By Greg Chandler
D3sports.com 

The Great Lakes region has had a history of powerhouse teams and top-notch players, and the 2000 season certainly seems likely to produce more of the same.

Headlining the list of teams from the region expected to make a run for this year's Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl is Mount Union, Division III's team of the '90s. The Purple Raiders posted an unbelievable 120-7-1 record over the last 10 years, including a remarkable 54-game winning streak, the longest in college football history, that ended in last year's D-III semifinals with a 24-17 loss overtime to Rowan.

Mount Union, which won four national championships during the 90s, returns 16 starters from last year's 12-1 squad. Senior quarterback Gary Smeck, who completed 64% of passes for 2,878 yards, 37 touchdowns and just four interceptions, led all D-III quarterbacks in passing efficiency at a ridiculous 208.6 rating. Smeck's favorite target, Team of the Year wide receiver Adam Marino (88 catches, 1,724 yards, 20 TD) is also back, as is running back Chuck Moore, who totaled 29 touchdowns rushing and receiving and piled up 1,514 yards on the ground. Senior tackle Jason Gerber anchors the offensive line.

Mount Union, which has won 49 consecutive games in the Ohio Athletic Conference since 1991, won't be without its challengers in its bid for its 10th consecutive league title. The Polar Bears of Ohio Northern bring back 14 players from a team that went 11-2 and reached the quarterfinals of the D-III playoffs. Mount Union was the only team to beat ONU a year ago, winning 56-24 in the third week of the regular season and 56-31 in the playoffs.

Senior running back Jamal Robertson, who rushed for a school record 1,544 yards and 19 touchdowns in the regular season last year, headlines the list of returnees for veteran coach Tom Kaczkowski. On defense, senior defensive back Jeremy Presar is a guy opposing quarterbacks want to avoid - he was fourth in the nation in interceptions last year with 10 picks.

Wilmington (9-1 last season) is the newest member of the OAC, and is expected to mount a challenge for the top. Quarterback Adam Ryan, who threw for 3,343 yards and 34 touchdowns a year ago, leads an offense that scored at least 30 points in nine of its 10 games. Wide receiver Jonathan Cain is Ryan's favorite target (69 receptions, 1,155 yards, 14 TDs).

John Carroll (7-3) boasts two fine quarterbacks in Tom Arth and Eric Marcy, who combined for more than 2,600 yards and 24 touchdowns through the air. Two-sport star Larry Holmes (an outstanding rebounder for the Blue Streaks' men's basketball team) is the top returning receiver (43 receptions, 581 yards, 10 TDs).

The Cardinals of Otterbein (7-3) must replace a top-flight quarterback in Matt D'Orazio, who was picked ahead of Mount Union's Smeck as the first-team signal-caller in the OAC (nearly 2,800 yards, 36 touchdowns, 9 INT). However, Otterbein will have a solid running game, led by tailback Shane Rannebarger (1,046 yards, 8 TD), while the defense will be led by junior defensive end Andree' Mock, who had 10 quarterback sacks last season.

The North Coast Athletic Conference boasts several outstanding teams, headlined by defending champion Wittenberg. The Tigers return 20 starters from a team that reached last year's quarterfinals, finishing 11-1. Senior tailback Casey Donaldson, who was last year's NCAC offensive player of the year, rushed for nearly 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns last year, and needs just 44 yards to become Witt's all-time career leading rusher.

Wittenberg also brings back a first-team all-conference quarterback in Anthony Crane and top-flight receiver in Mike Aljancic, a converted quarterback who caught 48 passes a year ago for eight scores. Defensively, linebacker Justin Goldsbury had 126 tackles last season, 13 for losses. Defensive lineman Juan Howard also had 13 tackles for losses, while Elio Howard made a splash in the secondary as a freshman, leading the Tigers in interceptions with four.

Allegheny (6-4 last season) appears to be the biggest threat to Witt's bid to repeat. The Gators boast a solid offensive line, led by all-league performers Bill Andrews and Ken Achenbach. LaMarcus Thurman is solid in the secondary, and also had the distinction of returning both kickoffs and punts for touchdowns a year ago.

