Whitewater Eliminates Wartburg From NCAA Football Playoffs, 37-33 [Gallery]

Wartburg gave defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater all it could handle, but in the end the top-ranked Warhawks proved to be too much for the Knights. Whitewater scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to eliminate Wartburg from the NCAA Division-III playoffs, 37-33, on Saturday (December 6, 2014).

The loss was the first of the season for the Knights, who end their record-setting year at 12-1. With the victory, Whitewater (13-0) extended the nation's longest winning streak (all divisions) to 30 games.

A 57-yard touchdown run by Dennis Moore cut Wartburg's 33-16 edge to 10 points just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter. Then on the Knights' next offensive possession, quarterback Logan Schrader was sacked and fumbled at Wartburg's 27-yard-line. The turnover set up a 16-yard scoring pass for Whitewater, which narrowed the deficit to 33-30 with 12:52 remaining.

The Warhawks scored on their next possession after their defense stopped Wartburg at midfield. A 23-yard pass from Matt Behrendt to Justin Howard (plus Will Meyer's extra-point kick) gave Whitewater its only lead of the day and set the final margin, 37-33.

The two teams combined for over 1,000-yards of offense. Wartburg ended the day with 500 yards on 83 plays. The Warhawks totaled 575 yards on 68 plays.

The Knights dominated the first half statisically, but couldn't get the ball in the endzone. Wartburg scored on its first five drives, but settled for four Michael Bohlke (Manchester, Iowa / West Delaware) field goals after taking a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game.

“Obviously, it was a great job by Michael converting those drives into points for us," Wartburg Coach Rick Willis said. "But you can’t leave that many opportunities out there against a team like that. You always worry about that coming back to haunt you.”

A four-yard run by Brandon Domeyer (Manchester, Iowa / West Delaware) with 14:03 left in the first quarter capped a six-play, 75-yard drive on Wartburg's first offensive series. Bohlke kicked two of his first-half field goals (29- and 31-yards) in the opening 15 minutes to help the Knights build a 13-6 advantage.

Wartburg's 13 points matched the total that Whitewater had allowed in the first quarter of the previous 12 games combined.

Bolhke added a pair of 24-yard field goals in the second quarter to keep the Knights in control. They led the Warhawks 19-13 at intermission, despite dominating the first half in time of possession -- 21:05 to 8:55. Wartburg's 332 first-half yards were more than Whitewater had allowed in the entire game nine of their previous 12 contests this season.

Whitewater cut the deficit to 19-16 with a 31-yard field goal on its opening possession of the second half. Wartburg quickly answered, scoring a touchdown on an 11-yard run by quarterback Logan Schrader (Killdeer, Ill.) less than three minutes later.

Schrader hooked up with senior receiver Taylor Jacobsmeier (Wapello, Iowa) for his second score of the game with 4:08 remaining the third quarter. The 12-yard touchdown pass put the Knights ahead 33-16. It was Wartburg's last score of the day.

Whitewater rallied for the win, scoring touchdowns on three-straight fourth-quarter possessions. The last of the end zone drives gave the Warhawks their only lead of the day at 37-33 (the final score) and completed Whitewater's largest comeback victory since 2007.

Wartburg had two last chances to pull off the upset in the final six minutes, but both drives combined resulted in just seven plays.

"It was an exciting football game, wasn't it?" said Whitewater Coach Lance Leipold, who's completing his eighth season at his alma mater. "It was three quarters one way, and a fourth quarter to remember for us."

Earlier in the week, Leipold accepted the head coaching job at the University of Buffalo, a Division-I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program in upstate New York. He'll continue to coach the Warhawks through the playoffs as they pursue their fifth national title since 2009.

Whitewater (13-0) will host Linfield (Ore.) in the national semifinals next weekend.

Leipold improved his career record to 107-6 with Saturday's victory. The win-loss total includes a 31-1 playoff mark.

The Knights set three school playoff records in the loss. Bohlke's four field goals broke the old mark of two set by Spencer Herzberg against Wisconsin-Steven's Point in 2008. His total also marked a new career-best.

Schrader's 358 passing yards (19-of-39, 0 interceptions) and Jacobsmeier's 181 receiving yards (on seven catches) were also post-season highs for Wartburg. Schrader surpassed his old NCAA playoff record of 347 set against Bethel (Minn.) in 2013. The old receiving record of 148 yards was established by Justin Vetter against Steven's Point in 2008.