WACO, TEX.-- The Mount Union Purple Raiders have ended the 2002 season atop the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll for the third consecutive year. The Purple Raiders, who have now captured six of the last seven NCAA Division III championships, have been ranked No. 1 in the AFCA Top 25 for 30 consecutive polls dating back to October 3, 2000.
Following the Purple Raiders in the final poll of 2002 are Trinity (Texas), Bridgewater (Va.), St. John’s (Minn.) and John Carroll. Trinity finished the season 14-1 and advanced to the Stagg Bowl for the first time in school history this year. Bridgewater fell to Trinity, 38-32, in the quarterfinals and finished 11-1. St. John’s finished 12-2 after losing to Trinity, 41-34, in the semifinals. John Carroll also finished 12-2 and advanced to the semifinals before falling to Mount Union, 57-19.
Northwest Conference champion Linfield finishes No. 6 in 2002 after advancing to the quarterfinals this season and posting a 10-1 record. Wabash comes in at No. 7. The Little Giants posted a 12-1 record and won the North Coast Conference. No. 8 Mary Hardin-Baylor finished 10-1 and won the American Southwest Conference title. No. 9 Rowan won the New Jersey Athletic Conference and finished 10-1. Wittenberg rounds out the top 10 with a 10-2 record this season.
No. 11 Wheaton finished 10-2 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2002. Hanover is No. 12 after winning the Heartland Conference and posting a 10-1 record. Brockport State finishes No. 13 after being unranked in the final regular season poll. The Golden Eagles finished 10-3 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the playoffs. No. 14 Coe finished 10-2 and won the Iowa Conference. No. 15 Wartburg shared the Iowa Conference title and also finished 10-2.
Widener is one of three non-playoff teams to finish in the Top 25 this season. The Pioneers posted a 9-1 record. No. 17 Muhlenberg posted a 10-2 record and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. No. 18 Howard Payne was 9-1 in the American Southwest Conference this season but missed the playoffs. No. 19 King’s won the Middle Atlantic Conference title and finished 9-3. Freedom Football Conference champion Springfield comes in at No. 20.
No. 21 Washington & Jefferson finished 9-3. Wisconsin-La Crosse comes in at No. 22 with a 7-4 record. MacMurray won the Illini-Badger Conference and finished 10-11. No. 24 Alma finished 9-2 and advanced to the playoffs. No. 25 St. Norbert just missed a playoff berth but the Green Knights finished 9-1.
Conference Breakdown: Five conferences — the America Southwest (Mary Hardin-Baylor, Howard Payne), Iowa (Wartburg, Coe), Middle Atlantic (Widener, King’s), North Coast (Wittenberg, Wabash) and Ohio (Mount Union, John Carroll) — lead the way with two schools in this week’s poll. Other conferences represented are: Centennial (Muhlenberg), Freedom (Springfield), Heartland (Hanover), Illini-Badger (MacMurray), Illinois-Wisconsin (Wheaton), Michigan (Alma), Midwest (St. Norbert), Minnesota (St. John’s), New Jersey (Rowan), Northwest (Linfield), Old Dominion (Bridgewater), President’s (Washington & Jefferson), Southern Collegiate (Trinity), Wisconsin (Wis.-La Crosse). Brockport State is the lone independent.
Poll Points
Mount Union will begin the 2003 season with a 41-game winning streak dating back to the start of the 2000 season ... The Purple Raiders have now won six of the last seven Division III titles and seven total championships ... Trinity advanced to the Stagg Bowl for the first time in school history this season ... Junior linebacker Jermaine Taylor recorded 87.5 tackles for Bridgewater this season ... St. John’s Head Coach John Gagliardi will begin the 2003 season needing nine wins to break the all-time college coaching victory record of 408 set by Grambling’s Eddie Robinson ... John Carroll’s Tom Arth threw for 2,671 yards and 26 touchdowns this season ... Linfield offensive lineman Daryl Agpalsa became the first Hawaiian-born player to be named to the AFCA’s Division III Coaches’ All-America Team this season ... Wabash quarterback Jake Knott became only the ninth quarterback in NCAA history to throw for more than 11,000 yards and 100 touchdowns in a career as a senior in 2002 ... Mary Hardin-Baylor linebacker Preston Meyer finished his career as the school leader in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and interception return yardage ... Rowan has now qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs 10 times ... Wittenberg has won 10 or more games in five consecutive seasons ... Wheaton’s 10 wins this season ties the school record for victories in a season ... Hanover’s playoff appearance this season was the third in the last four years ... Brockport State defensive lineman Mike Condello set the Golden Eagle career and single-season sack records this year.
