UW-Whitewater made it all the way to the top of the Mount(ain), defeating Mount Union College 31-21 in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III championship game, Saturday evening at Willis White Stadium in Salem, Virginia.
Championship apparel is available through the UW-Whitewater Bookstore starting December 19 (or as soon as the apparel arrives). Fans interested in purchasing items can visit the bookstore (on campus) or the bookstore website at www.uwwhitewaterbookstore.com. For questions call the bookstore at 262-472-5632. Anyone interested in purchasing a DVD copy of the Stagg Bowl game click on the following website: www.ncaaondemand.com/clips/306100640_xxx.
See UW-W's football playoff site for complete information about the playoffs.
Box Score
Mount Union, the team that had defeated the Warhawks in the 2005 and 2006 Stagg Bowl games, put UW-W's defense to the test right away. The Purple Raiders advanced to the Whitewater 30. The Whitewater defense stiffened, forcing an incomplete pass and then catching MUC quarterback Greg Michelli scrambling for one yard when the Purple Raiders went for it on fourth and ten.
Five plays later, including a 23 yard Danny Jones (Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley) to Matt Gifford (Waukesha West/West) pass and a 26 yard run by Justin Beaver (Palmyra/Palmyra-Eagle), quarterback Danny Jones (Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley) pushed in from the one. Jeff Schebler (Davenport, IA/Assumption) added the extra point to make it 7-0 at the10:30 mark.
"Our goal was to come out early and be physical, and I thought we did that, played aggressively and had to make it a four quarter game," UW-W coach Lance Leipold said. "With twenty three seniors, almost half of the group that is here, this is a very focused group."
The Warhawk defense came up big again later in the first quarter, stopping the Purple Raider offense twice from the one yard line. The first attempt went up to the replay booth, but after review Nate Kmic was ruled down one foot short of the touchdown. Anthony White (Milwaukee/Bay View) and Ryan Ogrizovich (Burlington/Burlington) combined to stop Kmic again on the fourth down attempt from the one.
"Getting stopped on the goal line on that early drive was a key," Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. "That was good defense. That's our bread and butter play, and we didn't get it in. I credit their defense. They stopped what I think is our best goal line play."
Twice in the first half the Whitewater defense thwarted Purple Raider drives, with White recovering a fumble to end one possession, and senior linebacker A.J. Raebel stripping the ball that senior defensive back Andy Murray (Mount Horeb/Mount Horeb) recovered deep in MUC territory late in the second quarter. The Warhawks converted the second fumble into a 32-yard field goal with just two seconds left in the half, giving Whitewater a 10-0 lead going in to the locker room.
Whitewater increased its lead to 17-0 with a little help from Lady Luck. The Warhawks took the second half kickoff and started at their own 29. Eleven plays later UW-W was at the Mount Union one. Justin Beaver (Palmyra/Palmyra-Eagle) got the call, but MUC linebacker Matt Kostelnik forced a fumble that UW-W guard Michael Sherman (Kettle Moraine/) recovered in the end zone. Schebler's PAT made it 17-0 with 11:05 left in the third.
With each passing minute on the game clock the Warhawks were breaking new ground. Mount Union only trailed once this season, and that was for 1:38 in a playoff win over Ithaca College. The Purple Raider defense also shut out seven opponents this season and led Division III in points allowed.
Mount Union was down, but definitely not out. The Purple Raiders used just six plays, ending with a Kmic eleven yard run and a Mike Zimmerman point after, to cut the margin to 17-7 with 8:28 left in the third.
The Purple Raider defense gave the ball back to its offense right away, with Tony DeRiggi forcing a Beaver fumble that was recovered by defensive end Jonathon Andrews at the Whitewater 19. It took eight plays to cover that distance, but Kmic went final yard and Zimmerman's PAT cut Whitewater's margin to 17-14 with 4:14 left in the third.
"The biggest thing I've seen so many people make mistakes and put their head down, and I've kind of learned through many things in life that if you make a mistake just bounce back as hard as you can and give it everything you've got," Beaver replied when asked about his fumble.
"At the Gagliardi dinner the other night I was asked a question, tell me something about Justin that others don't know," Leipold interjected. "I think I need to share with you that Justin played the last five, six weeks with a fractured rib, and that just shows you once again the kind of competitor, and the heart and everything he gave this football team."
Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Mount Union driving again, the momentum swung back to Whitewater when Ben Farley (Brookfield/East) forced a Michelli fumble that Matt Blaziewske (Kenosha/Tremper) recovered at the UW-W 35. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty put the ball at mid-field. Seven plays later, six of then runs by Beaver including the last 13 for the touchdown, Schebler's kick put Whitewater back in a two-score lead, 24-14 with 6:11 left in the game.
Mount Union responded again, as they have so many times in the past, using their next possession to march 71 yards in ten plays. Kmic went the last four, and Zimmerman's kick put Mount right on Whitewater's heels, 24-21 with 3:36 left in the game.
Like two heavyweight boxers, Whitewater answered Mount's punishing drive with a six play, 75 yard drive of its own. Beaver provided 66 yards on the second play of the drive, and Jones scored his second one yard TD of the game. Schebler's kick made is 31-21 with 1:33 remaining, making it a two score game again with even less time on the clock.
"If you look back at last year's game to this year's, we didn't allow big plays," said Leipold. "Yeah we turned it over a little bit, but there weren't the explosive plays for them. They had to drive to score and I think that's a tribute to our defense."
The game ended with UW-W senior defensive back Andy Murray (Mount Horeb/Mount Horeb) picking off a Michelli pass at midfield.
Almost every statistical category was even and, in fact, Mount Union had the edge in first downs (23-22), total yards (445-410) and time of possession (33:33 to 26:27), but the most telling statistic was Whitewater gave the ball away twice and Mount Union lost it four times.
Beaver, the Gagliardi Trophy recipient as the top player in Division III, rushed 31 times for 249 yards, the third highest total in the 34-yard history of the Division III title game. That also gave him 2,455 yards for the season, breaking the Division III record he set in 2005, when he rushed for 2,420 yards. Kmic rushed for 121 on 30 carries for the Purple Raiders, and Michelli completed 19-32 for 235 yards. Whitewater wide receiver Neil Mrkvicka (Greendale/Greendale) and Justin Wray of Mount Union had identical receiving stats, both with five catches for 52 yards. Whitewater junior linebacker Jace Rindahl (Cambridge/Cambridge) had his career best game, totaling 16 tackles, 10 of them solo, and adding one tackle for a loss. Farley, a senior, added 13 tackles, one tackle for a loss, and he forced two fumbles. Senior defensive tackle Pat McCullough led MUC with ten tackles, four of them solos.
"I want to congratulate Whitewater," Mount Union coach Larry Kehres said. "They played the best game tonight and beat us. I think they deserve to be champions. We played very well in spots, but a few too many mistakes, a couple of little bounces of the football when the ball got away from us cost us the victory. But primarily, my review of the game would be Whitewater played a great game and deserved to win the game tonight."
The twenty-three seniors on the Whitewater team that played their last game Saturday set marks that will be hard for any incoming class to match. The Warhawks have gone 14-1 each of the last three seasons, and 49-6 in their four years on campus. The seniors won three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, going undefeated the last three seasons in league play, and they own a twenty-five game win streak at home in Perkins Stadium.
The NCAA III football championship is UW-Whitewater's seventh national title. Men's basketball won national championships in 1984 and 1989, women's golf women in 1985, volleyball took home the NCAA III crown in 2002 and 2005, and baseball won a championship in 2005.
