And as much as D3 Nation tires of seeing these two behemoths play the pinnacle game each year, the 32 team playoff provides ample opportunity for a changing of the guard. While no system is perfect, nearly everyone associated with Division 3 football treasures the landscape of a season concluding with a Champion determined by a playoff.
Defending National Champion Mount Union advanced to the Championship game by defeating:
#20 Washington and Jefferson
#24 Montclair State
unranked Albright
#3 Wesley
UW-Whitewater advanced to the Championship game by defeating:
unranked Lakeland
#14 Illinois Wesleyan
#12 Wittenberg
#5 Linfield
Saturday's showdown brings plenty of intrigue to Salem, VA. First off, Mount Union QB Kurt Rocco's status has not officially been determined. He left last week's semi-final game with a reported concussion and did not return. Rocco is the highest rated passer in the nation, completing 70.5% of his passes for 3,546 yards and 39 TD's. Freshman Neal Seaman has been Rocco's primary backup this season, but was pulled after five ineffective possessions and Wesley drawing to within 10-7 in last week's semifinal game. So who did the Purple Raiders turn to? Division 3 AFCA All America wide receiver Cecil Shorts.
Shorts, a quarterback in high school, stepped in at QB with 4:05 left in the 3rd quarter and Mount Union clinging to that 10-7 lead. He led the Purple Raiders on their next 5 possessions. He basically took over the offense carrying the ball 16 times for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns in those possessions. He went 0-2 throwing the ball. Terrance Morring was the only other Purple Raider to carry the ball after Shorts took over at QB. He carried 3 times for 2 yards. In other words Shorts and the Purple Raiders defense took over when the game was on the line.
Credit Coach Larry Kehres, whose overall record is an incomprehensible 289-21-3, for having the foresight to go to Shorts, possibly the best athlete in all of D3 football. "Cecil is an elite athlete who is smart and has great leadership skills," said Kehres, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. "People just gravitate to him. This was our biggest game of the season, and I wanted him to lead our huddle. The guys trust him. I consider him my security blanket." Credit Kehres also for reportedly giving QB snaps weekly to Shorts in practice in spite of having the nation's leading passer and a freshman backup to develop.
Not surprisingly, not much information has surfaced from Alliance as to who will start at QB for the Raiders on Saturday. UWW will have to be prepared for both the leading passer in the nation and perhaps the nation's best athlete.
As for UWW, they are coming off their two biggest tests of the season. Saturday, they trailed Linfield College 17-10 in the fourth quarter before scoring the final 17 points of the game to secure a 27-17 victory. In that victory, UWW gave up a season high 278 yards passing. However, Linfield paid a price for the aerial assault as UWW also picked off 3 passes. In addition, UWW's quarterfinal opponent, Wittenberg, threw for 261 yards. However, the Tigers couldn't get anything going on the ground as they were held to 21 yards on 31 attempts.
The passing yardage giving up by the Warhawks the last two weeks adds to the intrigue of Rocco's playing status. Rocco to Shorts certainly seems more dangerous to the UWW title hopes than Shorts to...well...Shorts. However, with a week to prepare, one of the nation's greatest athletes coached by the nation's most renowned coach cannot be taken lightly.
It will be incredibly interesting to see how Saturday plays out. And even though these teams have battled for the championship for each of the past five seasons, there's nothing ho-hum about what we will witness in Salem, Va. The uniforms will look familiar. But the intrigue and circumstances surrounding this Stagg Bowl has it's own unique flavor. Again.
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