[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/wesleyseg.mp3|titles= Delaware Public Media's Tom Byrne interviews Wesley College head football coach Mike Drass.]
Wesley College hopes the sixth time is the charm when it plays in the NCAA Division III football semifinals Saturday.
The 4th ranked Wolverines face #3 Mount Union for a trip to Stagg Bowl - the Div. III national title game.
Wesley has reached this point on five previous occasions, losing each time.
Wolverine head coach Mike Drass says he and his team are well aware of that.
“We want more than anything in the world to break through. We know that just getting to this point is a great honor, but our focus is to be the best team in the country and we have a team that we think can do that," said Drass. "But we have a great obstacle ahead of us. Mount is an excellent, excellent team.”
Mount Union is arguably the top program in Division III. The Purple Raiders are 13-O this year and in the semifinals for the 20th straight year. They've have advanced to the Stagg Bowl 17 times since 1993 and won a record 11 national championships.
The Raiders have also eliminated Wesley from the playoffs three times in the last five years. That includes last year’s quarterfinal match-up, which saw the Wolverines rally from a 31-0 first quarter deficit before losing 62-59.
Running Back Jamar Baynard caught three TD passes in that heartbreaking setback. He says beating the Raiders to earn the school’s first trip to the Stagg Bowl would be special.
“It would be a great accomplishment for this team to beat Mount Union like that. We have a chip on our shoulder from last year," said Baynard. 'It’s going to be a fight ”
And linebacker Luke Maginnis adds the Wolverines can bring nothing less than their “A” game to end their semi-final drought by toppling a Mount Union that's won 84 in a row at home.
“They just don’t make mistakes at all," said Maginnis. "They are just fundamentally sound and that’s what we have to be when we step on the field with them. We need to be fundamentally sound. We can’t make mistakes and we have to create turnovers. We need to be like I said, fundamental, fundamental, fundamental.”
Wesley heads into its sixth national semifinal appearance, and its first since 2011, with a 12-1 record. In its five previous trips five trips to the Div. III final four, the Wolverines have lost twice to Mount Union and three times to Wisconsin Whitewater - all on the road.
Kick-off Saturday in Alliance, Ohio is at noon.