American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches’ Poll
December 23, 2002
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec. | Pts. | Prev. | Postseason Result | Head Coach |
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| 1. | Mount Union (Ohio) (49) | 14-0 | 1,225 | 1 | D. Trinity (Texas), 48-7, in Stagg Bowl | Larry Kehres | | 2. | Trinity (Texas) | 14-1 | 1,175 | 4 | Lost to Mount Union, 49-7, in Stagg Bowl | Steve Mohr | | 3. | Bridgewater (Va.) | 11-1 | 1,062 | 2 | Lost to Trinity (Texas), 38-32, in quarterfinals | Mike Clark | | 4. | St. John’s (Minn.) | 12-2 | 1,056 | 6 | Lost to Trinity (Texas), 41-34, in semifinals | John Gagliardi | | 5. | John Carroll (Ohio) | 12-2 | 971 | 11 | Lost to Mount Union (Ohio), 57-19, in semifinals | Regis Scafe | | 6. | Linfield (Ore.) | 10-1 | 937 | 7 | Lost to St. John’s (Minn.), 21-14, in quarterfinals | Jay Locey | | 7. | Wabash (Ind.) | 12-1 | 869 | 9 | Lost to Mount Union (Ohio), 45-16, in quarterfinals | Chris Creighton | | 8. | Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) | 10-1 | 803 | 5 | Lost to Trinity (Texas), 48-38, in first round | Pete Fredenburg | | 9. | Rowan (N.J.) | 10-1 | 766 | 3 | Lost to Brockport St. (N.Y.), 15-12, in second round | Jay Accorsi | | 10. | Wittenberg (Ohio) | 10-2 | 736 | 10 | Lost to Wabash (Ind.), 25-14, in second round | Joe Fincham | | 11. | Wheaton (Ill.) | 10-2 | 707 | 12 | Lost to Mount Union (Ohio), 42-21, in second round | Mike Swider | | 12. | Hanover (Ind.) | 10-1 | 625 | 8 | Lost to Wittenberg (Ohio), 34-33, in first round | Wayne Perry | | 13. | Brockport St. (N.Y.) | 10-3 | 565 | NR | Lost to John Carroll (Ohio), 16-10 (OT), in quarterfinals | Rocco Salomone | | 14. | Coe (Iowa) | 10-2 | 523 | 16 | Lost to St. John’s (Minn.), 45-14, in second round | Erik Raeburn | | 15. | Wartburg (Iowa) | 10-2 | 517 | 15 | Lost to Linfield (Ore.), 52-15, in second round | Rick Willis | | 16. | Widener (Pa.) | 9-1 | 424 | 13 | DNQ for playoffs | Bill Zwaan | | 17. | Muhlenberg (Pa.) | 10-2 | 409 | 23 | Lost to John Carroll (Ohio), 21-10, in second round | Mike Donnelly | | 18. | Howard Payne (Texas) | 9-1 | 356 | 17 | DNQ for playoffs | Vance Gibson | | 19. | King’s (Pa.) | 9-3 | 290 | NR | Lost to Bridgewater (Va.), 19-17, in second round | Rich Manello | | 20. | Springfield (Mass.) | 8-2 | 262 | 19 | Lost to Brockport St. (N.Y.), 16-0, in first round | Mike DeLong | | 21. | Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) | 9-3 | 251 | 24 | Lost to Trinity (Texas), 45-10, in second round | John Banaszak | | 22. | Wis.-La Crosse | 7-4 | 239 | 20 | Lost to Coe (Iowa), 21-18, in first round | Larry Terry | | 23. | MacMurray (Ill.) | 10-1 | 234 | 14 | Lost to Wabash (Ind.), 42-7, in first round | Bob Frey | | 24. | Alma (Mich.) | 9-2 | 204 | 18 | Lost to Wheaton (Ill.), 42-14, in first round | Jim Cole | | 25. | St. Norbert (Wis.) | 9-1 | 104 | 22 | DNQ for playoffs | Jim Purtill |
Dropped Out (last week’s rank): Mass.-Dartmouth (21), Lake Forest (Ill.) (25).
Others Receiving Votes: Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio), 85; Hobart (N.Y.), 66; Mass.-Dartmouth, 64; Wis.-Eau Claire, 55; Redlands (Calif.), 49; Lake Forest (Ill.), 40; Salisbury (Md.), 34; Johns Hopkins (Md.), 34; Wis.-Stout, 31; Augustana (Ill.), 26; Hardin-Simmons (Texas), 26; McDaniel (Md.), 20; Cortland St. (N.Y.), 16; Whitworth (Wash.), 15; Central (Iowa), 10; Thomas More (Ky.), 10; Willamette (Ore.), 9; Hampden-Sydney (Va.), 6; Christopher Newport (Va.), 4; Concordia (Wis.), 4; Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.), 3; Rensselaer (N.Y.), 3; Wooster (Ohio), 2; Wis.-Stevens Point, 1; DePauw (Ind.), 1; Anderson (Ind.), 1.
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