| Mike Jorris threw for 246
yards in his first Stagg Bowl. D3football.com photo |
By Pat Coleman
D3football.com
We haven't seen the last of Mount Union or UW-Whitewater. Assuming
the key components stay healthy and eligible, these teams should be
preseason No. 1 and No. 2.
Of course, despite winning the WIAC with relative ease last year,
there's no guarantee Whitewater will be able to do what it did this
year -- run the table in the league, get a high seed, and parlay
that into more playoff success. As the defending regional champ,
the Warhawks would be in line for a No. 1 seed if they finish the
regular season unbeaten.
Among the key contributors for UW-Whitewater, quarterback Justin
Jacobs is a junior, running back Justin Beaver is a sophomore and
fullback Travis Reuland is a junior, as is receiver Derek Stanley
and tight end Pete Schmitt. Third and fourth receivers Lance
Douglas and Neil Mrkvicka are a junior and sophomore. Across the
front line, left tackle Max Sakellaris (junior), left guard Brady
Ramseier and center Brent Allen (sophomores) return. On defense,
linebacker Robb Widuch, and three-fourths of the secondary departs,
but the entire front line are juniors or younger, as is linebacker
A.J. Raebel and safety Andy Murray.
In Mount Union's case, quarterback Michael Jorris is a junior,
running backs Nate Kmic and Aaron Robinson are a freshman and
junior, respectively. Pierre Garcon is a sophomore and extra
receivers Anthony Antonucci and Brandon Boehm are a junior and
sophomore. Thomas Manning and Jeff Goodwill are seniors, as is
tight end Scott Campbell, but the rest of the offensive line
returns. Robert McDavid is a senior but the other safeties are
sophomores, as is cornerback Cameron Rose. Linebacker Mike Gibbons,
cornerback Ross Watson and defensive tackles Jesse Wells and Buddy
Wolf are seniors, as are ends Greg Brauer and Justen Stickley,
though Stickley has a redshirt year available to him and told
D3football.com he has yet to decide whether to use it.
Warhawk coach Bob Berezowitz said after the game, "this is a very
young football team. Whether or not it will happen again will be
what they decide to do between now and next season and how other
people progress and whether or not we're fortunate to (again) be in
the position we were.
"There have been many years in our program where we've won
championships and we've been to the playoffs and we've never been
able to make that run."
That's the key, putting it all together. Mount Union has done it
for years on end, and in 12 months we'll know whether Whitewater
can do it for the second year in a row or fall prey to seemingly
inevitable WIAC upsets.