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ALLIANCE — Any doubts over the Mount Union football team’s ability to make it to the finish line have been dismissed.
After a one-year absence and a challenging regular season, the Purple Raiders are back where they always hoped to be.
Mount Union held off Johns Hopkins 45-37 on Saturday to a earn a berth in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the 23rd time. The Purple Raiders will face North Central for the NCAA Division III national title on Jan. 5 in Houston.
This was one of the most difficult roads any Mount Union team has taken to a Stagg Bowl. The Purple Raiders squeezed out some narrow wins to finish the regular season 10-0. Their playoff run has included two tight games and a road trip.
Mount Union’s Brandon Yanssens reacts following the NCAA Division III semifinal win over Johns Hopkins, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
Their 2024 playoff success is a far cry from last year when the Purple Raiders were knocked out in the second round.
“Obviously we were going to be counted out from last season based on the finish, but no one could really see inside the locker room,” running back Tyler Echeverry said. “The guys we had and how tight-knit the group is, that’s just a huge part of it. All these guys love each other and there’s no bad blood in the locker room. It’s just a great team.”
Mount Union’s Tyler Echeverry, center, celebrates after a late-game touchdown in an NCAA Division III semifinal win over Johns Hopkins, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
It took a great team to knock off a great team like Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays went toe to toe with the Purple Raiders, answering several Mount Union touchdowns with one of their own.
The Purple Raiders couldn’t deliver the decisive blow until Echeverry converted a fourth-and-1 with an 8-yard run from the Johns Hopkins 41 with two minutes left. It wrapped up a high-scoring game on a day when…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/stagg-bowl-bound-mount-union-111055501.html
Author : The Repository
Publish date : 2024-12-22 11:10:00
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