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| Team Pages: EC, LC, OSH, PLT, RF, STP, ST, WW |
|
RELEASED: Tuesday, August 18, 2009 Warhawks Picked To Win Fifth Consecutive Football Crown
The Warhawks enter the 2009 campaign ranked No. 2 nationally in the D3football.com preseason poll and received seven first-place votes on the WIAC ballot. Last year’s first-place showing was the 29th in program history - the second-highest total in conference chronicles. UW-Whitewater is the first team since UW-River Falls (1984-87) to claim four consecutive WIAC championships. UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse are the only other programs to win at least four straight titles with the Pioneers claiming four (1968-71) and the Eagles securing four (1939-42) and six (1949-54). The Warhawks have also appeared in the national championship game - the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl - four consecutive years. Senior placekicker Jeff Schebler owns the NCAA Division III record with 61 career field goals made, while topping the WIAC all-time chart with 77 field goal attempts, 162 extra points made and is third with 345 points scored. The Warhawks had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers for the first time in program history last year in junior Antwan Anderson (1,213) and sophomore Levell Coppage (1,461). UW-Stevens Point shared the WIAC crown with UW-Whitewater last season - the 14th title in school archives - and claimed the remaining first-place nod in this year’s poll. The Pointers, ranked No. 7 by D3football.com, are slotted to place second in the eight-team league derby and have won back-to-back WIAC titles twice (1933-34 and 1998-99). On Oct. 25, 2008, UW-Stevens Point upended UW-Whitewater 17-16 at Perkins Stadium to snap the Warhawks’ 19-game winning streak and 28-game home victory string. Both streaks are the longest in conference listings. Senior quarterback Jared Beckwith leads a group of 10 returning starters on offense, while the defense lost Brad Vickroy, the 2008 WIAC Player of the Year. Beckwith accumulated 470 passing yards against UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 1, 2008 - the most for the Pointers since Kirk Baumgartner’s 481-yard performance against the Titans on Oct. 29, 1988. Also returning on offense is junior wide receiver Jared Jenkins who hauled in 83 receptions in 2008 - the third-highest mark in program listings. UW-Eau Claire, found in the ‘receiving votes’ category of the D3football.com poll, begins its 92nd football season with 20 returning letterwinners on defense and 15 on offense. The Blugolds will open the year at Carson Park for the first time since 2005 and face St. John’s University (Minn.) for the 11th time in program history later in the season. Senior running back Cory Sartorelli matched a school single-season record with 14 rushing touchdowns a year ago and established a Blugold mark with a 91-yard touchdown scamper against Hope College (Mich.) on Sept. 20, 2008. UW-La Crosse, also ‘receiving votes’ in the D3football.com poll, will play its six home games at the newly constructed Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex after playing its four home contests in 2008 at Winona State University (Minn.). The Eagles intercepted nine passes in the last five games of the 2008 campaign. UW-La Crosse started 0-5 last year for the first time since 1963. Head coach Larry Terry has directed the program to a 25-25 record in road games. UW-Stout’s 2009 roster features 23 seniors and 17 juniors for a squad that allowed a league-low 3.8 yards/punt return in 2008 - a mark that ranked 11th in NCAA Division III. Senior defensive lineman Marcus Ball led the WIAC with 24.5 tackles for loss and 13 sacks last year. His 24.5 tackles for loss ranked second in NCAA Division III, while the 13 sacks rank as the fourth-highest mark in conference listings. Senior Kyle Martin has not missed an extra-point attempt in his career, converting all 43 opportunities. UW-Oshkosh enters its 115th football season with an all-time record of 382-478-45 and is seeking its fourth top-four WIAC finish in five years. The Titans return all 11 offensive starters and their starting placekicker and punter from 2008. Winners of 26 of their last 28 season openers, the Titans play six home games this season, the most since 2003 (seven home games). UW-River Falls opens the 2009 campaign hosting St. John’s University (Minn.), marking the third time in the last four seasons the Falcons have opened the year against the Johnnies. Entering his 21st season, head coach John O’Grady is the longest tenured coach in Falcon archives. In 2008, he became the seventh coach in WIAC history to surpass the 100-win plateau. Senior defensive back Ben Arata has played in all but one game in his three-year career, recording 161 tackles and six interceptions. UW-Platteville beat UW-River Falls (7-0) and UW-Oshkosh (28-0) in consecutive weeks a year ago to post back-to-back WIAC victories for the first time since 2001. The Pioneers also recorded their first consecutive shutouts since 1972 and won two straight league contests by shutouts for the first time since 1950. Head coach Mike Emendorfer is the third-longest tenured coach in program history as he enters his 11th season. 2009 Preseason Predictions--Voted on by WIAC Sports Information Directors Team Tidbits UW-Eau Claire UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh UW-Platteville UW-River Falls UW-Stevens Point UW-Stout UW-Whitewater # # # # # |
| Past Seasons Review |
| All Games Records: Career Records Team Season Records Team Game Records Individual Season Records Individual Game Records |
| Conference Games Only Records: Team Records Individual Records |
| Past Team Champions |
| Year-By-Year/Game-By-Game
Results (Since 1973) Series Results (Since 1990) All-Time Standings (Since 1913) |
All-Time All-WIAC Selections (Since 1966) |
| Players in the NFL Draft All-Americans Academic All-Americans |
| NCAA Division III Statistics |
| D3football.com American Football Coaches Association Don Hansen's Football Gazette |
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, winner of four straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football titles, is expected to earn its fifth consecutive crown based on a preseason poll conducted by the league’s sports information directors.
