By Tim Wester
Sports Correspondent
After tying a school record with 10 touchdowns in a 73-7 season-opening victory over Waldorf (Iowa), defending national champion UW-Whitewater has the talent to win its sixth NCAA Division 3 football national championship in nine years.
And there’s plenty of local talent leading the charge for the top-ranked team.
Team co-captain and all-conference senior cornerback Marcus McLin, a Delavan-Darien High School product, has already made a splash as a defender and returner.
McLin added a pair of returns of over 50 yards apiece to setup two touchdown scoring drives in the first half against Waldorf. McLin will also be asked to cover the best receiver on opposing teams that include the likes of nationally-ranked UW-Platteville and Oshkosh.
Fellow Comet product Marcus Hudson, a freshman, has quickly jumped up the wide receiver depth chart with a pair of touchdown receptions of 13 and 17 yards respectively against Waldorf.
“Marcus was in our program and broke his leg and had second thoughts and didn’t come back to camp last year on a last-minute decision,” UW-Whitewater coach Lance Leipold said. “He came and asked me again if he could give it one more try this year and he’s a fine young man and it’s really neat to see that where you give someone another opportunity, good things happen.”
Hudson developed a nice connection with backup quarterback Chris Nelson, who relieved Matt Behrendt in after the Warhawks opened a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
Nelson, a Wilmot High school product, fired four touchdown passes in the game to help blow the game open.
“We had talked through the summer time that if we had a chance to get Nelson in games some time in first half it could work,” Leipold said. “Chris is a very talented quarterback and needed to get experience because you never know who will be needed this season.”
The Warhawks will also need the contributions of Waterford High School product Brandon Tamsett. The sophomore defensive tackle, whose brother Bernie played fullback for the Warhawks from 2009-2012, kicked off the season in style with three tackles, including two for a loss, and one sack.
Tamsett helps anchor a defensive line that allowed just 17 first-half yards against Waldorf.
Tamsett and the Warhawks once again have a tough road back to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Virginia.
Whitewater plays in arguably the toughest conference in NCAA Division 3 football that includes eighth-ranked Platteville and 25th ranked Oshkosh.
If they survive conference, they’ll likely be in a region with traditional Minnesota powers Bethel and St. Thomas. Beyond that, Whitewater could very well then face Mary-Hardin Baylor and Mount Union, the second- and third-ranked teams in the country.
Whitewater will counter with a high-powered offense that includes All-American wide receiver Jake Kumerow, who was the only Division 3 college player to be named to the Senior Bowl watch list.
Complementing Kumerow is an athletic running game that includes a talented group of running backs that could have as many as five runners making contributions to the team this season.
Add the talented offense with a rugged defense, and Whitewater, with the help of local talents has the look of a championship contender this season.
