Mount’s Kehres respects ’Hawks
The Purple Raiders coach said he voted Wisconsin-Whitewater No. 1 all year.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
WHITEWATER, Wis. — Perhaps he was engaging in a bit of early week gamesmanship. Maybe his sincerity meter read 100 percent.
Either way, Mount Union College coach Larry Kehres doesn’t sound surprised that Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-1) is back in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl to defend its NCAA Division III football championship.
Kehres, with nine NCAA Division III football championships on his resume and a 274-21-3 record (.924) in 23 seasons at Mount Union, intimated that the Warhawks had been the best team in the nation throughout the season.
“Whitewater has consistently received a vote for the No. 1 team in the country throughout the coaches’ poll,” Kehres said Monday during the Stagg Bowl coaches’ teleconference. “There’s a possibility that could have been me.
“I don’t know that we’re supposed to say who we voted for but if I could say who I voted for, I would say I voted for Whitewater.
“Because when you are the champion you are the champion. And the team they have this year is every bit as good as last year’s team.”
Whether Whitewater (13-1) is good enough to beat Mount Union (14-0) in the title game for the second consecutive season will be determined when the teams meet at 11 a.m. Saturday in Salem, Va. The game can be seen on ESPN2.
Junior Jeff Donovan, in his first season as Whitewater’s starting quarterback, smiled when told of Kehres’ praise.
“He’s doing the fake bow to us,” said Donovan. “Come on. He can’t give the vote to his team.”
This will be the fourth consecutive season in which Mount Union and Whitewater will vie for the title. The Purple Raiders prevailed in 2005 and ’06 but Whitewater pulled off a stunning 31-21 victory last season.
The Purple Raiders closed the regular season ranked No. 1 in the coaches’ association and D3football.com national polls. Whitewater, which won two of its four playoff games on the road, was No. 5 in the coaches’ poll and No. 4 according to D3football.com.
Both teams suffered significant personnel losses in the offseason. Whitewater’s losses included tailback Justin Beaver, the national player of the year last season, and quarterback Danny Jones. Nevertheless, Mount Union returned its two top players on offense, senior quarterback Greg Micheli and senior tailback Nate Kmic.
Micheli has completed 75.7 percent of his passes for 3,481 yards, with 34 touchdowns and just two interceptions this season. He is the No. 3 rusher on the team with 459 yards, 6.0 yards per carry, and four touchdowns.
Kmic has rushed for 2,702 yards, 7.6 yards per carry, and 42 touchdowns. He rushed 29 times for 310 yards and three touchdowns in the national semifinals to push his all-time total to 7,986 yards. That is an NCAA record for all divisions.
Whitewater coach Lance Leipold, 27-2 in two seasons as head coach, respectfully disagreed with Kehres’ view.
When Leipold sees the numbers put up by Kmic and Micheli and notes that the Purple Raiders are No. 1 nationally in total offense (556.5 yards per game), No. 2 in scoring offense (46.6 points per game), No. 1 nationally in scoring defense (7.5 ppg) and No. 1 in total defense (181.3 ypg), he sees the No. 1 team.
“If I look at their statistics too long I’d end up having to cancel the trip,” Leipold joked. “It’s, like, ’Why show up?’
“You’ve just got to try and come up with a way that we can play our best football, be sound, wrap up and tackle and make plays.
“If we don’t do that, then we’re going to be part of that big long statistic sheet that they’ve accumulated this season.”
Maybe Leipold enjoys gamesmanship, too.