For the 7th straight season, UW-Whitewater and Mount Union will meet in the NCAA Division III football championship game in Salem, Virginia. The two teams have split the first six title games.
AUDIO: Whitewater coach Lance Leipold on meeting Mount Union again :13
The Warhawks are the two-time defending champions and carry a 44-game win streak into tonight’s championship game. Since the playoffs began, the Whitewater has played at a very high level. Leipold’s team is a plus-12 in turnover margin in their four playoff games.
AUDIO: Lance Leipold on his team’s playoff turnover margin :22
Whitewater (14-0) is ranked #1. Mount Union (14-0) is ranked #2. They’ve been on a crash course for the championship game for several weeks and it’s only fitting that the two teams break the 3-3 tie tonight.
Whitewater will once again lean on their star running back Levell Coppage. The senior running back has rushed for 2,029 yards and 27 touchdowns this season.
AUDIO: Leipold said teams load the box on Coppage and he wins anyway :20
Coppage is the first running back in WIAC history with three seasons of 2,000-plus yards. He ranks 3rd in NCAA history.
When Coppage isn’t running wild against opposing defenses, the Warhawks are leaning on senior quarterback Matt Blanchard. He’s passed for 2,755 yards this season with 23 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. Blanchard broke his thumb in the final regular season game last season and missed the playoffs.
AUDIO: Lance Leipold on his quarterback :13
Tonight’s game kicks off at 6pm and will be televised on ESPN2.
