CLEVELAND, Ohio — John Carroll left the Ohio Athletic Conference earlier this year, but it will still have to go through the OAC to advance in the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Spartans face the OAC’s Mount Union Saturday at 12 p.m. at Kehres Stadium on the campus of Mount Union with a trip to the final four at stake.
Saturday’s matchup marks the third meeting in a little over a year between the two programs, with the Purple Raiders coming away with a pair of wins over the Blue Streaks. The second win of last season ended John Carroll’s postseason run with a 42-7 defeat.
Mount Union has controlled the matchup over the last 100-plus years. The Purple Raiders currently hold a 40-3-2 all-time record against the Blue Streaks, including a current nine-game winning streak.
The Blue Streaks’ last win over the Purple Raiders came in November 2016, a 31-28 victory at Mount Union to win the school’s first OAC title since 1989.
Since then, it has been all Purple Raiders with a handful of close games that could have gone either way.
John Carroll’s breakup with the OAC has led some to speculate the Blue Streaks’ frustration with having the 13-time national champions in the way every year. John Carroll head coach Jeff Behrman was quick to put an end to that narrative when asked about it after last Saturday’s win over Randolph-Macon.
“It’s what everybody wants to talk about right now, I said it this exact same day last year, the decision for the (North Coast Athletic Conference) for the strength and the future of this university was the right move,” Behrman said. “We weren’t running from competition. I know a lot of people wanna make that narrative. We expect to prepare and play the best, and the matchup happens to be Mount Union this week.
“Obviously, they are very successful, and I have a lot of respect for them as well. It’s going to be two great programs going at it again next Saturday.”
Blue Streaks graduate quarterback Nick Semptimphelter said that despite how last season ended, this year features two different teams and his team is preparing for different results.
“Hopefully, a lot will be different. (We’re) just sticking to what we know in preparation this time around as we did last time,” said Semptimphelter during the postgame press conference. “It’s a different team. We remember the memories of last, but it’s just another opponent and another week. We’re gonna prepare and play our hardest on Saturday.”
Semptimphelter was red-hot for the Blue Streaks in the team’s opening game of the playoffs by tossing for 257 yards on 31-33 passing with three scores. He goes up against freshman phenom Mikey Maloney out of Riverside High School, who is coming off a six-touchdown performance with three on the ground, three in the air, as well as 302 yards on 22-25 passing.
Mount Union enters the game as the No. 2-ranked team in Division III with an 11-0 record, while No. 9 John Carroll comes in with a 10-1 record.
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