UW-Whitewater defeated Wittenberg University 31-13 Saturday in a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III playoff quarterfinal game in Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin.  UW-W, 13-0, will host Linfield College, 12-0, in a semifinal.  The December 12 game in Whitewater will kick off at 12:00.  Tickets are available at the Connor University Center ticket office Monday-Friday, by calling 262-472-2222, and at the stadium on game day.  UW-Whitewater championship central

box score

photo gallery (courtesy of Tim Gumz)

It was no surprise, but neither team scored in the first quarter.  The Warhawks and Tigers have both allowed just one touchdown in the first quarter this season.  Both teams were ranked among the top defenses (scoring and total yards) in Division III.

The first quarter was definitely not a precursor to the second, when the tempo of the game seemed to do a 180.

Wittenberg went for a first down on a fourth and three from Whitewater's 36.  UW-W defensive tackle Wesley Hicks (Milwaukee/Vincent) sacked Tiger QB Aaron Huffman and Whitewater took over at their 37.  

Whitewater went 63 yards on seven plays, including five runs by Levell Coppage (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park).  Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/East) hooked up Jordan Wells (Elgin, IL/Elgin) for 26 yards and ended the drive with a 23 yard toss to Aaron Rusch (Hartford/Hartford) for the score.  Jeff Schebler (Davenport, IA/Assumption)'s kick made it 7-0 with 14:17 left in the first half.  

Wittenberg responded immediately, taking the next kickoff and driving 82 yards on eight plays.  The big play was Huffman to Michael Cooper for 35 yards, and two plays later Huffman found Patrick Williams for 24 yards to the one.  After a loss of one, Huffman ran it in to get Wittenberg on the board.;  The Tigers missed the extra point; 7-6 Whitewater at 10:26.

The momentum swung back to UW-W on the next drive, Donovan finding Adam Brandes (Burlington/Catholic Central) for 24 yards on the first play, mixing in a 16 yard toss to Cory Robinson (Cambridge/Cambridge), and finishing one play later with Antwan Anderson (Madison/Madison Memorial) scoring from seven yards out.  Schebler's PAT made it 14-6 UW-W with 8:29 left in the second.

Immediately Wittenberg seized the momentum, mounting a 79 yard drive that ate up 7:49.  Facing a third and 12 at the Whitewater 42 Huffman hit Josh McKee for 24 yards down to the Whitewater 18.  Two plays Huffman went back to pass, but was sandwiched by linebackers Lane Olson (Racine/Horlick) and Max Ford (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park River Forest).  Huffman appeared to suffer an injury on the play and did not return to the game.  Backup QB Ben Zoeller made his first play count, hitting Cooper for the 11 yard TD.  Zack Harris made the PAT for a 14-13 Whitewater lead with 0:32 left.

The 14-13 lead was the closest any team has been to UW-W at halftime since the Warhawks trailed Mount Union 24-10 in last year's Stagg Bowl.  The closest any opponent has been to UW-W this year was a 17-6 lead at home against UW-Eau Claire October 10. 

The third quarter reverted to the tone set in the first, with UW-W finally breaking through with 0:51 left in the quarter on Donovan to Adam Brandes (Burlington/Catholic Central) 28 yard TD.  Schebler made it 21-13.

After stopping the Tigers, UW-W took over at its own 15.  Coppage rushed seven times for 49 yards on the ensuing drive, which ended with Schebler's 35 yard field goal with 5:48 left in the game to make it 24-13 in favor of the Warhawks.

UW-W senior defensive back Troney Shumpert (Milwaukee/Bay View) ended Wittenberg's next drive with an interception he returned 36 yards to the WU 12.  Three more runs by Coppage ended the drive.  Schebler's PAT ended the scoring in the game with 3:45 left on the clock.

UW-W scoring 31 points against the number ranked defense in Division III, which had been allowing 7.0 points per game.  Wittenberg was also number one in total defense at 172.7 yards per game, but Whitewater totaled more than double that at 347.

Wittenberg gained 21 yards rushing on 31 attempts, with the UW-W picking up four QB sacks, two by Hicks.  

UW-W's Coppage rushed 25 times for 123 yards against a Wittenberg defense that came in allowing 67.4 yards per game.  The Warhawks also passed for 236 yards, 18-25, against the WU unit that ranked sixth in Division III at 105.3 yards per game.  Rusch led UW-W with seven catches for 92 yards.  Shumpert, White, and Olson led the Warhawks with eight tackles apiece.  Warhawk senior receiver Jordan Wells (Elgin, IL/Elgin), who had one catch for 26 yards, passed Jim Knoblauch (1966) for tenth place in the UW-W single season record book with 814 yards, and ninth with 53 receptions.

Wittenberg linebacker Brad McKinley led both teams with ten tackles and one tackle for a loss.  WU wide receiver Josh McKee led all receivers with ten catches for 100 yards.  Tailback Corey Weber, who came in to the game averaging 95.4 yards per game and 5.6 per carry, was limited to 36 yards on 15 carries, a 2.4 average.

UW-Whitewater advances to the NCAA III playoff semifinal round for the fifth consecutive year.  The Warhawks will host Linfield College, a 31-20 winner over the University of Saint Thomas in another quartefinal Saturday.

In 2005 UW-W defeated Wesley College 58-6 in a semifinal, and Wesley again in 2006 44-7.  In 2007 Whitewater advanced to the Stagg Bowl with a 16-7 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor, and last year The Warhawks topped Mary Hardin-Baylor again 39-13 in the semifinals.  

The other half of the bracket will match Mount Union College, 13-0 and a 55-3 quarterfinal winer over Albright College, and Wesley College, 13-0 after a 12-0 win over Johns Hopkins University in another quarterfinal.