Football:
HOUSTON, Texas – The Mount Union football team lost, 41-25,
to North Central in the 2024 Stagg Bowl NCAA Championship on Sunday night at
Shell Energy Stadium.
The Purple Raiders have competed in the Stagg Bowl 15 of the
past 19 seasons and 23 times altogether which is the most in NCAA Division III
history (13 more than second most).
Graduate QB TJ Deshields (Beloit, OH/West Branch) threw for
314 yards, a career-high as a Purple Raider, with two touchdowns, along with 23
yards on the ground. Senior RB Tyler Echeverry (Naples, FL/Barron Collier) ran
for 83 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown.
Junior WR Nick Turner (Strongsville, OH/Strongsville) led
the Mount receivers with seven catches and 104 receiving yards (both
career-highs), including a 31-yard touchdown. Junior WR Jerry Cooper Jr. (Fort
Myers, FL/South Fort Myers) had three catches for 69 yards and a dazzling
54-yard touchdown catch and run.
Senior S Brandon Yanssens (Columbiana, OH/Crestview) led the
Raider defense with a career-high 11 tackles (nine solo). Senior LB Marcus
Jackson (Dallas, TX/Richardson) tied a career-high with 10 tackles. Junior
Weston Arthur (Homerville, OH/Northwestern) had a sack, while junior Kaleb
Brown (La Plata, MD/La Plata) had a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.
Brown recovered a fumble on North Central's first drive of
the game. Mount Union took advantage with a 9-play, 62-yard drive, capped off
by a 24-yard rushing touchdown by Echeverry – his NCAA-leading 30th of the
season (tying Chuck Moore's mark in 2001 for most in program history for a
season).
After the Cardinals scored a pair of touchdowns, sophomore
kicker Ivan Maric (Falls Church, VA/Mclean) made a 30-yard field goal with 3:57
left in the first half. North Central led 14-10 at halftime.
Mount Union matched North Central's first two touchdowns of
the second half as Deshields connected with Turner from 31 yards out and Cooper
Jr. from 54 yards – Cooper Jr. broke multiple tackles on his way to the end
zone.
The Cardinals wrapped up the scoring with two more
touchdowns in the fourth.