Mount Union falls in final

Associated Press

SALEM, Va.

Levell Coppage burst through the line, saw all green in front of him and knew he could turn his late third-and-6 carry into a championship.

That’s not all he was thinking.

“Am I going fast, one? Two, should I zig-zag? And three, is anybody behind me?” Coppage said after sealing Wisconsin-Whitewater’s third NCAA Division III national championship in four years with a 75-yard touchdown run Saturday in the Warhawks’ 31-21 victory over Mount Union.

Coppage ran for 299 yards, an Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl record, and three touchdowns, and Wisconsin-Whitewater forced five turnovers and shut out Mount Union in the second half.

The Warhawks completed their second straight 15-0 season, improved to 57-3 in Lance Leipold’s four years as coach and have supplanted the Purple Raiders as D-III kings.

“It’s unreal,” said senior defensive back Matt McCulloch, who had two of the Warhawks’ four interceptions in the game and a team-best eight tackles. “I’m happy for the seniors. We deserve it. You can’t even describe how it feels. It’s unreal. It’s awesome.”

Coppage, the game’s most outstanding player for the second year in a row, made it look easy at times. He scored on runs of 54, 11 and 75 yards, the latter with 2:34 to play.

“As the game went on, they were really condensing the holes,” he said, a champions cap perched on his head. He said the Purple Raiders’ strategy caused him to start running outside, like on his 11-yard TD. “After I did that, the inside started opening up for me.”

The Purple Raiders came in with the nation’s top defense, allowing less than 200 yards per game, and with every intention of slowing down the 5-foot-8, 170-pound tailback.

“He’s a patient runner and he’ll wait until he sees a gap in the defense,” Mount Union coach Larry Kehres, whose team lost for the fourth time in 14 Stagg Bowls, said. “He can start and accelerate so tremendously in the first 5, 6 yards, and then poof, he’s gone.”