Box Score Campbellsville University received a mid-season battle test Saturday, as the defending NCAA D3 national champions, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, picked up a 37-7 victory at Finley Stadium.

However, despite giving up 531 yards of offense and 37 points, Thomas was pleased with his team's performance against one of the top small college football programs in the nation.



"I thought our guys competed. We were obviously a little bit out of our class ... They're the best team we've played since I've been here. They were able to get some points, but at the same time, we competed better against them than any of the top teams we've played against in the past and better against them than anyone has this season," Thomas said. "If you look where we were three years ago and where we are now, we've certainly closed the gap. We've got to get stronger and better on the fundamentals, but our guys played hard and we've got to comeback and get ready for the conference. We'll be ready to go."

The Tigers came out firing on the series of the game with two wide-open deep passes by Will Warf. While the two big plays were dropped and appeared to be a drive killer, the Tigers caught a break when freshman punter Rex Coleman was roughed on fourth down. With the new life, CU drove the ball down field to the UW-W Warhawks' 25. However, the Tigers were unable to convert on fourth-and-2, giving the ball to Whitewater on downs. 

Once the Warhawks received the ball, it didn't take long to find the end zone. Levell Coppage, who led Whitewater with 8.1 yards per carry in the game, rushed for 53 yards on thquarterback three carries to help UW-W move the ball 75 yards in seven plays. The scoring drive ended when a busted play turned into a 13-yard screen pass scamper by Aaron Rusch for the first touchdown of the game.

It was the first of two passing touchdowns for Whitewater quarterback Matt Blanchard, who completed 14-of-25 passes for 174 yards.
 
Whitewater scored its next two touchdowns of the first half on runs of 8 and 6 yards by Coppage, who led the team in rushing most of the game, but finished second with 116 net yards behind Booker Stanley's 118 yards. Antwan Anderson, who scored a touchdown for the Warhawks in the fourth quarter, had 104 yards rushing.

After Coppage helped put UW-W up 21-0 early in the second quarter, the Tigers forced Whitewater's first punt of the game with 7:41 to play in the opening half. The Warhawks moved the ball to the Campbellsville 14, but kicker Eric Kindler clanked a field goal off the left upright, giving the ball back to Campbellsville.

With Robert Hill under center, the Tigers built a 10-play, 80-yard drive for its only score of the game with 50 seconds left in the half. Stan Warrenhuffman, a junior from Cincinnati, Ohio, capped the drive with a 40-yard reception, as he strolled into the end zone untouched. He finished the game with five catches for 68 yards, while Hill was 12-of-19 passing for 124 yards.

Whitewater attempted to add points to the board at the end of the half, but missed another field goal, keeping the Tigers within two touchdowns at intermission.

In the third quarter, Campbellsville held the Warhawks to only one touchdown on 87 yards of offense. Kindler missed two more fourth-quarter field goals, which came on both sides of a fumble by Hill - the only Tiger turnover in the game. UW-W also picked up a safety on the Tigers in the fourth quarter, when Hill was called for intentional grounding in the end zone.

Defensively, Campbellsville held the Wisconsin-Whitewater below a number of its averages on the season. UW-W was a 55 percent third-down team before Saturday, but was held to 40 percent Saturday (4-of-10). The Warhawks entered the game with an average of 567.5 yards and 52.5 points per game, and were held to 531 yards and 37 points. The Tiger seconday, which included two touchdown-saving pass breakups by senior Karl Charles, held Whitewater to 174 yards passing, short of its average of 244.5 yards per game.

With the win, Whitewater moves to 3-0 on the season and extends its win streak to 18 games, dating back to the 2008 Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III championship game.

Campbellsville (2-2) will return to action Saturday, Sept. 25 to host its neighboring rival Lindsey Wilson College in a Mid-South Conference East Division at Finley Stadium. The 1:30 p.m. ET game will be televised state-wide by the Wazoo Sports Network and also streamed online at Campbellsville.edu/Live. Live audio of the CU Sports Network broadcast can be heard on K-Country 105.7 FM in Central Kentucky and online at KCountry1057.com.

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