RELEASED:  Saturday, December 15, 2007

Third Time’s A Charm…Warhawks Win National Championship

Salem, Va.--Danny Jones’ one-yard touchdown plunge with 1:33 remaining in the game lifted UW-Whitewater to a 31-21 victory over Mount Union College (Ohio) in the NCAA Division III football national championship game on Dec. 15.

The national title is the first in program history and first for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference school since UW-La Crosse claimed the 1995 trophy with a 36-7 triumph over Rowan University (N.J.).

This year’s contest was the third straight title bout between the Warhawks and Purple Raiders.  The Purple Raiders won the previous two meetings and nine of the last 14 national championships.  Mount Union also entered the game riding a 37-game winning streak.

”I’ve said along that we have a great group of seniors and that they played their hearts out,” explained UW-Whitewater head coach Lance Leipold.  “Our staff did an outstanding job in making sure we believe.  I can’t say how proud I am of our guys and the rest of our program.”

UW-Whitewater jumped to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a one-yard quarterback sneak by Jones and built a 10-0 advantage into halftime when Jeff Schebler connected on a 32-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the half.

Mount Union entered the game allowing just 5.2 points per game and compiling a NCAA-best 54.1 points per game on offense.

The Warhawks expanded their lead on the opening drive of the second half when Mike Sherman recovered a Justin Beaver fumble in the end zone to give UW-Whitewater a 17-0 lead.   The touchdown capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive.

Mount Union countered with a pair of Nate Kmic touchdown runs to get within 17-14.

UW-Whitewater’s Justin Beaver had a 13-yard touchdown run with 6:11 remaining in the game that gave the Warhawks a 24-14 lead.

Beaver finished the contest with a season-high 249 yards on 31 carries and was named the game's Most Outstanding Player.

“You can’t get anything better than winning a national title in your last game,” said Beaver.

The Warhawks forced three lost fumbles and held standout receiver Pierre Garcon to only four catches for 30 yards.  Linebacker Jace Rindahl led the unit with 16 tackles (10 solo).  Ben Farley had 13 stops and two forced fumbles, and Anthony White collected 1.5 of UW-Whitewater’s three quarterback sacks.

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