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| Adam Dansdill and the Thunder defense will need to slow Lakeland quarterback Michael Whitley. Photo by Michael Hudson |
Sunday night, Wheaton coach Mike Swider did not know much about his first round playoff opponent Lakeland, but he and his coaching staff were burning the midnight oil trying to find out.
The Thunder, Division III's sixth-ranked team, will take on the Muskies at home in the opener on Saturday.
While Wheaton opens the playoff with its second straight NACC opponent (they beat Benedictine 43-14 in last year's playoff opener), two other playoff games feature Midwest teams. St. Norbert (10-0) will go on the road to take on two-time defending national champs UW-Whitewater (9-1), while Franklin (8-2) will play at home against Ohio Northern (8-2) from the strong Ohio Athletic Conference.
"We're just trying to figure that out now," Swider said Sunday. "We just got the tapes exchanged.
We've never played them. I know that they won their league, they're 8-2, got a quarterback that's put up some numbers and that's about all we know."
Lakeland's quarterback Michael Whitley has averaged 368.8 yards passing per game in his last five contests, including churning out 520 yards in total offense in the Muskies 46-22 win over Benedictine in what was essentially the NACC's championship game last Saturday.
Lakeland coach Colin Bruton said he hopes Whitley continues to have the hot hand, but it can't all be on him.
"(Whitley's) been outstanding and he's been the guy that makes us go," said Bruton, Lakeland's first year coach who returned the Muskies to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. "For us to have a shot on Saturday, he's going to have to play really well and the guys catching the football will have to play really well.
"That's kind of an advantage that we've had all year, our skilled guys against everybody else's secondary. Those guys have gotten better each week. I think we've had five guys who caught six balls or more Saturday. Those are the guys who will have to be the difference makers."
Wheaton has been one of Division III's top teams all year long, bouncing from No. 8 to No. 5 in the rankings this season. Lakeland's offense will face a defensive unit that gives up only 174.8 yards passing a contest and 10.5 points a game. Linebacker Adam Dansdill has 97 tackles on the year and 12 tackles for losses while linebacker Logan McRae has 7.5 sacks.
Swider said he did not believe his team, which advanced to the second round of the playoffs a year ago, will look past Lakeland.
"I've said this many times that you can't go anywhere unless you win on Saturday," Swider said. "If you can't focus on the task at hand, then shame on you. We've already challenged our players that we have one game to play and that's against Lakeland College.
"If you don't come ready to play, you won't win the game. That's the way we look at every game we play. We need to be ready to go and ready to play. It doesn't matter who our second round opponent is. Until that time comes, we are preparing for Lakeland."
Bruton said for the Muskies, they see the game as a chance to prove they belong on the stage with one of the premier programs in Division III.
"This is a special time for us," Bruton said. "We're one of those smaller schools that haven't had a lot of playoff success. We are excited to have our shot. I don't think our kids will be intimidated by the moment and we'll get to show how we stack up against one of the big dogs in Division III and where we are."
McCarty, St. Norbert take on No. 5 UW-Whitewater
St. Norbert will be getting the same shot against No. 5-ranked Whitewater, the winner of the last two Stagg Bowls. For another first-year coach Dan McCarty, he said playing against a program the stature of UW-Whitewater is another honor for a program that went 10-0 for the first time since 2007.
"We talked about that nobody expects us to win," McCarty said. "We had more pressure competing for a conference championship on Saturday because no one outside of our program expects us to win. We're going to embrace that and have a great week of preparing. I have a ton of respect for Whitewater and their football program."
A big key for St. Norbert will be if they can continue their ball-hawking ways on defense that has resulted in 21 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries in 10 games. Defensive back Frank Laterza has six of those interceptions and one of the fumble recoveries. The Knights will be led at running back by Elijah Fort and Brad Boockmeier, who have combined for roughly 140 yards per game.
"We need to play a lot better than what we played (on Saturday) that's for sure," McCarty said, referring to St. Norbert's 16-7 win over Monmouth in the MWC championship game. "We need to continue what we've done all year. That is protecting the football and getting turnovers. It's led to our success. Any football game will come down to who takes care of the football."
Whitewater, which plays in arguably one of the best conferences in Division III in the WIAC, will be led by running back Jordan Ratliffe, who is averaging 110 yards per game on the ground while quarterback Chris Nelson is completing 68 percent of his passes and has thrown 16 touchdowns against two interceptions.
"We know they have a heck of a program and it will be a heck of a challenge for us on Saturday," McCarty said. "I know that our guys are going to be excited to compete on Saturday and we're going to leave it all out on the field and let the chips fall where they fall and have great effort."
Franklin defends home turf against Ohio Northern
The Franklin Grizzlies, the six-time HCAC champions, will take on a team from another power conference in Ohio Northern. The Polar Bears will bring a big-time running game behind Justin Magazine, who is averaging 132.1 yards per game, along with the receiving of Devon Price, who averages 13 catches for 106.7 yards per contest.
"Looking at their statistics and having looking at just a little bit of video, I can tell that they're an outstanding football team," Franklin coach Mike Leonard said. "I have competed against coach Dean Paul on many occasions both as an assistant coach and head coach in years past.
"His teams play with class and play very fundamentally sound. Our whole campus community and our football team are very excited to be hosting the game and playing an outstanding opponent. It should be a lot of fun."
The Grizzlies will counter with Chase Burton, who has completing 67.4 percent of his passes this year for 3,560 yards and 34 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Receivers Lee Wroblewski and Mason Deal have caught 19 of those touchdowns with 102 catches between them. Defensively, linebacker Jeremiah Windell leads Franklin with 74 tackles while lineman Nate Bryan has 13.5 tackles for losses.
Franklin managed to steamroll through much of its HCAC schedule, only being challenged in a 42-35 victory over Rose-Hulman back on Oct. 24.
Let the playoff begin.