Wooster, which went 8-2 a year ago, brings back the NCAC's top defensive player in linebacker Seth Duerr. Also returning for the Fighting Scots is defensive back Seth Mastrine, who led the conference with nine interceptions last year.

The Presidents Athletic Conference boasts perhaps the top running back in Division III in Grove City's R. J. Bowers. Last year, the 242-pound Bowers became the first running back in D-III history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in two separate seasons. He needs 1,339 yards to break the NCAA all-divisions career record of 6,958 yards, held by Emporia State's Brian Shay (1995-98). Bowers was a primary reason why the Wolverines (6-4) were one of D-III's top rushing teams at nearly 300 yards a game.

While Grove City boasts the most exciting individual player in the PAC in Bowers, it's Washington and Jefferson that's the favorite to repeat. Last year, former Pittsburgh Steeler "Steel Curtain" lineman John Banaszak led the Presidents to a 9-3 record and a berth in the DIII playoffs in his first season as head coach. Quarterback Brian Dawson, who completed 60% of his passes for 2,432 yards and 22 TDs a year ago, returns to lead the W&J attack, while the league's top receiver last year, Ryan Silvis (56 catches, 858 yards) is also back.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has its most exciting race in years last season, with three teams finishing in a tie for the conference championship. When Albion couldn't get a field goal off in the final seconds, the Scots of Alma walked off with a 20-17 victory and the league's automatic qualifier for the D-III playoffs. After Defiance left the conference for 2000, the MIAA lost its automatic bid.

This year's race figures to be a three-team battle again, with Albion slightly favored over Hope and Alma. The Britons, who dominated MIAA play in the 90s, believe they have something to prove after letting a playoff spot slip away last year. Running back Dan Dreyer, who went from fifth-team tailback to the second-leading rusher in the MIAA in less than a year (823 yards rushing), leads the Albion offense, while linebacker Nick Loafman and defensive back Dan Deegan (six interceptions), both all-conference picks, return to anchor a solid defense. Kicker Keith Debbaudt had a big year last season, connecting on a school-record 11 field goals in 16 attempts, including three from over 40 yards.

Hope returns last year's MIAA's top offensive player in quarterback J.D. Graves. Despite missing one game with an injury, Graves set a school record for total offense, completing 52% of his passes for 1,878 yards and 14 TDs, and adding 425 yards and seven scores on the ground. Wideout Brian Adloff, who has 89 catches the last two seasons, has a chance to become the school's all-time leading receiver, while linebacker Matt Bride (77 tackles, 11 for losses) anchors the defense.

Alma graduated quarterback Josh Wakefield, but the cupboard is not bare for the Scots, who went 8-2 a year ago and made their first playoff appearance in school history. Defensive end Justin Harris, a first-team Team of the Year pick last season after recording 17 quarterback sacks, will be a marked man. Offensively, wide receiver Brian Pierce, who caught 69 passes for 1,044 yards last season, including 14 catches in one game, will be the key target.

Others to watch
The Pioneers of Marietta will turn to workhorse running back Kenneth Sasu early and often. Last year, Sasu was second in the nation in rushing, piling up 1,770 yards and 15 touchdowns in just nine games, including a 289-yard effort against Waynesburg. With more than 3,100 yards on the ground in the last two seasons, he has a chance to top former teammate Dante Brown's OAC conference career rushing mark of 4,512 yards.

Capital won't win a lot of games, but look for wide receivers Chris Copeland, Matt Hawk and Dan Peterson to catch a lot of passes. Copeland caught 47 passes a year ago and now has 144 for his career, 10 shy of the school record. Hawk grabbed 52 passes and Peterson 47.

Baldwin-Wallace defensive tackle Joe Dobies will be trying to earn all-OAC honors for the third year in a row. Last year, Dobies had 68 tackles, including 12 for lost yardage and six quarterback sacks.

Olivet didn't win a single game last year, but tailback Kris Brown was not the reason why. Brown accounted for more than half of the Comets' total offense, rushing for more than 1,260 yards to become the school's all-time career leading rusher, with one full season left.