By Mark Simon
D3sports.com
Mount Union football coach Larry Kehres doesn’t bite his fingernails or hold his breath on the sidelines during the excitement that comes from a last-second finish.
Confident? Absolutely. Heck, his team has won four national championships, including the last three in a row. The team has won 42 games in a row and is a staggering 108-6-1 in the 1990s.
That’s not to say there hasn’t been a close call or two along the way. Most of them came last season. That’s what happens when you play eight of 14 games against teams ranked amongst the Top 20.
Of all of those victories, last season’s pulsating two-point triumph versus Albion was probably the closest to losing the program has been in the second term of Bill Clinton’s presidency.
As Albion lined up for a last-second game winning field goal attempt, Kehres barely flinched.
"Why should I (bite my nails or hold my breath?" Kehres said, offering a brief glimpse into the mindset that has made him one of the best Division III coaches in football. "That (play) is something I have no control over."
What the Purple Raiders do control is their own fate, which seems to securely rest in the hands of a high-powered offense, of which junior quarterback Gary Smeck is the primary engineer.
In his first season filling the shoes (and the rifle-like arm) of former signal-caller Bill Borchert, Smeck threw for 4,049 yards and 34 touchdowns. Those are numbers of which any pro quarterback would be proud. Speaking of streaks, Mount Union quarterbacks have thrown for a touchdown in 101 consecutive games. Not a bad offensive system for a coach who claims he "stunk" when he quarterbacked Mount Union a couple of decades ago.
"We pass a lot near the goal line," Kehres said, "because in our league, it is difficult to run near the goal line. What a defense wants to do is force teams to pass. That’s part of our offense. We weren’t looking to establish that streak."
Should Mount Union choose to run this season, they could. Dave Hassey and Chuck Moore combined for more than 1,000 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Three offensive linemen from a traditionally massive unit return as well.
The bigger question is on defense, where only four of 11 starters return. Still, it’s nice when one of them is preseason All-American Matt Domin (108 tackles). The answers will come Sept. 11 against Albion.
The mission this season is simple. It’s the same as it always has been. Just win the Ohio Athletic Conference and let the chips fall where they may afterwards.
"That’s always our goal," Kehres said. "If we don’t win our conference, we won’t get in, especially with the new system. If I sound like someone who has won 42 games in a row, I’d sound like a fool. Most of the players who start now, didn’t start (a couple of years ago), so they are just worried about this team. The focus of the student-athlete is today. You can’t worry about games in the past."