The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team continues its 16th appearance in the NCAA Division III Playoffs this Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. as it hosts St. John's (Minn.) in a semifinal contest at Perkins Stadium. UW-Whitewater, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference co-champion, earned a Pool C, or at-large, bid to the postseason, while St. John's, the champion of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, picked up a Pool A, or automatic, berth in the playoffs.

Tickets are available for advance purchase at tickets.uww.edu or at the Perkins Stadium gate starting 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Price of admission is $13 for adults and $8 for students, senior citizens and children ages 3-12. All seating is general admission. Parking in Lot 24 is for season parking pass holders only, and parking in all other campus lots is open to the general public. Click here to view a campus map.

Saturday's game can be watched live on ESPN3 via the WatchESPN app on mobile devices and online at espn.com/watch. It can also be heard live on KOOL 106.5 FM WKCH in the Whitewater area and online at 940wfaw.com. Fans can track live statistics via the NCAA here.

The Warhawks, ranked seventh by D3football.com and 10th by the American Football Coaches Association possessed the ball for nearly 43 minutes and pitched a second-half shutout while scoring 16 unanswered points last Saturday in a 26-7 victory at No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) in the national quarterfinals. UW-Whitewater amassed 358 yards of offense, including 239 on the ground, and held the Crusaders to 140 yards, including minus-3 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

St. John's, which is ranked No. 8 by both the AFCA and D3football.com, scored the go-ahead touchdown with 6:07 to play and held on for a 34-33 victory at Wheaton (Ill.) in last Saturday's quarterfinal round. Wheaton had a chance to tie the game after scoring a touchdown with nine seconds left, but was penalized 15 yards following the score and missed the extra point. Jackson Erdmann passed for 407 yards and five touchdowns and Ravi Alston and Blake Patrick each caught two touchdowns to lead SJU offensively. Ryan LaCasse paced the defense with nine tackles. The Johnnies punched their ticket to the program's 10th appearance in the Division III semifinals and first since 2003.

SERIES

Saturday's game is the fifth meeting between the two teams, with each of the previous three games coming during the NCAA Playoffs. The Warhawks most recently topped the Johnnies 37-7 on Nov. 22, 2008, at Perkins Stadium. After St. John's scored the opening touchdown midway through the third quarter, UW-Whitewater tallied three field goals in the second to take the lead for good before erupting for 28 second-half points. Antwan Anderson rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Warhawks, who totaled 321 rushing yards in the contest. Kyle Supianoski led the defense with eight tackles, including one of the team's 11 tackles for a loss.

UP NEXT

The winner of Saturday's game advances to Stagg Bowl XLVII, the 2019 national championship game, to face the winner of Saturday's North Central (Ill.) at Muhlenberg (Pa.) game. The game will take place Friday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m. Central Time at Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah, Texas, and will air on ESPNU.

To view the entire edition of this week's game notes, click here.