After four months of hard work and preparation, the team is Division III national champions once again.
With a 31-21 victory over the Mount Union Purple Raiders in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl Saturday at Salem Stadium, the 'Hawks capped a second straight perfect season with their third national championship in four years and second straight.
Stagg Bowl Title
"It goes back to the philosophy of worrying about what you can control," head coach Lance Leipold said. "On Monday and Tuesday during game weeks, the workmen mentality that our assistant coaches have instilled in this group week by week is tremendous … [the players] stayed grounded throughout this thing and that's what has really carried them."
Junior defensive back Steve McCollom echoed Leipold's sentiments.
"Our coaches do a great job of giving us a business approach each week," McCollom said. "I don't think Mount Union is ever really mentioned until we actually played them in the 15th week."
The victory sure didn't come easy, though. For the fourth straight year, the Stagg Bowl was decided in the final minutes of play.
In fact, the outcome of the game was made possible in the second quarter.
Stagg Bowl Title
Comments