Warhawks hold off Eau Claire
EAU CLAIRE — Round one to the Warhawks.
Jeff Schebler kicked three field goals, and Janesville Parker High School graduate Matt McCulloch intercepted a pass late in the game to lift UW-Whitewater to a 16-14 win over UW-Eau Claire in the WIAC opener for both teams.
The defending NCAA Division III national champion and second-ranked Warhawks (2-0) face the 12th-rated Blugolds again on Nov. 1 in a nonconference game at Whitewater. With their victory Saturday, the Warhawks extended their WIAC win streak to 22 games.
“Anytime you can go on the road and get away with a win, it’s a nice accomplishment,” Whitewater coach Lance Leipold said. “We probably aren’t going to win any style points because we had a couple of silly penalties and some missed opportunities, but when we had to, we made plays.”
No play was bigger than McCulloch’s interception with just over two minutes left to play. He stepped in front of Kyle Paulson’s pass and intercepted at the Whitewater 43 with the Warhawks clinging to a 16-14 lead. Whitewater was able to then run out the clock with the help of two first downs.
“I’m really happy for Matt,” Leipold said of his sophomore defensive back. “It was a great spot to get his first career interception.
“We had been having a little bit of trouble covering them, but Matt stepped up and made a big play. He’s going to make a lot more of those before he’s through.”
Whitewater trailed 7-6 in the third quarter after Cory Sartorelli’s 1-yard touchdown run, but the Warhawks took the lead for good on Levell Coppage’s 2-yard run midway through the quarter. Coppage, a freshman out of Oak Park, Ill., carried the ball 42 times for 220 yards.
Schebler, a preseason All-America nominee, was perfect on three field-goal attempts. The senior’s final field goal with 7:36 left was 47 yards.
“Jeff has been so automatic for us that it’s almost become a given that he’s going to make it every time he takes the field,” Leipold said. “It’s definitely a big weapon for us.
“And for a freshman to carry the ball 42 times and get the kind of production he got, it says a lot about Levell and the guys up front blocking for him.”
Eau Claire (1-1), coached by Janesville Craig graduate Todd Glaser, had trouble keeping the Warhawk offense off the field. Whitewater won the time-of-possession battle by nearly 14 minutes, including a 95-yard scoring drive in the third quarter that took more than seven minutes off the clock.
Whitewater has a bye next Saturday before traveling to Tacoma, Wash., where it faces the University of Puget Sound on Sept. 27.
WHITEWATER 16, EAU CLAIRE 14
TEAM STATISTICS
Whi EC
First downs ¦¦ 26 ¦¦ 15
Rushes-yards ¦ 51-227 ¦28-122
Yards passing ¦ 134 ¦ 135
Passes 28-17-1 32-15-1
Punts-avg. ¦2-33 ¦3-40.3
Fumbles-lost ¦ 3-1 ¦ 2-1
Penalties-yards ¦ 5-44 ¦ 5-45
Time of possession ¦ 36:04 ¦ 23:56
SCORING SUMMARY
UW-Whitewater 3 3 7 3— 16
UW-Eau Claire 0 0 7 7—14
First Quarter
W—FG, Jeff Schebler, 35, 6:11.
Third Quarter
W—FG, Schebler, 30, 9:20.
Third Quarter
EC—Cory Sartorelli, 1 run (Craig Kolb kick), 12:50. W—Levell Coppage, 2 run (Schebler kick), 1:39.
Fourth Quarter
W—FG, Schebler, 47, 7:16. EC—Spencer Kehoe, 12 pass from Kyle Paulson (Kolb kick), 4:28.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Whitewater: Levell Coppage 42-220, Antwan Anderson 1-4, Jeff Donovan, 8-3. Eau Claire: Cory Sartorelli 24-112, Kyle Paulson 4-10.
PASSING—Whitewater: Jeff Donovan 28-17-1-134. Eau Claire: Kyle Paulson 30-14-3-131, Jason Mahn 2-1-0-4.
RECEIVING—Whitewater: Aaron Rusch 8-53, Jordan Wells 6-50, Adam Brandes 2-11, Cory Robinson 1-20. Eau Claire: Spencer Kehoe 3-47, Tyler Moy 3-31, Paul Mirr 3-28, Brett Schreiner, 3-18, Scotty Osborn 1-8, Eamon Flood 1-5, Seith Krueger 1/-2.
Attendance—3,500.
Sep 14, 2008 at 10:02 p.m.
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