Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412140085
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: SPORTS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By then, his team was reigning.
The Britons poured it on in the NCAA Division III football championship game. In a 38-15 victory that wasn't that close, Albion really turned Washington & Jefferson into dead Presidents.
For its second straight Stagg party, Salem Stadium got lousy weather and a sellout crowd. Ponchos were a hot item at the souvenir stand. There was so much blaze orange in the seats, it looked like the opening of hunting season.
Salem sold 32 standing-room tickets, and then crowned another unbeaten national champion from the North Region of Division III. And the Britons had to beat defending champ Mount Union on their title trip.
Albion (13-0) went home to Michigan with the best record in all of college football. And if you don't think the Britons made it a very long day for W&J, consider this:
Schmidt's team, led by All-American Jeff Robinson, ran for 254 yards. In nine regular-season games, the Presidents allowed a ground total of only 213. In three previous playoff games, W&J permitted only 217 rushing yards.
Albion, opportunistic all season, didn't have a turnover. The only thing the Britons missed on was hitting Schmidt with the Gatorade drowning reserved for champions.
One reason the Britons are the 10th perfect Division III champ in 22 Stagg Bowls is a plus-33 turnover margin. After Robinson's 70-yard touchdown run ended the first quarter and tied the score for Albion, Washington & Jefferson started playing like Nixon & Clinton.
In the next 71/2 minutes, Albion sandwiched a fumble with two interceptions, tying the Division III record for pass pickoffs in a season (39), set by Widener's unbeaten '81 club.
When the Brits went ahead 24-7 by halftime, all they had to do to win was run the ball and the clock. They accomplished both.
In a game between two ground-oriented clubs, playing catch-up on a dank, damp day wasn't likely. That's what worried Schmidt when the sky began dripping Saturday morning.
Albion was quicker, but the wet field didn't negate that advantage. W&J's offensive front - massive for Division III at a 282-pound average per man - couldn't push around the Britons' defense.
Once W&J started turning it over, it became one of the biggest routs in Stagg history. Only four previous games, since Division III went to a national title in 1973, had a wider scoreboard spread than this one.
It also was Albion's most convincing triumph in the playoffs, after victories of seven (Augustana), one (Mount Union) and three (St. John's) points earned the Britons a Stagg spot. Each of those losers is a past national champ.
``I think a lot of people underestimated our football team,'' Schmidt said. ``We hadn't been here before. Maybe we snuck up on some teams.''
That sounds strange coming from a man whose program is 46-4-2 in the 1990s - including 23-1 the past two years - but the Brits had never won a playoff game until last year. They hadn't advanced past the national quarterfinals until two weekends ago.
W&J coach John Luckhardt said no team had run on the Presidents like the Brits did since Ithaca pounded the Pennsylvanians 30 games ago to end the '92 season.
``Two issues concerned me,'' Luckhardt said. ``Those were control of the line of scrimmage and turnovers.''
Albion won both of those battles. The Britons consistently breached the Presidential security, and Albion's stunt 4-3 defense flooded the middle and drowned W&J's slow-footed run game.
It was W&J's second Stagg loss in three years. The South Region champ hasn't won a national title since West Georgia in 1982. The North has won four of the last six crowns, including both Salem games.
Luckhardt said the North is Division III's best region. If this final didn't prove it, nothing will.
And after Albion's first NCAA team championship in any sport was secure, in an obvious move of detente outside the locker room, a President handed a Briton a bottle of champagne.
The Briton waved it. One of the NCAA Football committeemen confiscated it.
That was Albion's only turnover.
by CNB