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| For the first time since 2008, the Warhawks enter the offseason with the sting of losing their final game. Photo by Eric Kelley, d3photography.com |
By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com
ALLIANCE, Ohio-- Every playoff run for UW-Whitewater over the past decade had ended in Salem. It wasn't always crowned in victory, but it was Division III's largest stage, seen by millions of people on national television.
The electricity of Salem, already elusive to more than 230 teams each season, now eludes this old favorite.
Whitewater's loss in the national semifinals caps another storied season for the squad, one that fell early victim, in part, to the unusual pairing of D-III's longest-running powers in the same half of the playoff bracket. Since Selection Sunday, it was known that either Mount Union or UW-Whitewater would be sitting at home the weekend before Christmas. Whitewater's regular season loss to conference rival UW-Oshkosh removed any perceived barriers the NCAA committee had to how the brackets were set up.
That knowledge was met with feelings of relief for those who wanted to see a new pairing at the Stagg Bowl and of artificiality for those who want to see other teams earn credibility by beating the Purple Powers. Saturday's result, a 36-6 win by the Purple Raiders, means that the season has wrapped up for first-year head coach Kevin Bullis' crew -- likely a week earlier than many people had imagined back in September.
“We always know it’s going to be an amazing battle between these two teams. Obviously, I’m disappointed that it wasn’t closer,” the coach said.
The seniors on his team had never lost a playoff game before Saturday.
The scoreboard suggests UW-W's struggle, but it doesn't capture the ferocity seen on the field on Saturday in Alliance. It was Whitewater's most lopsided loss since the 2003 season, a difficult epitaph for Bullis' inaugural season at the helm of the two-time defending national champion.
Despite that margin, from the early moments of the game, it was clear that Whitewater belonged at this level. The size and speed and overall talent of Whitewater is still heads above many other D-III squads.
Notably, the team wasn't able to follow through on early drives in Alliance. UW-W’s first two offensive efforts ended in field goals rather than touchdowns, leaving the door open to a swing in momentum toward the home team that ultimately came late in the first quarter.
Still Bullis was content getting something out of those early drives.
“The way games go between these two teams, three points, you feel good about that,” Bullis said.
He noted that over the course of the game, Mount Union’s run defense was able to force his team to be uncharacteristically one dimensional.
“Offensively, we were not able to keep our balance,” he said. “They came out and got after us.”
There were plenty of weapons for the Warhawks to work with. UW-W has the rising star at quarterback in Chris Nelson, a raging rusher in Jordan Ratliffe, the top-notch trench players of Austin Jones, Tony Koepnick and Spencer Shier. In the end, though, the ultimate goal of this team -- of any power team, really, but particularly Mount Union and Whitewater -- was missed.
But this isn't a story that ends with 2015. This isn't a team that has taken a step back or is more vulnerable than last year or the year before that. Whitewater's relationship with Salem has survived -- and thrived -- through generations of players and through two coaching changes, for one of the most recognizable football programs in the country. And it will surely rise again as Bullis continues to make the Warhawk team, and its future recruiting classes, his own. He praised the power of senior leadership.
“We’re fortunate at Whitewater that we haven’t had a lot of losses,” Bullis said. “So managing that kind of loss is very important.”
The intensity in Saturday's game lingered into the second half. There's almost an innate tension built into this postseason rivalry, knowing that nothing short of a team's best will suffice.
What this game also delivered is the same divided joy and heartbreak that we've seen nine of the past 10 seasons in Salem. A win over Whitewater still means as much for Mount Union as it did in 2004, 2005 and 2008. During that time, we've seen few lopsided outings; instead we've been treated with gunslinging 35-28 or 43-34 outings and defensive 13-10 battles. Only twice has more than 10 points separated these teams on the final scoreboard, a testament to how well they have generally match up as champions.
Even outside of the neutral Salem site, the Whitewater faithful poured everything into their team.
“Playing here didn’t affect us in any way. I loved it,” said Ratliffe, the running back. “We came in being the villain, and we like being the villain.”
Legendary coach Bob Berezowitz was the first to take Whitewater to Salem. On two attempts, he came away empty-handed before UW-W took hold in the series under Lance Leipold. Even Mount Union’s Vince Kehres was backed into a 52-14 blowout as the head coach in his first Purple Raiders-Warhawks game, in 2013. That outing did little to slow the overall arc of the kind of teams he produces.
Likewise with Bullis, there's no reason to believe that 2015 is an indicator of the team's Salem potential in years to come -- especially as the whole offensive line matures into their upperclass years.