12-6 Book to Upload - Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks

Whitewater opened the second half with a drive that ended with an Eric Kindler
(Germantown/Germantown) field goal -- that may have been a good omen for the Warhawks. Kindler’s
47 yard attempt hit the crossbar and bounced through to put UW-W in front 17-14 at 9:49 in the third.
The Warhawk defense took heart, and stopped Platteville three times for a total of minus two yards as the
Poineers went for it from their 41.
UW-W took over and Kindler converted again, this time from 44 yards with 6:21 in the third for a 20-14
Warhawk lead.
Again Platteville rolled the dice. Facing a third and six at Whitewater’s 32, a penalty on UW-P and two
incomplete passes gave the ball back to UW-W at the 37.
And again, the Warhawk offense made it count. A Blanchard to Jason Ford (Palatine, IL/Fremd) pass
gained 23 yards, and five running plays put the ball in the end zone. Desmin Ward (Milwaukee/Hamilton)
pushed several defenders, and a pile of bodies for the last couple of yards on a 12 yard run at 0:35 in the
third for a 27-14 lead.
The Pioneers moved into Whitewater territory, but for the third time the Whitewater defense held UW-P on
third and fourth down.
And yet again, Whitewater’s offense made the most of the opportunity. Despite three penalties, UW-W’s
offense managed to score, or maybe it was the unique ability of Coppage. On the scoring play Coppage
started to the left, then reversed his field, received a block from Blanchard, and out -ran the Platteville
defense for 41 yards to end the drive, 34-14.
Whitewater gained 270 yards on the ground, averaging 5.6 yards per rush. Coppage, a three time All-
American, rushed 30 times for 168 yards, his biggest output of the season. Coppage, with 6,019 yards in
his career, became just the second back in WIAC history to pass 6,000. Whitewater’s Justin Beaver
(2004-2007) holds the school and league record with 6,584 yards. The rushing game allowed Whitewater
to control the ball for 37:09.
Huber, a junior wideout, caught seven Blanchard (15-20-166) passes. Senior linebacker Greg Arnold
(Big Bend/Mukwonago) led the Warhawks with 12 tackles plus two tackles for a loss.
Kelly was 8-24 for 146 yards, adding 52 more on nine rushes to lead Platteville. Reit had four receptions
for 81 yards. Sophomore lineman Alex Schaefer and freshman linebacker Jacob Zilbar both recorded ten
tackles for UW-P, and Schaefer added two tackles for a loss.
The George Chryst Game recognizes an outstanding defensive and offensive player for each team. Reit
and Zilbar were honored by UW-P, Coppage and Arnold were chosen for UW-W.
The win also pushes UW-W’s streak to 23 at Perkins Stadium and 18 in the WIAC.
Saturday’s crowd is the fourth largest in school, and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
history. UW-W also holds the top three, including the record 12,189 set versus UW-Stout October 9 last
year.
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