| | TIFFIN, Ohio -- Mount Union coach Larry Kehres didn't ride
off on his players' shoulders after his team matched Oklahoma's
record 47-game winning streak Saturday night.
That's not his style. And it's not the way the no-nonsense coach
built the most powerful Division III program of the 1990s.
"We talked about not letting the streak overshadow the goals
our team has set for the season," Kehres said after the 66-0
victory over Heidelberg.
There was no wild celebration, only handshakes and a few pats on
the back after the historic victory.
With a victory over Otterbein next week, Mount Union would set
the nation's longest winning streak for any division -- a mark that
hadn't been threatened in four decades.
Kehres has downplayed the streak all season. There have been no
pep talks urging the team to keep it alive, or banners in the
locker room counting down to next week.
"Right now we have a win streak of five," Kehres said.
"That's this year."
"We really were not worried about it," said linebacker Jesse
Pearson. "If you let it affect you, it tends to make your team
play tentatively."
The Purple Raiders did have a scare last week, needing three
overtimes to get by John Carroll 57-51.
But Saturday's game, played on a wet high school football field
in front of about 2,000 fans, was never in doubt.
Mount Union, which has won three straight Division III national
championships and four this decade, dominated Heidelberg on both
sides of the ball, scoring twice on defense in the first half.
The offense, which has averaged 52 points a game this season,
was just as impressive, opening a 35-0 lead after one quarter.
Gary Smeck threw four touchdown passes, two to Adam Marino, on
plays of 7 and 60 yards. Smeck was 9-of-12 for 176 yards.
Pearson scored on a blocked punt and returned an interception 51
yards to give the Purple Raiders (5-0, 3-0 Ohio Conference) a 42-0
lead with 14:17 left in the second quarter.
Pearson has five touchdowns this season.
Heidelberg (2-3, 2-2) was held to 95 yards offense in the first
half and didn't get a first down until the second quarter.
Before Mount Union began its streak, no one had come within 10 games
of Oklahoma's record in the four decades since it was set under
coach Bud Wilkinson. The Sooners were unbeaten in 47 consecutive
games between 1953-57 until losing to Notre Dame 7-0 in 1957.
The northeast Ohio school, founded by the Methodist Church, has
just 2,000 students and doesn't give out scholarships for sports.
Yet, its recent results are staggering:
The Purple Raiders are 111-6-1 during the 90s.
Kehres has the best winning percentage of any coach in college
football history with a 143-16-3 record -- a .910 mark.
Its last loss came on Dec. 2, 1995, 20-17 to Wisconsin-La
Crosse in the national semifinals.
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