WITTENBERG NO PAPER TIGERS

The Wittenberg Tigers came to play in Saturday's quarterfinal D3 playoff game at UW-Whitewater. Some of the players made that clear as they mixed it up with some of the Warhawks before the game even started. They never stopped fighting until the game's final whistle. Although on the short end of a 31-13 score, the Tigers won plenty of respect at Perkins Stadium on Saturday.

The Tigers played UWW toe to toe for longer than many expected in a game that was a one point game until a 28 yard touchdown pass from Jeff Donovan to Adam Brandes increased the gap to 21-13 with 51 seconds to play in the 3rd quarter. At that point, the offense and defense of UWW both exerted their will on the Tigers, creating the separation between the two teams.

After the Brandes touchdown. The UWW defense forced a punt on the ensuing series. Taking over on their own 15 with 11:41 left in the game, the Warhawks drove to the Tigers 17. Levell Coppage carried 7 times on the drive and gained 49 yards. Jeff Donavan went 3-4 on the drive for 19 more yards. When the drive stalled, Jeff Schebler kicked a 35 yard field goal, but not before the drive erased 5:53 off the clock. That moved the score to 24-13 with 5:48 remaining in the game.

On the next series, senior all WIAC cornerback Troney Shumpert came up big as he intercepted a pass on the sideline near the UWW bench and streaked down the sideline 36 yards to the Tigers 12. Three more handoffs to Coppage and the UWW lead increased to 31 to 13 with 3:35 left in the game.

On the first series of the game, UWW drove 45 yards to the Wittenberg 20, but when the drive stalled, Jeff Schebler missed a 37 yard field goal attempt after coming into the game 10-11 on field goals this year. Wittenberg then moved the ball 43 yards to the UWW 34 before QB Aaron Huffman was sacked by Wesley Hicks to stop the drive.

UWW then drove 63 yards, capped by a 23 yard TD pass from Jeff Donovan to Aaron Rusch and a 7-0 lead with 14:17 left in the 2nd quarter. Wittenberg responded with an 82 yard drive, capped by a 2 yard TD run by QB Aaron Huffman. However, Justin Ankley blocked the extra point and UWW held a 7-6 lead.

UWW then drove 66 yards as Antwan Anderson scored from 7 yards out and a 14-6 lead with 8:29 left in the 2nd period. QB Aaron Huffman led the Tigers right back with precision passing. Huffman completed 5 of 6 passes on the drive, taking WC to the UWW 8. However, what happened next may have changed the complexion of the game. Huffman took the snap from the shotgun position and took a step forward. It looked like a QB draw, which had been utilized several times already. However Max Ford and Lane Olson came in clean from the edges and converged on Huffman, simultaneously hitting him with full force. Huffman was attended to for several minutes before wobbling off the field with assistance. He left having completed 11 of 12 passes for 139 yards, but he was done for the day. Ben Zoeller replaced him and promptly threw an 11 yard TD pass to Michael Cooper, reducing the UWW lead to 14-13 with just 31 seconds left in the half. That score would stand until the final minute of the third quarter, when UWW began to take control.

After the game, UWW Coach Lance Leipold felt good about how his team responded to adversity. "To survive and move on when maybe it's not your 'A' game in some areas, it's a testament to our team. It's funny because I heard one of their fans (at halftime) say, 'Let's see how they play when it's close.' And (that's) true." said Leipold, according to warhawkfootball.com.

With the win, the Warhawks advance to the national Division 3 semifinals, hosting the undefeated Linfield Wildcats, who defeated St. Thomas 31-20 on Saturday.