NCAA DIV. III CHAMP.

Mount Union back on top

— Failure was the inspiration for Mount Union on Friday night.

Kevin Burke led two second-half touchdown drives and the Purple Raiders ended a three-year losing streak in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl with a 28-10 victory over St. Thomas of Minnesota.

Those three consecutive losses, Coach Larry Kehres said, gave him a sense of urgency to win again and keep his seniors from being his first class in 20 years to leave without a title.

“It was a difficult three years to see the seniors experience loss in the final game,” Kehres said. “I felt for them. This group inspired me to do everything I could coaching to make sure we got every chance to win the championship this year.”

The victory gave Kehres his 11th national title in 16 appearances in the Stagg Bowl, all in the past 20 years. He’s 332-24-3 in 27 seasons, and those seniors did a lot of the heavy lifting.

Linerbacker Charles Dieuseul blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown as the Purple Raiders (15-0) took an early 14-0 lead, and wide receiver Chris Denton rebounded from fumbling a punt away with a 17-yard touchdown catch on a fourthdown play.

Burke, the game’s most outstanding player, threw the scoring pass to Denton on fourth down late in the third quarter to give the Purple Raiders a 21-10 lead, then directed a 14-play, 87-yard drive for the clinching score with 4:28 to play.

Burke finished 21 for 28 passing for 222 yards with a touchdown.

The Tommies (14-1), making their first appearance in the championship game and playing in the Eastern time zone for the first time since 1949, managed only 35 yards of offense in the second half against Mount Union’s top-rated defense, and couldn’t stop the Purple Raiders’ top-ranked offense after Paul Graupner’s 38-yard field goal made it a 14-10 game.

Sports, Pages 26 on 12/15/2012

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