Dec. 4

By Erik Lewis

Linfield College is a name that rings a bell for the UW-Whitewater football team, seeing as how the two battled for the chance to play for the Stagg Bowl in 2009.

The Warhawks stormed back from a 17-10 deficit in the fourth quarter on the strength of Jeff Donovan’s arm and Levell Coppage’s legs to steal the win four years ago.

The temperatures in that game were below freezing with piles of snow all over the field. This weekend’s forecast may not have snow, but the temperatures are going to be similar for the rematch.

The winner this time around will play for a right to play in the semifinal against the winner of St. John Fisher (NY) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (TX) taking place in Belton, Texas.

• Other quarterfinal matchups:

o    Mount Union (OH) vs Wesley (DE) in Alliance, Ohio

o    North Central (IL) vs Bethel (MN) in Arden Hills, Minn.

Head coach Lance Leipold said the sense of urgency to win has increased over the last two weeks and he knows each opponent presents a more difficult challenge.

The challenge this week, which brings in the No. 2-ranked Linfield College Wildcats according to d3football.com, is who will win the battle? Will it be the No. 1-ranked ’Hawks’ defense that only allows 7.5 points per game, or the No. 1-ranked Wildcats offense that scores 51.6 points per game?

The Wildcats are located in Oregon and their offense shows similarities to their Division I counterpart, the Oregon Ducks. Linfield has scored as many as 84 points in a game this year, and also games with 79, 71, 56, 52 and 51.

Leipold thinks it will not be a shootout, but the Wildcats will pose a threat to the ’Hawks’ defense.

“As good as we’ve played all year, I know our defense is going to be up for another challenge,” Leipold said. It’s going to be a big challenge [and] I’m excited to see how that goes,”

The main challenge will be shutting down dual-threat quarterback Josh Yoder. Yoder, a senior, has combined to score 30 touchdowns, both rushing and passing so far this season.

“We’ve seen most of [their] schemes somewhere along the line,” Leipold said. “But we have not seen them all at one time, per se. So it’s going to be a big test.”

Leipold knows Yoder will spread the ball around, so being assignment-sound is going to be crucial to the game.

Eight different Wildcats have caught a touchdown pass this season. The Wildcats’ top three receivers, Charlie Poppen, Brian Balsiger and Evan Peterson all had more than 20 receptions, 16 touchdowns and averaged 14 or more yards per reception.

“If he doesn’t like what he sees he can make it happen with his feet,” Leipold said. “It is a big test. [Last week] you kind of knew who he may lock into in key moments, where this [week’s quarterback] can go to anybody.”

If the defense does not shut down the Wildcats completely, the ’Hawks’ offense will have to pick up the slack, which shouldn’t be a problem considering the offensive development of junior quarterback Matt Behrendt.

“The season he’s having, the decisions he’s making, we’re going to need that continued performance,” Leipold said.

Behrendt has completed 64 percent of his passes so far this season, while throwing 32 touchdowns to just one interception.

The Wildcats’ defense has given up 12.8 points per game, including two shutouts so far this season. However, there were also four opponents that the team gave up 21 or more points to.

Offensively, Leipold said the game will come down to starting with balance in the running game and the spread passing attack. If the ’Hawks cannot start out balanced, Leipold said that could cause problems and make them one-dimensional.

The Wildcats’ defense allows an average of 267.1 yards per game through the air, but just 56.4 on the ground.