MUC faces familiar rival for title

By JIM THOMAS

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has become the Mount Union of the west. Making five consecutive Stagg Bowl appearances against the Purple Raiders connects the dots.

Mount Union coach Larry Kehres says it’s “remarkable” the two 14-0 teams play again Saturday in Salem, Va.

Mount Union has won NCAA Division III 10 national titles, but it doesn’t take too much to see how good the Warhawks are.

“Whitewater is the best team we’ve seen on film,” Kehres said. “They are a balanced team. They are good in all three phases of the game. They have good players.

“The thing they do best is execute, and they have the best quarterback we’ve faced.”

Kehres said a championship team must be balanced on offense, stop both the run and pass on defense and boast a solid kicking game. Based on that, third-year Warhawks coach Lance Leipold has a team as complete as his 2007 squad that defeated Mount Union, 31-21, for the 2007 title.

The offense has a 3,000-yard passer, a 2,000-yard running back, three receivers close to 1,000 yards and an offensive line that’s allowed only nine sacks. The defense gives up 9.1 points a game, second only to Mount Union in Division III, and is ranked fifth in total defense.

“And their kicker [Jeff Schebler] is the best kicker I’ve seen in Division III in recent years,” said Kehres of the All-American with 13 field goals in 16 tries.

Leipold said it starts with second-year senior quarterback Jeff Donovan, who directs a Whitewater attack scoring 42.8 points a game. Donovan has completed 73 percent of his passes for 3,359 yards and was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference player of the year after throwing for 27 touchdowns and five interceptions.

“That second year they’re more confident. They cut down on their interceptions,” Leipold said. “The game slows down. Jeff has had an outstanding season, played very well for us.”

Donovan is not alone on offense. Tailback Levell Coppage and wide receivers Aaron Rusch, Jordan Wells and Adam Brandes are having outstanding years.

Coppage was the D3Football.com West Region offensive player of the year after running for 1,996 yards and 32 touchdowns. Rusch (64 catches, 828 yards, 8 TDs), Wells (59, 941, 10) and Brandes (54, 960, 8) force defenses to not focus on one receiver.

Coppage limped into the Stagg Bowl last year. Not so this time. He’s healthy and averaging 6.9 yards per run.

Whitewater’s defense comes in much more experienced than a year ago. Ten starters return with Warhawks losing only All-America linebacker Jace Rindahl.

Senior linebacker Kyle Supianoski has filled those big shoes quite capably. The first-team WIAC performer leads the team with 84 tackles and has two sacks and two picks. Defensive end Anthony White anchors the front and has team highs of 121‚Ñ2 tackles for loss and 51‚Ñ2 sacks. Cornerback Troney Shumpert also was a first-team WIAC pick.

“Troney is a very athletic corner,” Leipold said. “He has great quickness ... very god speed. What sets him apart is he’s a physical corner. He’ll come up and make physical plays.”

Shumpert has three interceptions and 12 pass breakups. Safety Shane Christopherson has six of the team’s 21 interceptions. Teams have thrown just 12 touchdowns against Whitewater.

“The expectations are high here,” Leipold said. “We like that. But when you have the [record] Mount Union and Coach Kehres has had ... that’s the measuring stick. If we can be in that conversation five years in a row, it’s a compliment right there.”