Purple Raiders' nation-leading passing game to be challenged by Wartburg defense
The game: Division III national semifinal between Mount Union and Wartburg (Iowa), scheduled for noon Saturday at Kehres Stadium.
TV/Radio: ESPN+ / WRUM-FM (91.1) and WDPN-AM (1310).
Records: Both teams are 13-0. Mount Union defeated Delaware Valley 22-6 last week. Wartburg defeated Aurora (Ill.) 45-17.
The rankings: Mount Union is No. 2 in both the AFCA and D3football.com polls, while Wartburg was ranked 12th in both.
Coaches: Geoff Dartt is 30-1 in his third season at Mount Union. Chris Winter is 20-3 in his second season at Wartburg.
Road to the semifinals: Mount Union has defeated No. 24 Salisbury (Md.) 51-0, unranked Utica (N.Y.) 45-7 and No. 8 Delaware Valley. Wartburg has defeated No. 7 Wisconsin-LaCrosse 14-6, No. 6 St. John’s (Minn.) 23-20 and unranked Aurora
The history: This is the first meeting between the teams.
About Wartburg: Located in Waverly, Iowa, with an enrollment of approximately 1,500, the Knights are the American River Conference champions for the 18th time and in the semifinals for the first time. They have set school records with 13 wins, a nation-leading 28 interceptions and 41 rushing touchdowns. The victories over St. John’s and Aurora (which had beaten Wisconsin-Whitewater and previously unbeaten Alma), were impressive and paved the way for the Knights to become the first ARC team to reach the semifinals since Coe College in 1990. Quarterback Nile McLaughlin seemingly has recovered from a foot injury suffered two weeks ago and has completed 233-of-379 passes for 2,712 yards and 24 touchdowns against nine interceptions. It was not determined if he would face Aurora until an hour before game time. Running back Hunter Clasen is the ARC Offensive MVP and was the nation’s sixth-leading ball carrier with 1,516 yards and 20 touchdowns on 236 carries. McLaughlin’s favorite targets are George Drake (57 receptions, 613 yards, 3 touchdowns), Henry Carter (35/478/4) and Thomas Butters (30/388/5). The defense, led by Jordan Downing (19 tackles for loss/13.5 sacks), Owen Grover (96 tackles/10 TFL/5 interceptions) and sophomore Parker Rochford (61 tackles, 7 interceptions), held Aurora to one touchdown over the final three quarters last week. The Knights have eight takeaways over the last two games and have held opponents to 7.25 points per game while scoring 41.
About Mount Union: The Raiders have a chance to advance to the national championship game for the 22th time since 1993. Will that be incentive enough? While they have posted more blowouts (nine) than close calls (six points or fewer) they have shown they can win when pressured, although the BW miracle win is debatable. Braxton Plunk has attempted more passes (421) and completed more (312) than any quarterback in the country and makes few errors. He leads the nation in passing yards with 3,921 and is second in touchdown passes with 46. Wayne Ruby Jr. leads the nation with 27 touchdown receptions and yards at 1,573. He is not the lone target though, as seven others have caught at least 11 passes. Defensively, the Raiders have been stoic. Linebackers Rossy Moore and Mason McMillen have led the way. McMillen has 19 tackles for loss and five sacks and Moore, the OAC’s Linebacker of the Year, has 17.5 TFL and 10.5 sacks. End Von Factor is second on the team with six sacks. The Raiders received a boost last week when linebacker Kaleb Detellem, end Nick Brown and receiver Johnny Papesh returned from injury.
What to watch: These teams are four quarters away from reaching the national championship game so look for both to use all the weapons necessary to make that happen. For the Raiders that means giving Plunk enough time to get the ball to Ruby Jr., Jaden Manley and any of his other receivers, including DeAndre Parker and Tyler Echeverry out of the backfield. Both teams rank high nationally in statistics. Mount is third in scoring offense at 48 ppg and second in defense, allowing 7.08 ppg. Wartburg is 15th in scoring at 41 ppg and tied for fourth in scoring defense at 8 ppg. Don’t think for one minute that Mount is not aware that Wartburg leads the nation with 28 interceptions. That might mean Parker will get a maximum number of carries ― he had a season-high 28 vs. Delaware Valley ― in order to lower the risk of turning the ball over. He has rushed for 100 yards or more in eight of 13 games.
Bracketology: Mount Union fans might have been upset last week when the Raiders traveled to Doylestown, Pa., but there should be no complaining this week. While Mount Union is playing host to Wartburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor and North Central, the last two national champions, meet in the other semifinal. …. North Central has been the unanimous No. 1 for most of the season while MH-B slipped from No. 1 to No. 3 following a four-point loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the second game of the season. … In the only meeting between the two, MH-B defeated North Central, 57-24, in last year’s Stagg Bowl. … Is “strength of schedule” a bogus stat when determining at-large qualifiers and game sites? Consider: Mount Union finished with a SOS of .498. In order in this year’s playoffs it beat Salisbury (.507), at-large qualifier Utica (.519) and Delaware Valley (.519).
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union hosts Wartburg in NCAA Division III football playoff
