Mount Union’s Record Streak Ends After OT Loss to Rowan

Rowan ended Mount Union’s NCAA-record 54-game winning streak Saturday, beating the Purple Raiders, 24-17, in overtime in a Division III semifinal game at Alliance, Ohio.

Rowan’s Jason Frabisile scored on a seven-yard run in overtime, and the Profs then stopped Mount Union on four plays. It was the Purple Raiders’ first loss since the 1995 semifinals.

“Rowan made more plays than we did today,” Mount Union Coach Larry Kehres said. “The effort was there. It just came down to the fact that they made enough plays to win.”

Rowan (12-1) finally got the best of Mount Union (12-1), which beat the Profs in the 1993, ’96 and ’98 championship games.

“Mount Union has a great football program. I am humbled to be a part of what happened today,” Rowan Coach K.C. Keeler said.

The New Jersey school advanced to Saturday’s Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va., against Pacific Lutheran of Washington.

Mount Union had won three consecutive national titles and four in the ‘90s. It beat Otterbein, 44-20, on Oct. 16 to surpass the 47-game winning streak set by Oklahoma in 1957.

“You learn a lot more after losing than you do after a win,” Kehres said. “There will be lessons to learn from today that these kids will take with them. I’m extremely proud of their effort.”

Mount Union won the coin toss in overtime, but elected to play defense.

But when the Purple Raiders got the ball they managed just five yards on their first three plays, giving them a fourth and five from the 20.

Instead of going for a short completion, quarterback Gary Smeck looked down the field for Jason Richards, who appeared to have broken loose from Rowan defenders near the goal line.

Richards leaped into the air and caught the ball but couldn’t pull it in. Three Rowan defenders hit Richards before he came down with the catch, knocking the ball loose and ending the game.

Pacific Lutheran 49, Trinity, Texas 28--Anthony Hicks rushed for 92 yards and four touchdowns as Pacific Lutheran (12-1) beat Trinity (12-1) at San Antonio. The senior running back also caught five passes for 83 yards.

DIVISION I-AA

Jeff Ryan threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Damion Matthews with 44 seconds left at Youngstown, Ohio, as Youngstown State advanced to the championship game for the sixth time in the 1990s with a 27-24 victory against Florida A&M.;

Youngstown State (11-2) has won 15 straight NCAA playoff games, breaking the record of 14 it shared with Division III Augustana and Mount Union. The Penguins won I-AA titles in 1991, ‘93, ’94 and ’97.

Georgia Southern 28, Illinois State 17--Adrian Peterson ran for 183 yards and three touchdowns to lead Georgia Southern past Illinois State at Stateboro, Ga.

Peterson, the Walter Payton Award winner as the top player in Division I-AA, has topped 100 yards rushing in 29 straight games. Georgia Southern improved to 12-2, and Illinois State finished 11-3.

DIVISION II

Travis Miles threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to J.R. Hill in the fourth overtime, and Northwest Missouri State’s defense held as the Bearcats won the championship at Florence, Ala., 58-52, over Carson-Newman in the highest-scoring and longest title game in NCAA history.

The 110 points broke the NCAA scoring record set last year in the I-AA title game, when Massachusetts beat Georgia Southern 55-43. Northwest Missouri finished 14-1, and Carson-Newman is 13-1.

SWAC

Terrance Levy hit Devin Lewis for a late 26-yard touchdown pass, and Michael Hayes caught nine passes for 269 yards as Southern University defeated Jackson State, 31-30, at Birmingham, Ala., in the inaugural conference championship game.

Levy completed 21 of 41 passes for 426 yards and three touchdowns, including a 69-yarder and an 81-yarder to Hayes. The Jaguars improved to 11-1, and Jackson State finished 9-3.

Southern will play Hampton in the Heritage Bowl next Saturday in Atlanta.

JUNIOR COLLEGE

For City College of San Francisco, the nation’s top-ranked junior college football team, the third time was a charm.

Playing in the state championship game for the third consecutive year, the Rams finally won, defeating Hancock, 22-14, at Fresno City College.

San Francisco (12-0), which lost to Mt. San Antonio, 34-31, in 1997 and to Palomar, 30-21, last season, was led by linebacker Tyrone Tucker who had 15 tackles, including four for losses of 14 yards, and two sacks.

Hancock (10-2) quarterback Doug Pazdan, the state’s top-rated quarterback, was sacked 10 times for minus 66 yards.