1. 3rd and 10, Mount Union on their own 31 yard line. 4:10 remaining in the game.
Kurt Rocco dropped back into a 5 step drop. Linebacker Max Ford, blitzing from the right side got an arm on him and forced him to step up into the pocket. But as he stepped up, he drifted slightly to his left and was almost immediately met head on by Lane Olson for a loss of 6 to his own 25.
2. 4th and 16, Mount Union on their own 25. 3:29 remaining in the game.
Jay Carpenter launched a punt 46 yards which Aaron Rusch fielded on his own 29. Kyle Miller flew downfield and was the only Purple Raider within 5 yards of Rusch. But Rusch slipped inside of him, and veered right and found some open space before Arthur Smith brought him down on the UW-W 42.
3. 1st and 10, UW- Whitewater on their own 42. 3:16 remaining.
Jeff Donovan lined up in a shotgun 5 yards behind the line. Levell Coppage lined up 2 yards behind Donovan, offset 2 yards to the left. UW-W lined up two receivers to the left and Aaron Rusch to the right. Rusch went in motion back left, causing cornerback Ryan Renbarger to creep in just a couple of steps. Donovan took the snap and rolled left and and gave the ball to Coppage with an inside handoff on a sprint-out draw. Coppage attacked the middle, but bounced right. Renbarger was caught just a bit inside and Coppage got the edge, gaining 11 yards before Renbarger recovered and knocked him out of bounds.
4. 1st and 10, UW-Whitewater on the Mount Union 47. 2:50 remaining.
UW-W shifted into power set on the left side with a tight end, a fullback just a yard behind the tackle, and a tight flanker just a yard behind and two feet outside the tight end. Donovan lined up in the shotgun 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Coppage lined up directly behind Donovan 9 yards behind the line of scrimmage. In a power play, Coppage went to the strong side, veered inside and pushed the pile forward for a 4 yard gain.
5. 2nd and 6, UW-Whitewater on the Mount Union 43. 2:11 remaining.
Donovan lined up in the shotgun again. Coppage was even with him offset to the right. On the left side, Corey Robinson lined up 2 yards off the ball in the slot and Aaron Rusch lined up wide. Robinson motioned further inside and Donovan hit Rusch at the 36. Rusch made a nice catch on a ball thrown slightly high and then split CB Chaz Jordan and S Drew Mcclain for additional yards until Mcclain dragged him down near the left sideline at the 29.
6. 1 and 10, UW-Whitewater on the Mount Union 29. 1:40 remaining.
Donovan mishandled the snap and fell on the ball at the 31. UW-W was called for an illegal shift on the play. Mount Union refused the penalty.
7. 2nd and 12, UW-Whitewater on the Mount Union 31. 1:32 remaining.
With the ball placement on the left hash mark, UW-W spread out the MUC defense by putting three receivers very wide to the right. As MUC shifted, only 5 players were left on the left 2/3 of the field within 4 yards of the line of scrimmage. Another was 7 yards deep and the free safety was 9 yards deep. Donovan operated out of the shotgun, with Coppage 4 yards directly behind him. James Herbert, who was playing off the ball on the defensive right side did a middle stunt and hit the hole and met Coppage three yards behind the line of scrimmage. But Coppage left him reaching for air as he juked left. Tackle Matt Weber and tight end John Novak executed amazing seal blocks and when Coppage broke toward the left sidelines, there were no Purple Raiders to be found. Safety Alex Ferarra took too narrow of an angle and bumped into the referee and Cornerback Ryan Renbarger came all the way from the right hash mark but all he could do was push Coppage at the goal line and Coppage tumbled into the end zone with 1:18 remaining in the game, giving UW-W the lead for good.
Obviously there were a lot of plays that were pivotal throughout the game. But this seven play sequence was huge to the Warhawks 2009 D3 Championship. It should be noted that the alignments, the motion, the skill players and the execution of the offensive line all worked together to make the drive successful. I included the Lane Olson sack and the Aaron Rusch punt return because they were key in giving UW-W the ball and excellent field position respectively.
In the last three games of the championship drive, when the game was on the line, the team executed brilliantly. After leading Wittenberg by only one point with 16 minutes left in the quarterfinal game, the Hawks outscored the Tigers 17-0 the rest of the way. After trailing Linfield 17-10 early in the fourth quarter, UW-W outscored the Wildcats 17-0 the rest of the way. And when the Championship was on the line with a tie game and 4:10 remaining, the Warhawks executed brilliantly outscoring Mount Union 10-0 and brought home the National Championship.
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