Warhawks Steadily Pull Away From Titans
Levell Coppage ran for 209 yards and Jeff Donovan completed 29-of-33 passes as the UW-Whitewater offense rolled during a 40-7 win over the UW-Oshkosh football team on Saturday (Nov. 7) in Whitewater.
The Warhawks (9-0/6-0 WIAC) clinched their fifth consecutive league title with the victory. Donovan threw for 229 yards, while Coppage tallied three touchdowns among his 27 carries for UW-Whitewater, which entered the contest ranked second in the NCAA Division III. The Warhawks' 520 offensive yards and 31 first downs included 12 receptions for 90 yards by Jordan Wells.
UW-Oshkosh (4-5/2-4 WIAC) marked its touchdown with 2:54 to play in the game. Tyler Wegner (So. • Oshkosh) entered the huddle and found Ben Rosandick (Sr. • Pittsville) for a gain of 18 yards. Paul Coburn (Jr. • Sussex) then took a pass 75 yards to make the score 33-7.
The Titans' Logan Heyden (Jr. • Kenosha) intercepted a pass to stop a Warhawk drive in the red zone during the opening quarter. UW-Whitewater got there again on its next possession with runs of 15 and 11 yards by Coppage. After a 3rd-and-13 conversion on a catch by Adam Brandes, Coppage raced in from five yards out for a 7-0 lead.
Coppage broke free for gains of 11, 8 and 7 yards during the Warhawks' next scoring drive, which covered 89 yards on 14 plays. His second touchdown came on a six-yard run for a 14-0 advantage with 5:34 to play in the first half.
Brandes posted a pair of catches for first downs as UW-Whitewater added three more points before the break. With two seconds on the clock, Jeff Schebler drilled a 35-yard field goal to go up, 17-0. The Warhawks turned in figures of 244 yards, 18 first downs and 7-of-7 third-down conversions during the opening 30 minutes.
UW-Oshkosh accounted for four first downs in the opening half as it totaled 75 yards. The Titans' highlights were an 11-yard reception from Matt Haass (Jr. • Brownsville) in the first quarter and a 14-yard run by Nate Wara (Fr. • Oshkosh) during the second.
An 11-yard touchdown pass from Donovan to John Novak put UW-Whitewater ahead, 23-0, midway through the third quarter. Schebler missed the extra point opportunity, but he got another chance to score soon after. With 13:57 to play, he connected on a 39-yard field goal to make it 26-0.
Two UW-Oshkosh drives came up empty in Warhawk territory during the final period. The Titans failed on fourth down to give the ball away at the UW-Whitewater 28 with 13:30 left. After a 41-yard completion from Wara to Jamie Braasch (Fr. • Oshkosh), UW-Oshkosh turned it over on downs at the Warhawks' 19-yard line in the final seven minutes.
Coppage did it all on a two-play possession during the fourth quarter. On the first play of the drive, he ran for six yards. He then sprinted away for a 66-yard touchdown on the next snap to increase the Warhawks' lead to 33-0 with 9:57 remaining.
After the Titans got on the scoreboard, Aaron Samplawski brought back the ensuing kickoff 60 yards. UW-Whitewater turned that special teams effort into a C.J. Miller eight-yard touchdown run for the final points with 52 seconds to play.
UW-Oshkosh finished with 309 yards of offense, including 145 through the air on 19-of-30 attempts by Wara. He also topped the squad with 34 yards on eight rushes, while Charlie Weissman (So. • Colgate) added 21 yards on six carries. Weissman was the Titans' leading receiver with four catches for 30 yards.
James Taraboi (Sr. • Grafton) led all players with 16 tackles in the contest, in addition to the 14 stops by Jack Breese (So. • Kewaskum). UW-Whitewater was led by the seven tackles of Kyle Supianoski. Each team committed four penalties in the game.