2010 Mount Union Football Guide - University of Mount Union

national title teams
2002
The Purple Raiders won a third straight National Title for the second time in school history
while earning a seventh National Championship overall – the most of any collegiate team
playing within a playoff format. Dan Pugh earned Player of the Year honors rushing for 2,303
yards on 384 carries – good for a 6.0 yard per carry average, with 35 rushing scores and
an NCAA All-Divisions single-season record 41 total touchdowns. Including playoffs, Pugh
totaled 4,514 yards rushing during his Raider career. Quarterback Rob Adamson finished his
Raider career with a perfect 25-0 mark as he completed 139 of 231 passes (.602) for 2,424
yards, with 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Wide receiver Randell Knapp hauled in 56
passes for 1,016 yards and 11 scores while tight end Josh Liddell added 40 receptions for
564 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receiver Derrick Leach had 26 receptions, averaged
24.2 yards per grab and had eight scores.
Defensively, end Matt Campbell had 101 hits, 25 tackles for loss and 13 sacks, outside
linebacker Stan Watson finished with 89 hits, end Chris Carter had 77 hits, 16 tackles for
loss and nine sacks, cornerback Chris Kern finished with 53 hits, four interceptions and 10
passes broken up, and safety Matt Sotcan had 31 hits and 17 passes broken up.
Mount union finished the 2005 season ranked second in total offense (520.0 ypg), sixth in scoring (41.3
ypg), 19th in rushing (238.2 ypg) and 20th in passing (281.8 ypg).
the Purple Raiders featured the ground game in 2002, totaling 3,653 yards and 49 rushing scores.
Mount union’s defense was outstanding against the pass, allowing just 118.4 yards passing per game in 2002.
for more information about mount union’s
national Championship seasons, log on to
http://athletics.mountunion.edu.
the Purple Raider defense posted three shutouts in 2005, had a stretch during the season of not allowing
a touchdown in 19 consecutive quarters of play and held nine of 15 opponents to less than 200 yards of
total offense.
2005
A regular season loss in 2005, the Raiders’ first since 1994, didn’t stop Mount Union (14-1
overall in ‘05) from claiming its eighth Division III National Championship in the last 13 years.
Highlights included the Purple and White becoming the first team in college football history to
produce a pair of 1,000 yard rushers (Aaron Robinson and Nate Kmic), two 1,000 yard receivers
(Scott Casto and Pierre Garcon) and a 3,000 yard passer (Mike Jorris) in the same season. Kmic
set a new Division III playoff record for total rushing yards (1,040 yards), Casto set a single-season
Raider mark for receptions (78) and Jorris posted a Mount Union single-season high-water mark
for yards passing (3,736 yards). As a team, the Purple Raiders set new highs in offensive yards
(7,800), pass completions (294), passing yards (4,227) and first downs (374). In the Raiders’
35-28 National Championship game win over Wisconsin-Whitewater, Jorris set a new Stagg Bowl
mark for completion percentage (.714) while Kmic tied former Raider Chuck Moore’s single-rush
best of 95 yards accomplished in 2001.
Defensively, the Raiders finished the 2005 campaign ranked second in the nation in
points allowed (10.3 ppg) and third in total defense (223.7 ypg). Senior linebacker Mike Gibbons
set a Raider single-season record with 151 tackles, while senior corner Ross Watson
was among the nation’s leaders with nine interceptions.
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