Wittenberg football: Kickoff tips
Who: Wittenberg University (12-0) at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (12-0).
What: National quarterfinals of NCAA Division III playoffs.
When: 1 p.m. today, Dec. 5.
Where: Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wis.
Series history: First meeting.
Last week: Wittenberg beat Trine 34-17; Whitewater beat Illinois Wesleyan 45-7.
Next week: The winner plays Linfield (Ore.) or St. Thomas (Minn.) on the campus of the highest remaining seed.
Coaches: Joe Fincham, Wittenberg (14th season, 126-29); Lance Leipold, Whitewater (third season, 39-3).
Whitewater notes: Kicker Jeff Schebler is a finalist for the Gagliardi Award, which honors the top player in D-III football. Last week, Schebler became the all-time leading scorer in all divisions of NCAA football with 446 career points. ... Prior to its run of four straight trips to the Stagg Bowl, Whitewater had not made the playoffs since 1997. ... Defensive back Troney Shumpert has been an All-American the last three seasons. ... Counting this season, Whitewater is 67-5 the last five seasons.
Leipold on Wittenberg: “You have to start with their QB (Aaron Huffman). He’s a big-bodied quarterback. He’s used very well in the running game. He’s going to have to be contained.”
Wittenberg notes: The Tigers have played two games against Wisconsin schools in their history, winning at Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1967 and beating Wisconsin-Oshkosh in Springfield in 1999. ... Corey Weber had the 29th 200-yard rushing game in Wittenberg history against Trine. ... With 931 yards, Michael Cooper has a chance to become the first Wittenberg receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in a season. He is 23 yards behind Russ Fedyk’s single-season receiving yards record and two catches behind Patrick Williams’ 2007 record of 56 receptions in a season.
Fincham on Whitewater: “They’re big. They’re fast. They’re physical. They’re everything you would think of a team that’s played in the national championship game the last four years.”
— David Jablonski, staff writer
SPRINGFIELD — For confidence’s sake, the Wittenberg University football team might not want to attach any significance to the last meeting between a North Coast Athletic Conference team and Wisconsin-Whitewater in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
In 2007, the Warhawks trounced Wabash 47-7 in the quarterfinals.
“I don’t have a game plan for playing against 13 guys,” then Wabash coach Chris Creighton said after the game, “and that’s what it seemed like they had out there.”
Today, Dec. 5, the Tigers get their chance. They play at 1 p.m. at Whitewater’s Perkins Stadium.
No. 12 Wittenberg has been dominant all season, winning 12 games by a combined score of 464-84. No. 2 Whitewater has been even better, outscoring its opponents 541-98.
Even so, it’s unlikely Wittenberg will be intimidated.
“Everybody’s got the right mind-set going into it,” senior defensive tackle Lance Phillips said. “We respect Whitewater a lot, which we should. They’re a team that’s proven. We want to be one of those teams, and to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”
Based on Whitewater’s four straight appearances in the D-III championship game, the Alonzo Stagg Bowl, it’s a safe bet no one outside Springfield thinks the Tigers have a chance today.
“The problem is that no one can match Whitewater score for score,” one fan posted on D3Football.com’s message board. “The way to beat Whitewater is to get the ball first, keep it and never let go of it even if they stop you on fourth down. Super glue it to the linemen.”
It’s thinking like that, true or not, that helps drive this Wittenberg team. Today, the Tigers have the chance to climb higher on the list of the greatest Wittenberg teams. No Tigers team has ever won 13 games in a season.
“We like to think we have a little bit of a swagger,” senior defensive tackle Taylor Scherer said. “We want to go up there and show them that we’re ready to be there on the national scene with these other teams. Just because they’ve had success in the past and we’ve struggled recently doesn’t mean we can’t go and change that.”
“We’re going to have to play a great game,” senior wide receiver Patrick Williams said. “No mental mistakes. Limit turnovers. No missed tackles. We’re going to have to play our best game of the year if we’re going to come out here with a victory.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0351 or djablonski@coxohio.com.
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