Nov 25, 2014 4 min read

Mike Sirianni knows the key to Alec Schram’s success on Washington & Jefferson College’s football team.

“He has an ornery personality off the field and that’s what makes him such a good player on the field,” said Sirianni, W&J’s head coach.

Schram’s a battler in every sense, sticking his nose into as many plays as possible, disrupting the passing game of unsuspecting opponents with aggressive tackles and changing the momentum of games by making big plays in the secondary.

The 5-8, 155-pound senior put those attributes on display Saturday, when he picked off three passes to help the Presidents knock off Wittenberg, 41-25, in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs in Springfield, Ohio.

Schram’s three interceptions were part of nine turnovers induced by the W&J defense. Safety Billy Kelley also had three interceptions, cornerback Tim Blair and safety Dan Graziano each had one and linebacker Bryce Merrill had a fumble recovery. The nine turnovers, which set a single-game record for a W&J defense, moved the Presidents’ ratio to plus-19.

And those nine turnovers were part of the reason why the Presidents (10-1) are playing Mount Union (11-0) in the second round of the playoffs Saturday in Alliance, Ohio.

Schram and the rest of the W&J secondary will be tested by Mount Union senior quarterback Kevin Burke, who yesterday was named a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, which goes to the best player in Division III. That’s not surprising because he won the award last year by leading the Purple Raiders to the national championship game.

“That quarterback is the best we will see at that level,” Schram said.

Schram is used to overcoming difficult situations. He played football at Canon-McMillan High School and never was much bigger than most freshmen. But he was quick and versatile and willing to do what was necessary to help the team.

“We didn’t have anyone to play quarterback, so I did it,” said Schram. I also played cornerback.”

In his junior year, Schram returned two interceptions for touchdowns against Baldwin. In his senior season, Schram rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown to give C-M its one and only win of the season.

When Schram got to W&J, he began his career on offense as a slot receiver.

“I was only there for a couple of weeks,” said Schram. “Halfway through my freshman year, they moved me to cornerback. I was behind Alex Baroffio so I was going to have to wait a couple years to get on the field. At first, I wasn’t really fond of it. But it got me on the field faster.”

Schram missed out on learning the defense as a freshman because he was with the offensive players. He also missed all of camp last August because of a broken hand.

“I was out until the Wooster game,” he said. “It was tough because I didn’t get the work in.”

Still, Schram has been a starter since the final two games of his sophomore season and hasn’t been shaken loose from that spot.

“He’s real quick and he can run,” said Sirianni. “The only time he gets beat is when he loses sight of the ball. But that doesn’t happen often.”

Schram helped the Presidents’ defense finish second in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in point allowed (20.3 average).

Part of his success on the field, he knows, comes from his ravenous study of game film. Against Wittenberg, he noticed how the quarterback stared down his receivers and that produced interceptions.

“I have at least five or six hours of film study with the team, and I put in eight to 10 on my own,” he said.

He even sends some links of the opponents’ games to his father, Terry, to evaluate and make suggestions.

“My father coached me in the youth leagues, when I was with the Little Macs,” said Schram. “He’s good at it and I’ll take any help I can get.”

Kickoff is at noon. … Mount Union, which has won 11 national titles, is coming off a 63-3 win over Adrian. … The Purple Raiders are ranked third in the country and W&J 21st in the last AFCA Top 25 poll.