ALLIANCE — Doubts about the Mount Union Football the team’s ability to cross the finish line was ruled out.
After a year away and a tough regular season, the Purple Raiders are back where they always hoped to be.
Mount Union held off Johns Hopkins 45-37 Saturday to earn a spot 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.
It was one of the toughest roads a Mount Union team has taken to get to a Stagg Bowl. The Purple Raiders picked up a few close wins to finish the regular season 10-0. Their playoff journey includes two close games and a road trip.
Their 2024 playoff success is a far cry from last year, when the Purple Raiders were eliminated in the second round.
“Obviously we were going to be out of last season based on the outcome, 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 big part of it. All these guys love each other and there’s no bad blood in the locker room. It’s just a big team.”
It took a great team to take down a great team like Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays squared off against 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 remaining. That capped off a high-scoring game on a day when defenses were supposed to be enjoying themselves.
“We just beat an outstanding Johns Hopkins team that had a great plan,” Mount Union head coach Geoff Dartt said. “…They probably saw some things on tape that they took advantage of. They executed very well.”
The Purple Raiders too.
Johns Hopkins came in with the top-ranked red zone defense in the country. Mount Union was 4 of 4 in the red zone.
Echeverry ran for 183 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for a career-best 176 yards against John Carroll during the regular season And in the playoffs.
Two Echeverry touchdowns during a 2:30 span in the fourth quarter gave Mount Union a 45-29 lead. The second came on a 54-yard run.
“I will always speak for the O-line,” Echeverry said. “They did a great job from the start. We keep fighting until there is one.”
Darnell Williams, Shaun Thomas and quarterback TJ DeShields also ran for touchdowns for Mount Union. DeShields threw for 218 yards. Tyrell Sanders caught seven passes for 148 yards.
Mount Union’s offense erupted for 518 total yards. Most of it was necessary. Johns Hopkins finished with 531 yards.
The Blue Jays just couldn’t take advantage of every golden opportunity. Von Factor’s fourth-down sack on quarterback James Rinello in the fourth quarter stopped a Johns Hopkins drive that reached the Mount Union 28.
“Maybe the defenses didn’t play well, but we made stops when we needed to,” Dartt said.
The Purple Raiders will head to the Stagg Bowl seeking their 14th national title and first since 2018. They will be underdogs against North Central, which defeated Susquehanna in Saturday’s second semifinal.
Being the underdog won’t bother them.
“We’re not done,” linebacker Rossy Moore said. “Our goal at the end of this year was to win the national championship. Before this season, we knew that no one would believe in us, especially after last year. We didn’t expect anyone to do it. We carry that chip on our shoulders and are ready to go whenever we need to play.”
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This article was originally published on The Repository: Mount Union football holds off Johns Hopkins and reaches Stagg Bowl
