Stagg Bowl XXV
Mount Union 61, Lycoming 12

Photo by David Gonzales/NCAA Photos
The victory gave Mount Union, which finished 14-0 and has the best winning percentage in college football in the 1990s, its second consecutive title and the third in the past five years.

In the past eight years, Mount Union is 94-6-1, a winning percentage of .936.

The Purple Raiders have won 28 consecutive games -- the longest current winning streak in college football -- since losing to Wisconsin-La Crosse 20-17 in the semifinals of the 1995 Division III Football Championship.

Lycoming (12-1) finished second for the second time in school history. The Warriors lost in overtime to Allegheny in the 1990 title game.

Mount Union took the lead with 13:11 left in the first quarter when running back Ryan Gorius capped a six-play, 78-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Bill Borchert (pictured) capped the first-quarter scoring by hitting receiver Marc Lantos on a 23-yard scoring pass with 3:47 left.

Lycoming cut the lead to eight when Joe Spang caught a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jason Marraccini at the 10:30 mark of the second quarter. The point-after attempt failed.

The Purple Raiders quickly regained the momentum and squashed any Lycoming hope of staying in the game. Borchert connected with receiver Reiko Gollate on a 36-yard touchdown pass and then hit Brian Tyla for a three-yard score to take a comfortable 28-6 lead at half time.

Borchert continued his brilliant performance in the third quarter as he ran for a score and threw two more touchdown passes. The Purple Raiders held a commanding 49-6 lead and were well on their way to the title.

Borchert, the recipient of the 1997 Gagliardi Award that honors the top player in Division III, has thrown for 916 yards and 13 touchdowns in the last two championship games.

Running back Brian Thompson led Lycoming with 86 yards on 19 carries. For Mount Union, Gorius ran for 86 yards and Steve Evans added 72 on 13 carries. Tyla led the Purple Raiders with seven catches for 102 yards. All-American wide receiver Kevin Knestrick caught six passes for 163 yards.

Game Statistics

Team          1    2    3    4     T
Lycoming      0    6    0    6 -- 12
Mount Union  14   14   21   12 -- 61 

First Quarter 
Mount Union -- Ryan Gorius 20 run (Bill Andrea kick) (13:11) 
Mount Union -- Marc Lantos 23 pass from Bill Borchert (Andrea kick)
(3:47) 

Second Quarter 
Lycoming -- Joe Spang 5 pass from Jason Marraccini (kick failed) (10:30) 
Mount Union -- Reiko Gollate 36 pass from Borchert (Andrea kick) (8:00) 
Mount Union -- Brian Tyla 3 pass from Borchert (Andrea kick) (4:48) 

Third Quarter 
Mount Union -- Borchert 10 run (Andrea kick) (12:50) 
Mount Union -- Tyla 18 pass from Borchert (Andrea kick) (8:05) 
Mount Union -- Gorius 14 pass from Borchert (Andrea kick) (4:33) 

Fourth Quarter 
Mount Union -- Gollate 11 pass from Borchert (kick failed) (12:06) 
Mount Union -- Steve Evans 2 run (kick failed) (5:30) 
Lycoming -- Tim Dumas 34 pass from Andy Showalter (pass failed) (2:07)

                       Lycoming    Mount Union 
First Downs                   5             33 
Rushing Yardage              67            258 
Passing Yardage             116            439 
Return Yardage              140             80 
Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 7-16-1        25-41-0 
Punts (No.-Avg.)        10-31.3         1-43.0 
Fumbles (No.-Lost)          1-0            2-2 
Penalties (No.-Yards)      2-20          9-102 

Attendance: 5,777