In nearly whiteout conditions at Perkins Stadium Saturday, the UW-Whitewater football team fell to DePauw 26-23 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
The snow started early this morning and only got heavier as the game went on. UWW’s hard-working field crew had plows out before the game and a contingent of shovelers clearing lines at nearly every break in play.
The Tigers, with the top rush defense in Division III, limited the Warhawks to just 20 yards on the ground, but UWW picked up 221 yards in the passing game. However, it was penalties that proved costly for UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks were flagged for eight penalties for over 100 yards in the contest. DePauw posted 357 yards of total offense including 175 on the ground.
After a scoreless first, the Tigers broke the stalemate with a three-yard rush up the middle for the score. The kick sailed through the uprights for a 7-0 Tiger lead. The Warhawks responded on the next drive. After picking up a first down on three consecutive runs, UWW went to the air — Justin Klinkner dropped back and lofted a ball deep down the middle of the field. Blake Haggerty hauled in the over-the-shoulder catch in stride at the 11 and waltzed into the endzone. Seth Adams hit the point after to tie the game 7-7.
DePauw put together a long drive to set up a Matthew Berry 21-yard field goal with just seconds before halftime. The Warhawks took a knee with just two seconds on the clock to head into the locker room trailing 7-10.
The UW-Whitewater defense provided a spark on the other side of the break. On DePauw’s first drive of the second half, Karsten Libby jumped a passing lane on third down for the pick-six. Libby reined in the interception at the 29 and took it to the house with the extra point giving UW-Whitewater its first lead, 14-10.
The Tigers reclaimed the advantage on the next drive. DePauw hit paydirt on a Ballentine to Ballentine connection from 12-yards out. The extra point made it 14-17 DePauw with less than eight to go in the third.
Adams capitalized on a long drive for the Warhawks, splitting the uprights from 40 yards out to knot the game at 17 as the clocked ticked down to the end of the third quarter.
The offenses kept rolling despite the deteriorating field conditions as the Tigers scored on their next drive. This time the DePauw quarterback lofted a ball to the back pylon. UWW’s defensive back had great coverage, but the receiver tipped the ball and ended up hauling in the catch as he fell to the ground near the sideline, his back clearly out-of-bounds. The side judge was moving toward the play, looking to the back judge to check for a foot down and inbounds. After a second, the back judge threw up his hands to signal a touchdown. Noah Moris got a mitt on the point after attempt, knocking it to the ground near the line of scrimmage. With the failed point after, DePauw led 17-23 with under 12 minutes to go.
The Tigers capitalized on a three-and-out for UWW with another field goal, this time from 24-yards out for a 26-17 lead.
UW-Whitewater responded once again. Klinkner hit Ethan Mitchell on a pass up the middle for 20 yards. Two plays later, Klinkner launched a deep ball to the far hash marks. Jacques Brooks showcased his prowess on the tip drill as the DePauw defender got a hand on the ball, tipping it up for Brooks to pull it down at the Tiger 18 and scamper in for the 45-yard score. The kick was no good as UWW narrowed the gap to three, 23-26 with less than five to play.
The Warhawk defense came up with a huge stop on third down, standing up the Tiger running back at the line of scrimmage to force a punt and get the UWW offense back on the field. The DePauw punt sailed out-of-bounds at the Warhawk 35 as the offense came on with 2:15 left.
A pass interference had the Warhawks at the 50 and another Klinkner to Brooks completion saw UWW into Tiger territory. DePauw stopped the UW-Whitewater drive in its tracks with an interception with less than two to play to seal the game.
Klinkner completed 16 of 22 for 221 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. Haggerty and Vasey each hauled in five catches combining for over 100 yards. Defensively, Ethan Gallagher paced UWW with 11 tackles including a tackle for a loss. Efrein Ramirez joined Gallagher in double figures with 10 tackles. Libby had a phenomenal game with eight tackles, a sack for a loss of two, a pick-six and a pass breakup.
DePauw Postgame Press Conference: https://vcloud.hudl.com/broadcast/embed/3168711
UW-Whitewater Postgame Press Conference: https://vcloud.hudl.com/broadcast/embed/3168712
Editor’s note: The above press release was provided by UW-W Athletics.
