ALLIANCE, Ohio -- The snow never stopped.

Neither did Mount Union's Polar Express to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

Kevin Burke threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to backup receiver Mike Collichio with 1:07 remaining to give the Purple Raiders a 41-40 victory over North Central (Ill.) in an NCAA Division III playoff semifinal Saturday in snowy Mount Union Stadium.

Mount Union persevered through eight lead changes -- four in the fourth quarter -- to reach its 17th Stagg Bowl national championship game. The No. 1-ranked and defending champion Purple Raiders (14-0) will play for their 12th title Friday night in Salem, Va., against No. 5 Wisconsin-Whitewater (14-0), a 16-15 winner over No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-1) on Saturday. It will mark the eighth time in nine years that Mount and Wisconsin-Whitewater have played for the championship.

Playing in a constant snow in front of 1,840 fans, the Purple Raiders won their 29th consecutive game, all with junior quarterback Burke of Westlake as a starter, and Burke was central to the outcome once again.

As he did for St. Edward in the 2010 state championship game and in last year's national semifinal, Burke led late comebacks without flinching.

Burke finished with 137 yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 28 carries, putting him over 1,000 yards for the season. He completed 12 of 19 passes to five receivers for 163 yards and a TD. Burke (5-10, 190) absorbed several big hits, and his leaping, two-point conversion run for a 35-34 lead was among the game's key plays.

"Gritty, tough, he did what he needed to do to win the game,'' coach Vince Kehres said.

Burke is one of four finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy for the top Division III player, which will be awarded Wednesday in Salem.

It was a slippery slope in the second half, which careened into a 32-point fourth quarter.

Mount Union built a 27-16 lead midway through the third quarter before North Central scored 18 straight points, failing to convert after each TD. North Central, playing in its first national semifinal, was 1-for-6 in conversions after touchdowns, and two kicks were blocked by Sherman Wilkinson.

North Central had a 34-27 lead with 11:06 remaining in the fourth quarter after recovering a bad snap in the end zone off a Mount Union punt.

"I don't think anybody panicked,'' Kehres said.

The fourth-quarter fun on the frozen fake tundra was just beginning.

Burke guided a 65-yard drive and backup tailback Logan Nemeth scored on a 15-yard run. Instead of kicking the extra point for a tie, Kehres called Burke's number for a two-point conversion. Burke leaped over a defender at the goal line for a 35-34 lead with 5 minutes remaining.

A 32-yard kickoff return set up 51-yard North Central drive and a 1-yard TD plunge by Matt Randolph on first-and-goal. NC led, 40-35, with 1:38 to play.

North Central coach John Thorne later lamented not taking a knee for one or two downs before scoring to eat up the clock. The 98 seconds were about a minute more than Burke needed.

Burke grabbed the lead back three plays and 31 seconds later. He threw passes of 10 yards to Nemeth -- the last option on the play while Burke scrambled -- and 19 yards to Luc Meacham to the 26.

Collichio, a sophomore, broke open on double-move down the right sideline and Burke's pass over the defender settled like the falling snow into Collichio's arms in the end zone.

"As soon as I saw the play called, I knew it was six (points),'' Collichio said. "It's unbelievable. I couldn't ask for a better moment to get my first (career) touchdown.''

Burke's 2-point conversion run failed.

"Logan, Luc and Mike Collichio all did their jobs exceptionally well on that last drive,'' Burke said. "Our players knew we could win it, and we were going to. Mike ran a great route with a double-move, I gave him a little bit of a pump fake and the corner bit on it. He was pretty open in the end zone and I just dropped it on his head.''

North Central QB Spencer Stanek got the Cardinals to the Mount Union 30, and his fourth-down pass was knocked down by Twinsburg grad Mike Maier near the the goal line with 10 seconds remaining.

Mount Union freshman tailback B.J. Mitchell rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown.

In the first half, both teams scored on their first two possessions as Mount Union took a 13-10 lead. A 58-yard opening kickoff return set up North Central's first score, a three-yard fade pattern pass from Stanek to Peter Sorenson on third down.

Mitchell started Mount Union's first possession with a 49-yard run and Burke scored three plays later on a 24-yard run up the middle after a good fake to Mitchell. Edward Ruhnke's extra point tied it, 7-7.

Linebacker Hank Spencer stopped North Central's next drive at the 11 with a tackle for loss on third down, and Nick Dace kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.

Mount Union deployed its no-huddle offense on a 59-yard drive capped by Mitchell's nine-yard run to the left corner, where he broke a tackle at the 1. Ruhnke's extra point on the snowy field was wide left with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter.

They traded leads again in the second quarter. Stanek threw a nine-yard TD to Sorenson, and Wilkinson blocked the extra-point.

Linebacker Jonathan Gonnell put Mount Union back in the the lead with a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown. Gonnell read a pass over the middle and stepped in front of an oncoming receiver. Ruhnke's kick gave the Purple Raiders a 20-16 lead.

Stanek, the nation's top-rated quarterback, had thrown 41 touchdowns and just one interception entering the game.

Both teams scored on 79-yard drives in the third quarter. Burke guided a 13-play possession and scored on a three-yard run for the Mount Union's biggest lead, 27-16.

North Central scored on the ensuing possession. Backup tailback Randolph, who replaced injured 1,000-yard rusher Ryan Kent in the second quarter, dove in from the 1. Wilkinson, leaping up the middle, blocked another extra-point attempt and Mount Union led, 27-22.

The Cardinals regained the lead following a 48-yard punt return by Shane Dierking to the 5. Randolph scored from the 1, giving North Central a 28-27 lead early in the fourth quarter. Alex Kocheff and Isaiah Chambers stopped a two-point conversion run.

Mount Union dodged a bullet moments later when North Central tackled Burke short on a fourth-down run at the Purple Raiders' 31. North Central was stopped four plays later on fourth down at the 23.