UW-Whitewater 24, UW-La Crosse 0

Whitewater, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse football team finished its season with a 24-0 loss at number-one ranked UW-Whitewater Saturday afternoon at Perkins Stadium. In Larry Terry's final game as head coach, the Eagles wrap up their season at 3-7 overall and 3-4 in the Wisconsin Intecolleagiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Warhawks finish the regular season at 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the conference. 

Terry announced his retirement Nov. 1 effective Jan. 13, 2011. He ends his career with a record of 65-48 (.575) in 11 seasons at UW-L, including 47-30 (.610) in the WIAC. Terry led the Eagles to three WIAC titles (2002, 2003, 2004) and completes his career at 90-77-1 (.539) overall in 17 years. He served as head coach at Ripon College (Wis.) for six seasons.

UW-Whitewater, ranked number one on d3football.com and in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), earns the WIAC's automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Playoffs. The complete bracket will be announced Sunday, Nov. 14.

The Warhawks earned their 25th straight victory overall Saturday and their 16th consecutive in the WIAC. UW-Whitewater is the defending NCAA Division III Champion.

They took a 7-0 lead with 4:12 remaining in the first quarter as Adam Brandes caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Matt Blanchard. The Eagles drove to the Warhawks' eight-yard line in the second quarter, but Nick Anker's pass was incomplete on fourth-and-one. The Warhawks made it 10-0 with 1:30 left in the second period on Eric Kindler's 21-yard field goal.  The scored remained 10-0 at halftime.

UW-Whitewater took the first drive of the second half and led 17-0 with Aaron Rusch catching a 32-yard touchdown pass from Blanchard with 12:24 left in the third quarter. Levell Coppage finished the scoring on a two-yard run with 4:21 remaining in the third.

UW-L finished with eight first downs and 151 yards of offense in the game, including seven yards rushing on 19 attempts. Lee Lauters had six carries for 23 yards while Anker was 15-of-33 passing for 144 yards and an interception. Travis Bordeau (32 yards) and Brock Larson (30) tied for the team lead with four catches while Kyle Steffen had two receptions for 54 yards. UW-L was five-of-13 on third-down.

UW-Whitewater totaled 21 first downs and 417 yards, including 221 rushing. Coppage had 23 rushing attempts for 114 yards and a touchdown while Blanchard finished 16-of-23 for 196 yards and two touchdowns with an interception (his first of the season). Brandes caught six passes for 84 yards and a touchdown for the Warhawks. UW-Whitewater was 10-of-17 on third-down.

Dustin Drath led UW-L's defense with a game-high 12 tackles, including eight solo. Jim Litscher recorded 10 tackles (six solo) while Jake Meckstroth had an interception.

Lane Olson led UW-Whitewater's defense with 10 tackles, including six solo. Steve McCollom had four solo tackles while Loussaint Minett had 2.5 of the Warhawks' four quarterback sacks. Matt McCulloch recorded an interception.