Warhawks Hold On To Edge Titans In NCAA Championship Quarterfinal
UW-Whitewater took a two-score lead into the fourth quarter and held on for a 31-29 win over UW-Oshkosh in a battle of nationally ranked teams during the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship on Saturday (Dec. 5) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh.
The Warhawks went ahead, 31-16, on a 5-yard touchdown run by Jordan Ratliffe with 81 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Titans responded with a 21-yard scoring run by Devon Linzenmeyer and a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brett Kasper to Zach Kasuboski to cut their deficit to 31-29 with 3:42 remaining.
UW-Oshkosh's attempt for a game-tying two-point conversion was stopped shy of the goal line.
The Titans forced a Warhawks punt and received the ball at midfield with 1:58 left. Following an incomplete pass on first down, UW-Oshkosh quarterback Brett Kasper connected with Linzenmeyer on a 6-yard screen pass.
On third down, UW-Whitewater cornerback Vince Mason dislodged the ball from the hands of Joe Sommers, denying a UW-Oshkosh a new set of downs. On fourth-and-4 from the UW-Whitewater 44-yard line, the Warhawks flushed Kasper from the pocket and forced an incomplete pass intended for Linzenmeyer near the UW-Oshkosh sideline.
UW-Whitewater ran out the final 68 seconds from the clock when Ratliffe recorded consecutive carries of 5 and 8 yards for a Warhawk first down at the UW-Oshkosh 28-yard line.
UW-Whitewater (12-1), ranked fifth in the country by D3football.com, advances to play the University of Mount Union (Ohio) (13-0) in the semifinal round next Saturday (Dec. 12). The Warhawks are the two-time defending national champions.
Third-ranked UW-Oshkosh ended its second NCAA playoff appearance with an 11-2 season record.
Ratliffe concluded the game with 34 carries for 164 yards and two scores. It was his fourth consecutive contest with at least 100 rushing yards and a touchdown.
UW-Whitewater quarterback Chris Nelson completed 14 of 30 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns to Marcus Hudson, who registered six catches for 106 yards.
UW-Whitewater took the opening drive of the game and marched 74 yards in eight plays, culminating in a 2-yard score by Ratliffe.
UW-Oshkosh punted on its first possession and held UW-Whitewater on fourth-and-2 from the Titan 20-yard line on the ensuing drive.
The Warhawks' Justin Dischler intercepted a Kasper pass on the very next play and returned the ball 14 yards to the UW-Oshkosh 17-yard line. UW-Whitewater converted the turnover into three points on a 33-yard field goal by Will Meyer for a 10-0 lead with 88 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
UW-Oshkosh rallied to tie the score at 10 on consecutive scoring drives at the end of the second quarter. Greg Rand's 19-yard field goal cut the Warhawk lead to 10-3 at the 3:27 mark, and Linzenmeyer busted up the middle for 25 yards to knot the score with 36 seconds left.
UW-Whitewater reclaimed a 17-10 advantage on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Nelson to Hudson just 67 second into the third quarter, but UW-Oshkosh responded with a 30-yard scoring pass from Kasper to Cody Moon three plays later. However, Rand's extra point failed, and the Warhawks maintained a 17-16 edge.
Hudson snared a 5-yard touchdown pass down the middle just before it hit the turf to extend the UW-Whitewater advantage to 24-16 with 8:40 left in the third period. Ratliffe's 23rd rushing score of the year shortly after provided the Warhawks a 31-16 lead.
UW-Oshkosh ended the game with a 444-410 advantage in yards, including 229-170 passing. The Titans converted 4 of 14 third downs, while the Warhawks were 6 of 16 as both teams compiled 24 first downs.
Winske led UW-Whitewater with 10 tackles and two pass breakups. Dylan Morang and Paul Foster added eight and seven stops, respectively, for the Warhawks.
Linzenmeyer paced UW-Oshkosh with 10 rushes for a career-high 130 yards. Titans starting running back Dylan Hecker had eight carries for 48 yards before being forced from the game due to injury late in the first half.
Kasper completed 20 of 38 passes for 222 yards.
Sam Mentkowski led the Titans with seven receptions for 57 yards, while Linzenmeyer had six grabs for 64 yards and Kasuboski four catches for 44 yards.
Reese Dziedzic had a game-high 13 tackles for the Titans, who also received seven stops apiece from Matt Gasper and Cole Yoder and six from Marcus Senn.
The Titans defeated the Warhawks, 10-7, during the regular season on Oct. 10 in Oshkosh. UW-Whitewater has won three of the last five meetings in the 108-game series.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater were the third set of WIAC foes to meet in the Division III Championship. In the two previous meetings, UW-Whitewater defeated UW-La Crosse, 24-21, during the second round of the 2006 playoffs, while UW-La Crosse ousted UW-River Falls, 28-14, in the quarterfinal round of the 1995 event.
The Titans, who allowed just six fourth-quarter points all year, scored a program-record 550 points this season, the sixth highest total in WIAC history. Included in UW-Oshkosh's point total was a program-best 86 against Finlandia University (Mich.) on Sept. 12.
UW-Oshkosh also produced four shutouts this season for the first time since 1933.