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D3football.com
AFCA Division III Top 25
Linfield Game Recap (Dec. 13)
Forrest Perkins Celebration of Life Information
 
The top-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team will take on No. 3 Mount Union (Ohio) with the NCAA Division III championship on the line this Friday in the Stagg Bowl XLII at 6 p.m. Central Time at Salem Stadium in Salem, Va.
 
Friday's game, which will be broadcast live on ESPNU (Whitewater Charter channels 310 or 668-HD), marks the ninth meeting in 10 seasons between the Warhawks (14-0) and Purple Raiders for the national title.
 
UW-Whitewater is 5-3 in Stagg Bowl contests against Mount Union (14-0), and has won three straight and four of the last five in the series. The Warhawks and Purple Raiders have combined to win the last nine national championships.
 
The two teams also own the two longest winning streaks in Division III. UW-Whitewater is currently on a 31-game winning streak, the longest in college football regardless of division. Mount Union has been the victor in 14 straight contests, with its last loss coming in last season's Stagg Bowl – a 52-14 loss against the Warhawks.
 
UW-Whitewater seeks its sixth NCAA championship of all time, while the Purple Raiders enter Friday's game with 11 national titles, the most of any program in Division III history.
 
The Warhawks sent themselves back to Salem with home victories over Macalester (55-2), Wabash (38-14), Wartburg (37-33) and Linfield (20-14).
 
Last Saturday at Perkins Stadium, UW-Whitewater drove for a touchdown with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter and held Linfield out of the end zone in the final minutes to secure its second straight one-possession triumph. A replay of the contest will be shown Friday on ESPNU.
 
Senior quarterback Matt Behrendt (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy), the 2014 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, leads the Warhawks' offense with 3,305 yards and 38 touchdowns, good for ninth and fourth in the nation, respectively. He is 10th in the country with a completion percentage of 67.2.
 
Junior running backs Dennis Moore (Elgin, IL/Elgin) and Jordan Ratliffe (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Vincent) lead the team's rushing attack. Moore leads UW-Whitewater with 1,033 yards and ranks 17th in the nation with 6.54 yards per carry. Ratliffe, a second team All-WIAC selection, enters Friday's game with 834 yards and a team-best nine rushing touchdowns.
 
First team all-conference wide receivers Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead) and Jake Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin) lead the passing game. Howard leads the team in receptions (76) and yards (1,089), and Kumerow, a first team all-region pick, has 58 catches for 986 yards and a team-best 13 touchdowns, good for 14th in the nation.
 
Junior offensive lineman Conner Peters (Springfield, IL/Sacred Heart Griffin), a first team all-league and all-region honoree, leads a talented group up front for the Warhawks. For the second straight year, UW-Whitewater is one of the country's top offenses without a single senior on the offensive line.
 
Junior linebacker Justin Dischler (Milwaukee/Pius XI) leads the team with 90 tackles, including 7.0 for a loss. The first team All-WIAC and all-region selection also ranks among national leaders with six forced fumbles. Sophomore second team all-conference linebacker Paul Foster (Janesville/Craig) is third on the team with 71 stops.
 
Junior defensive back Ryan Winske (Omro/Omro) leads the secondary with 73 tackles. Senior defensive back Brady Grayvold (Norway, MI/Norway), a first team American Football Coaches Association All-American, leads the WIAC with seven interceptions and is fifth on the team with 53 tackles. Senior Zach Nellis (Waupaca/Waupaca) has 56 stops and has recovered a team-best three fumbles, while senior Marcus McLin (Delavan/Delavan-Darien), an all-conference and all-region honoree, has 36 tackles.
 
Junior defensive lineman Zach Franz (DeForest/DeForest Area) leads a strong group at the line of scrimmage. A first team all-league and all-region pick, Franz has 33 tackles, including 11 for a loss and seven sacks. Senior Mykaell Bratchett (Milwaukee /Hope School), a second team all-conference selection, leads the team in both TFLs (11.5) and sacks (8.5), while sophomore Brandon Tamsett (Waterford/Waterford-Union) leads the unit with 41 tackles, including 9.5 for a loss.
 
Mount Union, the automatic qualifier from the Ohio Athletic Conference, is the nation's leader in scoring offense (60.3 ppg), total offense (595.2 ypg), first downs (403) and passing efficiency (181.25). The team surged through the first four rounds of the playoffs with home wins over Adrian (63-3), Washington & Jefferson (67-0), John Carroll (36-28) and Wesley (70-21).
 
The Purple Raiders are led by senior quarterback Kevin Burke, the 2013 Gagliardi Trophy winner and a finalist for the same award in 2014. Burke enters Friday's game with 4,089 yards and an NCAA-leading 49 touchdown passes against just five interceptions. With an additional 10 touchdowns by run, Burke is responsible for over 25 points per game, the best mark in the country.
 
Running back Bradley Mitchell leads Mount Union with 1,144 rushing yards (7.8 ypc) and 19 touchdowns. Wide receivers Taurice Scott (75 rec., 1,047 yards, 11 TDs) and Roman Namdar (63 rec., 1,152 yards, 17 TDs) are the team's top receiving threats. Namdar is a first team All-North Region honoree.
 
The Purple Raiders also boast one of the top defenses in the nation, standing at No. 2 in scoring defense (9.3 ppg) and No. 3 in total defense (239.6 ypg).
 
Strong safety Alex Kocheff, the OAC Defensive Back of the Year, leads Mount Union with 70 tackles and a team-high three forced fumbles. Fellow defensive back Tre Jones, a first team all-region pick, leads the team with six interceptions and 13 pass break-ups.
 
Hank Spencer leads the linebacker corps with 66 tackles. Linebacker Mike Furda and defensive lineman Tom Lally lead the Purple Raiders with 18.5 and 17.5 tackles for loss, respectively. Furda paces the team with nine sacks, while Lally, the OAC Defensive Lineman of the Year, has five sacks and three fumble recoveries.
 
Kicker/punter Edward Ruhnke leads Mount Union's special teams. The first team all-region selection leads the team in scoring with 173 points and has converted 25-of-30 field goals for the year.
 
For more information, see the UW-Whitewater game notes.