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| B.J. Mitchell and the Purple Raiders bonded on their first non-Stagg Bowl postseason road trip and came away with a 17-point victory. Photo by Mike Dean for d3photography.com |
By Joe Sager
D3sports.com
It's not often Mount Union hits the road to play in a playoff game – it's been 20 years, to be exact.
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After falling to John Carroll in the regular season finale, 31-28, the Purple Raiders found themselves in a strange spot – on the bus for a journey to Geneva, N.Y., to take on Hobart in the first round of the playoffs. The defending national champs found life on the road difficult, but broke a 21-all tie late in the third quarter and scored the final 17 points to post a 38-21 victory.
"It was different. Since me and the other seniors have been here, we've always had playoff games at home," Mount Union senior running back B.J. Mitchell said. "It wasn't the crowd we were used to having. We are used to having our own home crowd. Having to get into a different environment – I wouldn't say it was hostile, but I'd say it was a pretty different environment – it was a different feel. I know a lot of people didn't like to see us make the playoffs (as an at-large team). But we're here and we'll give it all we got. It's something we embrace; we can feed off that energy and turn it into a positive thing for us."
Mount Union (10-1) started off well and built leads of 14-0 and 21-7. However, the Statesmen (9-2) rallied for a touchdown just before halftime and another with 5:15 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 21.
Unfazed, the Purple Raiders marched 75 yards in 3:11 and scored on Mitchell's short run. It put the squad back up, 28-21. Mount Union's defense silenced Hobart in the fourth quarter and turned two turnovers into 10 points to seal the win.
"I feel like this is a team that's been through a lot of adversity. I knew my guys knew how to respond; I wasn't worried about that," Mitchell said. "It's just something about the Mount Union tradition – I think that we know how to play in the playoffs. We have a lot of other guys who have played in these types of situations."
The Purple Raiders' loss to John Carroll snapped their regular season winning streak at 112 games, which dated back to Oct. 22, 2005, and cost the team an OAC championship. Nevertheless, Mount Union received an at-large playoff berth and went to work immediately at practice.
"As long as I've been here, we've never lost a game and had to play the following week. We've lost in the Stagg Bowl twice and then you had the whole offseason to think about it," Mitchell said. "This time, we were champing at the bit all week and had our best week of practice this season. I think that loss was something our team needed."
The Purple Raiders used the journey and overnight stay in a positive way, too.
"I thought it was great. To get on a bus together and stay in a hotel – I think that only brings this group closer together," Mount Union head coach Vince Kehres said. "It was a great experience for our players to come up to (Hobart)."
Mitchell agreed: "It was a good feeling to go on the road and get a win. It was something our team needed. Being on a long trip and staying overnight in a hotel is something that makes it a lot more memorable. I can definitely see us getting closer because it was a long ride there and back. It was a good experience for us."
Mount Union must get used to the weekend trips as it hits the road again for a jaunt to Baltimore and a game against Johns Hopkins on Saturday.
"We've already had seven road games, so we're getting used to it with the more road games we play. I think it is good for us knowing that we'll be on the road the rest of the way," Mitchell said. "I think we'll just get better and better."