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Wisconsin-Whitewater tops Mount Union for D3 title

Sat 15th, December 2007

Salem, VA (Sports Network) - Justin Beaver rushed for 253 yards and a touchdown as Wisconsin-Whitewater won its first ever Division III National Championship with a 31-21 victory over top-ranked Mount Union, in the process ending the Raiders' NCAA-best 37-game win streak.

Beaver, the recipient of the Gagliardi Trophy, given to the Most Outstanding Player in Division III, carried 31 times on the day and supplied a 66-yard run late in a three-point game to all but put away the two-time defending champion Raiders (14-1), winners over Whitewater each of the past two seasons.

Danny Jones completed nine passes for 136 yards and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, and the Warhawks (14-1) capitalized on four giveaways while holding the offensive juggernaut of Mount Union - averaging 54.1 points per game coming in - to just three scores.

Greg Micheli was 19-for-32 passing for 235 yards and an interception, but the Raiders quarterback was the culprit on two of the three Mount Union fumbles, and he and his favorite target, All-American wide receiver Pierre Garcon, failed to hook up for any big plays thanks to a rain-and-sleet mix that disarmed the aerial attacks for each team.

Garcon was limited to four catches for 30 yards, and Whitewater kept him and the offense on the sidelines by consistently moving the ball against a Raiders defensive unit that had posted seven shutouts and held opponents to fewer than six points per game coming in.

Nate Kmic rushed for 126 yards and scored all three Mount Union touchdowns and Bryson Davis had 98 yards receiving, but the Raiders, who hadn't ended a quarter trailing all season, never led in the season finale.

Midway through the fourth, Whitewater made the third Mount Union fumble of the day hurt, converting a Micheli giveaway into seven points that put the Warhawks ahead 24-14. Following the turnover, Beaver capped a seven-play, 50- yard drive when he rushed around the left end and into the end zone for a 13- yard touchdown with 6:11 to go in the game.

The Raiders then responded with a quick scoring drive of their own to pull back within three. Kmic banged his way inside the tackles and into the end zone from five yards out with 3:36 remaining to cap a 10-play drive highlighted by Micheli's 26-yard hookup with Justin Wray.

It was Beaver who provided the backbreaker, though, bursting off the right tackle on a 1st-and-10 on the ensuing drive for a 66-yard rumble that brought the ball inside the Mount Union five with less than three minutes left.

Three straight Whitewater rushing plays failed to get the ball into the end zone, but Jones finally plunged in from a yard out with 1:33 to go, providing the clinching score.

Mount Union couldn't mount anything on its final possession, ending an impressive run that included three straight blowouts of 30 points or more on its way to the championship game over The College of New Jersey (59-7), St. John Fisher (52-10), and Bethel (62-14).

Second-seeded Whitewater took out Capital, North Central, Wabash and Mary Hardin-Baylor on its way to the title game.

Whitewater struck first, as Beaver's 26-yard scamper to the Mount Union two set up Jones' one-yard touchdown run with 10:32 to go in the first.

Following a three-and-out on the Warhawks' next possession, Micheli and the Raiders drove 62 yards and appeared to have the game tied on what was initially ruled a touchdown run by Kmic. But after a review, Kmic was ruled down inside the one-yard line and the play was overturned. Whitewater then stuffed the Raiders running back on the ensuing fourth-and-goal to thwart the Mount Union scoring chance and retain its 7-0 lead.

Mount Union squandered a pair of potential scoring drives in the second quarter as well. One play after a Jones fumble gave the Raiders the ball inside the Whitewater 45, Micheli returned the favor by putting it on the turf at the 32.

Then, with Mount Union inside the Warhawks 30 and a little more than two minutes remaining in the half, Kmic had the ball jarred loose and Whitewater's Andy Murray scooped it up at the 22-yard line.

Following the second turnover, Beaver's bruising 45-yard run set up a Jeff Schebler 32-yard field goal that gave UWW a 10-0 edge at the half.

On its opening drive of the second half, Whitewater drove 70 yards to the Mount Union one, then attempted to pound it in with Beaver following a 4th- and-1 conversion by Brown at the two. Just feet from the goal line, Beaver had the ball jarred loose and a scrum resulted in the end zone before Warhawks lineman Mike Sherman emerged with the ball and a 17-0 Whitewater lead.

But Mount Union responded quickly, capitalizing on excellent field position to drive 57 yards in six plays capped by Kmic 11-yard touchdown rush with 8:28 to go in the third.

The Raiders defense then forced a Beaver fumble on the next possession, and eight plays later Kmic burst in from a yard out to trim the Whitewater lead to 17-14 with just under four minutes remaining in the third.

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