Win today, and the Crusaders will cement their place as one of NCAA Division III’s exalted powers.
Fall short, and the program will continue to be defined by the past.
Fourth-ranked UMHB (12-1) will collide with defending champion Wisconsin-Whitewater (12-1) at noon at Tiger Field in a national semifinal that will send either the Crusaders to their second Stagg Bowl in five years or the No. 5 Warhawks to their fourth straight title game.
“We know that this is a huge challenge and it will be a great game,” said UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg, whose squad fell 16-7 in last year’s semifinal at frozen Whitewater and is 0-3 all-time against the Warhawks. “We have to play at a fever pitch.”
The last time Fredenburg’s program was at a crux was in 2004, when the Crusaders - winless in their previous two postseason appearances - embarked on their third playoff trip to face favored Trinity in San Antonio.
Fredenburg declared then that “We have to rise to the occasion. . . . It’s time for us to win this ballgame,” and his team responded with a first-round win en route to the Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va.
Four years later, the Crusaders - hosting a semifinal for the first time - are face-to-face with another critical moment along the program’s timeline.
“If we’re going to reach the goals that we have set in stone, we have to beat a Wisconsin-Whitewater to do that,” Fredenburg said. “We belong in this environment. We belong with the premier programs in the United States. We belong to be at Salem. We belong to be in this arena. And that’s what we’re going to play like.”
The Crusaders have played at a championship level in this year’s playoffs and will need a similar performance to get past the Warhawks.
Both teams are riding six-game winning streaks. Both are anchored by defensive units that are among the stingiest in the country. And both are fueled by physical, pounding rushing attacks.
However, one team will bend and the other will break.
“They are one of the premier Division III schools in the South,” second-year Whitewater coach Lance Leipold said. “We have to control the big plays, and as evenly matched as we probably are I think special teams will be a factor.”
The Crusaders have found their way back to the semifinals despite losing preseason All-America tailback Quincy Daniels in the second week of the season.
They have continued to roll by utilizing the arm and legs of senior quarterback Josh Saenz, plugging in a trio of capable backs in Bryson Tucker, Matt Hurst and Roger Sanchez, and leaning on their punishing offensive line, which has played its best two games the last two weeks.
“You have to have great offensive linemen if you’re going to get as far as we have,” Fredenburg said. “Our offensive and defensive lines have done extremely well.”
Saenz has thrown for 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns - 19-of-31 passing for 365 yards and five scores in the playoffs - in his only season as a starter. That’s in addition to his 742 yards and 10 TDs rushing.
It’s enough to have Leipold concerned, despite the fact his defense has yielded just 12 points per game.
“He seems to be a better thrower than the quarterback they had in the past,” Leipold said. “Plus, with the great job he does in the running game, it creates problems for a defense.”
The Warhawks’ offense is equally troublesome, despite an injury to its key cog in the playoff opener.
Freshman tailback Levell Coppage has rushed for 1,375 yards and 20 TDs but hasn’t played in two weeks because of an ankle injury. His status for today’s game won’t be known until kickoff.
If he can’t play, Whitewater has a more-than-capable replacement in sophomore Antwan Anderson (986 yards, 10 scores).
“Coppage was the starter for a reason,” Fredenburg said. “But we think Anderson is also a good player. They’re always going to have a guy who can run the ball. You’re going to have to face good players if you’re going to achieve what we want to achieve.”
The Crusaders will try to contain whichever running back the Warhawks put on the field with a defense that has been suffocating of late.
UMHB allowed a combined 14 rushing yards and 447 total yards in victories of 46-14 over Wesley (Del.) and 63-7 over Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) in the last two rounds.
“They are a very athletic and physical defense,” Leipold said. “Their tackles are good. Their linebackers can run, and they have the best safety (Temple graduate Derrick Williams) we’ve played against.”
The winner will advance to Stagg Bowl XXXVI next week to face the winner of today’s semifinal between No. 1 Mount Union (Ohio) and No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.).
It’s an opportunity Whitewater capitalized on last year against UMHB, and one in which the Crusaders hope to turn the tables on the Warhawks today.
“When the season began, I really didn’t know if we would face Whitewater again this year,” Fredenburg said. “I’m really glad that we are. I think they’re one of the premier programs in Division III and I’m very excited that we get to match up with them again.”
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
