The Mount Union Purple Raiders are back on the top of the mountain in NCAA Division III football.
After being eliminated by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders (14-1) in the national semifinals in 2016, the Purple Raiders (15-0) earned a measure of redemption with a 12-0 victory in the 45th Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl at Salem Stadium in Salem, Virginia Friday night.
With the win over the Crusaders, the Purple Raiders claimed their record 13th NCAA Division III National Championship and first since the 2015 season. In the postseason for the 26th consecutive year and 29th season overall, Mount Union has a 99-16 record in NCAA Playoff games.
In front of the Crusaders by a 3-0 count entering the fourth quarter, the Purple Raiders scored nine unanswered points over the final 15 minutes to seal the National Championship.
On third-and-10 from Mary Hardin-Baylor’s 42-yard line less than four minutes into the quarter, sophomore quarterback D’Angelo Fulford took the shotgun snap and fired a pass for sophomore wide receiver Justin Hill down the left sideline.
Hill got a good release off of the line of scrimmage and was well behind the coverage, but the pass was underthrown, which forced him to break off his route and slow up to catch the ball. The pass ricocheted off the hands of a Crusaders defender and Hill pulled it down out of mid-air in the end zone for the touchdown.
Mount Union was not done scoring, as the defense got in on the act after securing a pair of interceptions earlier in the game.
Mary Hardin-Baylor faced a third-and-10 from its own seven-yard line, and freshman quarterback Carl Robinson III dropped back into his own end zone to survey the field. However, as Robinson scrambled around to keep the play alive, Mount Union junior defensive back Nick Brish worked around a block and wrestled him to the ground for the safety.
