall.

Hartwick faces undefeated Curry, Fisher hosts 8-2 Hobart and the Bombers get the unenviable task of traveling to Ohio to face two-time defending champion Mount Union. Elsewhere in the playoff field, there weren’t too many surprises. The top four seeds in the four brackets are Mount Union, Central, Washington and Jefferson, and UW-Whitewater.

After I take some time to look over the bracket, I’ll make some predictions and post them here. Feel free to leave comments on who is your early favorite.

Catching up on a few weeks of football

Ah yes, Hat Trick returns after a two-week hiatus (I’ve probably been having too many of these in the past few months). But, in my defense, it was mid term week, followed by fall break, so please excuse my recent absence. And though Hat Trick wasn’t blogging much, that doesn’t mean the D-III football slowed down one bit. Let’s take a look at how the season is shaking out, and what lies ahead for the playoffs.

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Monday Morning Quarterback

Another weekend, another slew of crazy outcomes. The biggest news this past Saturday was the completely unexpected upset of Hartwick over 10th-ranked St. John Fisher. In case you’re counting, that makes the Hawks 3-1 overall, and 2-0 in the Empire 8. Earlier this season Hartwick upset Ithaca, earning what was then the biggest win in school history. Cross that one out now, and replace it with the Fisher win.

Junior quarterback Jason Boltus played an absolutely flawless game, going 22-of-33 for 336 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and 29 yards and one touchdown on the ground. As of right now, Alfred and Hartwick are tied for first place in the Empire 8 standings. Who saw that coming?

Other musings from around the world of D-III football this weekend:

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Monday Morning Quarterback

So it rained this weekend - a lot. There was even an hour-long rain delay in the Ithaca-King’s football game. OK, so the game was technically delayed because of nearby lightning, but seriously, the weather was crazy.

But being stuck inside isn’t always a bad thing. Case in point: Saturday and Sunday were a sports fan’s dream. College football all day on Saturday and the return of NFL Sundays. I spent the majority of my Saturday watching the Ithaca-King’s game on TV, safely away from the rain.

Some thoughts from that game: Knowing that St. John Fisher pounded King’s 49-7 in the opening week, Ithaca should have beat the Monarchs by a lot more than 13 points. I know, I know - a win is a win is a win. But this doesn’t bode well for the Bombers. They welcome Fisher to Butterfield Stadium in two weeks, and if they hope to pull off the upset win, they’d better start taking care of business. They’ll get a good test this coming Saturday in Hartwick, which sports one of the nation’s top offenses, not to mention arguably the top all around player in the country in Lindy Crea.

Click to read my other thoughts and musings from the wild weekend that was: Read more

Make it another one for Mount Union

Eight out of 11 is good. In sports, it?s really good.

Eight out of 11 games won? An 8?3 record in any sport is usually a lock for first place.

OK, so how about eight out of the last 11 national championships? Well that?s just absurd. Ridiculous. Preposterous.

Or is it? In case you missed it ? and you probably did ? little Mount Union College, located in Alliance, Ohio, won its eighth Division-III national championship (gloriously known as the Stagg Bowl, in honor of football pioneer Amos Alonzo Stagg) in the past 11 years, and ninth overall on Dec. 16.

Just let that simmer for a bit. Eight out of 11. And yes, I double-check my facts. Eight out of 11. And what about those other three ?losing? seasons? Oh, just two losses in the semifinals in 1999 and 2004 by a combined 10 points, and one loss in the Stagg Bowl in 2003.

Amazing isn?t it? That a tiny private school in middle-America, U.S.A that enrolls about 2,300 undergraduates can lay claim as the most dominant football factory in the country. Honestly, this team makes the squad from the Briscoe High Nike commercials look like a bunch of JV middle schoolers.

Most of the team?s success can be attributed to its fearless leader, coach Larry Kehres. In 21 seasons patrolling the Mount Union sidelines, Kehres has amassed a record of 246?20?3. That translates into a 92% winning percentage, tops among any college coach, in any division, ever. Period.

So why doesn?t this powerhouse get more attention nationally? Well, it could be that they play in shadow of Columbus? Division-I beast, The Ohio State University. Granted, Ohio State football is in itself a sports Mecca, it?s about time that Mount Union got some coverage outside of d3football.com.

Hey, if I were a betting man, I?d put my money on title number ten this time next year.