Mount Union’s football team isn’t as automatic as the certainties of death and taxes, but the Purple Raiders are pretty close to a sure thing when it comes to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

Fueled by the legs of tailback Nate Kmic and the arm of quarterback Mike Jorris, the Purple Raiders captured their eighth Division III Football Championship in the last 13 years with a 35-28 victory over Wisconsin-Whitewater in Salem, Virginia, December 17.

Kmic rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns, including a Stagg Bowl record-tying 95-yard score in the third quarter, to help Mount Union take control of the game.

Kmic’s long-distance touchdown came on the heels of the Mount Union defense stopping the Warhawks at the 3-yard line in a goal-line stand.

On second-and-8, Kmic took a handoff and sprinted to the end zone to give the Raiders a 21-7 lead with 8:35 left in the third quarter.

“That was the turning point of the game,” said Wisconsin-Whitewater coach Bob Berezowitz. “It was a big defensive stand for them. And then, they hurt us both ways when Kmic cut back, and we over-pursued on the long touchdown run.”

The 95-yard score tied Mount Union’s Chuck Moore, who covered the same distance during the 2001 Stagg Bowl.

Kmic added touchdowns of two and 15 yards to help put the game out of reach.

“The last few weeks have been amazing,” Kmic said. “It really hasn’t hit me yet. I’m just grateful for the opportunity and thankful that I was behind this offensive line. They really opened up some holes — especially in the second half.”          

Jorris and wide receiver Pierre Garcon hurt Wisconsin-Whitewater through the air in the first half. The duo combined for scoring passes of 63 and 12 yards to help Mount Union take a 14-7 lead at halftime.

Though Garcon, a sophomore, is a newcomer to the Mount Union program, he quickly understood the expectations.

“I learned that this is one big family with all the guys looking out for each other,” said Garcon, who had seven receptions for 107 yards. “The guys are up at three in the morning tutoring other players and studying. I just tried to fit in. It’s been a great year.”

Jorris finished 20-of-28 for 246 yards. His two scoring strikes helped Mount Union overcome an early deficit after Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Justin Beaver scored the first touchdown of the game on a two-yard run.

Beaver ended the game with 125 yards, which raised his Division III record total to 2,420 for the season. He broke the old mark of 2,385 set in 1996 by Dante Brown of Marietta.

Wisconsin-Whitewater defeated the past two Division III champions [Linfield, 2004, and St. John’s (Minnesota), 2003] en route to the championship game. The Warhawks scored 21 points in the fourth quarter, the last of which came on a one-yard run by quarterback Justin Jacobs with two seconds left.

“I’m very proud of our football team,” Berezowitz said. “They never quit, all the way to the end.”

Mount Union saw its 110-game regular-season winning streak end October 22 with a 21-14 loss to Ohio Northern. That defeat motivated the Raiders more than hurting their confidence.

“Our job as coaches is to get everything out of the team,” said Raiders coach Larry Kehres. “We struggled in the middle of the season when (Garcon) was out. We then pulled together and fixed what was wrong after our loss. This team maxed out in terms of potential and played its best game against the best opponent we’ve faced all year.”

 Both teams finished the season 14-1.

Championship game

Mount Union       7      7      14       7 — 35

Wis-Whitewater  7      0        0    21 — 28

First quarter

WW — Justin Beaver 2 run (Mike Chaulk kick), 9:54.

MU — Pierre Garcon 63 pass from Mike Jorris (Mike Zimmerman kick), 6:32.

Second quarter

MU — Pierre Garcon 12 pass from Jorris (Zimmerman kick), 5:03.

Third quarter

MU — Nate Kmic 95 run (Zimmerman kick), 8:35.

MU — Kmic 2 run (Zimmerman kick), 2:08

Fourth quarter

WW — Jim Leszczynski 23 pass from Justin Jacobs (Chaulk kick), 12:22.

WW — Pete Schmitt 15 pass from Jacobs (Chaulk kick), 8:37.

MU — Kmic 15 run (Zimmerman kick), 2:50.

WW — Jacobs 1 run (Chaulk kick),  :02.

Announced attendance: 4,619.

        Mount Union       Wis.-Whitewater

First downs 19     31

Rushes-yards      35-193       39-128

Passing      246   310

Comp.-Att.-Int.   20-28-1     22-47-1

Return Yards      89     135

Punts-Avg. 5-32.2       4-33.2

Fumbles-Lost      0-0    0-0   

Penalties-Yards   12-77        4-50

Time of Possession      29:21        30:39

Rushing: Mount Union — Nate Kmic 28-185, Pierre Garcon 1-9, Mike Jorris 4-6, Team 1-minus 2, Scott Castro 1-minus 5; Wis.-Whitewater — Justin Beaver 30-125, Neil Mrkvicka 1-3, Jim Leszczynski 1-3, Justin Jacobs 7-minus 3.

Passing: Mount Union — Mike Jorris 20-28-1-246; Wis.-Whitewater — Justin Jacobs 22-47-1-310.

Receiving: Mount Union — Pierre Garcon 7-107, Nate Kmic 7-61, Scott Campbell 3-40, Brandon Boehm 2-29, Scott Castro 1-9; Wis.-Whitewater — Derek Stanley 7-99, Jim Leszczynski 5-93, Pete Schmitt 4-65, Travis Reuland 3-36, Lance Douglas 2-5, Neil Mrkvicka 1-12.