Royal Purple News

The pieces have been in place all season. Now, more than three months after the football team’s opening game in Dickinson, N.D., the puzzle is almost complete. This final piece to the Warhawks’ perfect campaign and second national championship in the last three years could be put into place Saturday in Salem, Va.

Senior quarterback Jeff Donovan’s career hasn’t always been the smoothest. The spotlight has been on him since his freshman year and now, in his final year as the quarterback of one of the top-ranked football offenses in the country, he is shining in that spotlight.

Senior kicker Jeff Schebler was selected last week as one of the 10 finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, Division III’s most prestigious award. “That’s a real accomplishment for me,” Schebler said.

At the football team’s annual media day session in August, Troney Shumpert had one main objective for his defensive unit in 2009. “Our goal is to be better than we were last year,” the senior defensive back said. More than three months later, as Shumpert and the Warhawks (12-0) head into Saturday’s NCAA home quarterfinal game against Wittenberg (12-0), that goal is a reality.