A Justin Jacobs (Sun Prairie/Sun Prairie) to Neil Mrkvicka (Greendale/Greendale) 53 yard pass with 5:39 left in the game gave UW-Whitewater a 24-21 win over UW-La Crosse in a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III second round playoff game in Perkins Stadium in Whitewater, Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
Whitewater, 12-0 and ranked second in the Division III polls, broke out on top with a Jacobs to Derek Stanley (Verona/Verona) 20 yard scoring pass at 7:37 in the first quarter. The TD was set up by a 46 yard run by junior tailback Justin Beaver (Palmyra/Palmyra-Eagle), seeing his first action since suffering a broken collarbone against La Crosse October 14. La Crosse took the next kickoff and march 68 yards in 7 plays, scoring on a 10 yard run by Corey Geldernick to knot the score at 7-7 at 5:23. After taking possession on the La Crosse 38, it took Whitewater four plays before Jacobs hit Lance Douglas (Brodhead/Brodhead) in the corner of the end zone for a 25 yard score to put Whitewater up 14-7 at 12:44. Jeff Schebler (Davenport, IA/Assumption) made it 17-7 with 24 yard field goal with 4:14 left in the half.
Whitewater lined up for a 23 yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, but UW-L's Nick Ihde blocked the kick and gave the Eagles the ball on their own 20. UW-L QB John Schumann hit Dan Hall with a 26 yard pass to move the ball to the La Crosse, and five plays later Shumann went to the air again, this time for a 28 yard scoring pass to Jason Wagner to cut Whitewater's lead to 17-14 with 8:40 left in the third. Late in the third quarter Whitewater lined up for a 36 yard field goal, but a high snap was recovered by UW-L's Ihde to give UW-L possession on the La Crosse 42. Seven plays later La Crosse took the lead, 21-17, at 14:33 with a Schumann to Mike Schmidt pass for 4 yards.
With just over five minutes and the ball on Whitewater's 29, and facing a fourth and nine, La Crosse's pass attempt was incomplete and UW-W took over. On Whitewater's first play Beaver rushed for 18 yards, and on the next play Jacobs hooked up with Neil Mrkvicka (Greendale/Greendale) for the winning TD. La Crosse started their next drive on their 29, but Andy Murray (Mount Horeb/Mount Horeb) picked off a Schumann pass. Whitewater went three and out, and any last hopes for UW-L were dashed by two incomplete passes and sacks by Ryan Kleppe (Mount Horeb/Mount Horeb) and Eric Kosterman (Racine/Park).
The Eagles' Schumann went 24-35 for 236 yards, with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. Schmidt caught six of those passes, for a total of 16 yards. UW-L linebacker Adam Neitzel led both team with 14 tackles (5 solo) and he forced two fumbles. Beaver, who rushed for a school record 286 yards in Whitewater's 45-10 win over the Eagles earlier this season, wound up with 227 on 36 carries. UW-W's defensive backs Ben Farley (Brookfield/East) and Murray were credited with 11 tackles each. UW-L was the first team this season to rush for 100+ yards against the Warhawks, gaining 138 on 27 attempts.
La Crosse, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference runnerup, ended the season 9-2 . UW-W, the WIAC champion, will host a NCAA III third round playoff game Saturday, December 2, hosting Saint John's University (MN) at 12:00 in Perkins Stadium. Saint John's defeated Whitworth College (WA) 21-3 Saturday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinals against UW-W. Tickets for the game will go on sale at 9:00 Monday morning in the UW-W ticket office, located in the Visitor's Center or at the ticket window in the Center of the Arts.
For additional information:
Bob Berezowitz, UW-W coach, 262-472-1453
UW-W football playoff site: http://www.uww.edu/athletics/mfootball/2006ncaafootballchamp/
