SALEM, Va. -- Justin Beaver turned the biggest week of his career into the biggest one in Wisconsin-Whitewater's football history with a grand performance.
Two days after receiving the Gagliardi Trophy as the best player in NCAA Division III, Beaver ran for 249 yards, including a touchdown and a backbreaking 66-yard burst in the final minutes, to lead the Warhawks to a 31-21 victory against Mount Union.
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| Wisconsin-Whitewater's Justin Beaver rushes for 249 yards against Mount Union. (AP) |
His biggest contributions -- a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 24-14 and the 66-yarder to set up a clinching touchdown -- came after his second fumble of the game.
"I've seen so many people make mistakes and put their heads down and I've kind of learned through many things in life that if you do make a mistake, bounce back as hard as you can and give it everything you've got," the 5-foot-9, 200-pound Beaver said.
"That's what I've been doing, I guess."
Beaver's first fumble went into the end zone and was recovered by left tackle Mike Sherman for a touchdown. Mount Union hoped the second would get him off his game.
"We definitely thought so and that the momentum would swing back our way," safety Matt Kostelnik said, "but we didn't execute when we needed to, and that happens."
Beaver, however, rebounded like a player of the year.
"He's a great running back," Kostelnik said. "We expected he was going to get his yards, but we didn't think he was going to get this many yards."
The victory came in the third try for the Warhawks, who lost 35-28 to Mount Union in the 2005 championship game and 35-16 in the rematch last year. This one came under first-year coach Lance Leipold, who said the first two experiences clearly helped.
Awe marked the first trip, he said, and the imminent retirement of beloved coach Bob Berezowitz added to the pressure to finally get that championship last year.
"We didn't have that type of distraction this time around," Leipold said.
