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No. 9 Football to Visit No. 1 Mount Union in NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals

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The road will seem an unfamiliar place for No. 9 Widener, but that is where it is headed as it faces top-ranked Mount Union in the quarterfinals of the Division III NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
 
Game time in Alliance, OH is noon.  All tickets are $8, no complimentary tickets are available and all need to pay admission to gain entrance.  All tickets for the game can be purchased ahead of time by clicking here and all seats are reserved.  Tickets sales, the stadium gates and will call on Saturday will open at 10:30 am.
 
Ohio residents and those with satellite can view the game tape delay on SportsTime Ohio at 5:00 am and 3:00 pm on Sunday, December 2 as well as noon on Monday, December 3.

Widener (11-0, 8-0 MAC) is making its 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament and its first since 2007, when it last won the Middle Atlantic Conference prior to this season.  The Pride are 17-10 in the tournament with two national championships (1977, 1981).
 
Widener also is 11-0 for the fourth time in school history (1980, 1981, 2001) and is riding a 12-game winning streak.
 
This is the Pride's 10th trip to the quarterfinals and first since 2001.  Widener is 6-3 in this round.
 
This also is Widener's first December game since a 57-32 loss to Bridgewater (VA) in the quarterfinals on December 1, 2001.
 
Widener is playing its first road game since October 20, a heart-stopping 28-23 triumph at Lycoming that ultimately decided the conference as sophomore Anthony Davis (Upland, PA) hauled in a 34-yard touchdown pass from senior Chris Haupt (Bloomsburg, PA) with 17 seconds left.  The Pride have played their last four games at home, including the last three weeks.
 
Widener and Mount Union will battle for the second time in the schools' history.  The Purple Raiders notched a 70-30 home victory in the 2000 NCAA semifinals en route to winning the national championship.
 
These teams also share a rich history as they are just two of three Division III schools (Washington & Jefferson) to claim at least 600 victories and 1,100 games played.  Widener is fourth with 662 wins and Mount Union is second at 711.
 
The Pride moved on with Saturday's 28-7 victory over No. 11 Salisbury in the second round.  Davis had 11 receptions for 201 yards, both team records in an NCAA Tournament game and both career highs, to go with 273 all-purpose yards.  Haupt completed 23-of-35 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns with sophomore Couve LaFate (Wilmington, DE) getting 14 carries for 62 yards.
 
Freshman Stacey Sunnerville (Freehold, NJ) had 15 tackles to tie a team season high and added four tackles for a loss, three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for the Pride, who had eight sacks and 16 tackles for a loss.  Junior Dylan Ditmer (Exton, PA) and freshman Travon Barnes (Randallstown, MD) each totaled seven tackles.
 
Widener, second in the NCAA East Region rankings, is at its highest national ranking during the campaign.  It was ranked sixth according to Lindy's Sports Magazine Preseason Poll and Haupt was picked its Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
 
Haupt last season was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy as the nation's most outstanding Division III football player and is this year's MAC Offensive Player of the Year.  As of last week, he was 10th in the country with 315.8 passing yards per game, eighth with 332.7 yards of total offense per contest and tied for second with 34 touchdown passes.
 
Earlier this season he broke Widener's career marks for passing yards and touchdown passes.  He sits at 9,585 passing yards and 86 touchdown passes.
 
Davis, a dynamic player all season at wide receiver and returner, was named first team All-MAC a second straight year.  He was 22nd in the nation this year as of last week with 96.0 receiving yards per game, tied for 20th with 12.32 punt return yards per return, 11th with 176.78 all-purpose yards per game, tied for 15th with 10.0 points per contest, 46th with 24.39 kickoff return yards per return and tied for first in the MAC with 15 touchdowns.
 
Widener's offense as of last week was fourth in the nation with 0.4 sacks allowed per contest, second with 50.5 points per game, 10th with 334.4 passing yards per contest and 13th with 487.6 yards of total offense per game.
 
Ditmer, picked second team All-MAC, has been a strong player at outside linebacker.  He was fourth in the league as of last week with 8.6 tackles per game, tied for second with three forced fumbles and tied for third with two fumble recoveries.
 
Senior Chad Gravinese (Mullica Hill, NJ) has been a force at defensive end and was tabbed first team All-MAC.  He was tied for 57th in the country as of last week with 0.7 sacks per game (seven total), tied for fourth in the MAC with two forced fumbles and tied for 11th with 9.5 tackles for a loss.
 
Senior punter/kicker James McFadden (Warminster, PA), picked first team All-MAC, has made 51 straight extra points and has been a valuable player all season.  He was second in the league as of last week with a .969 extra-point percentage (63-of-65), fourth with 35.0 yards per punt and fifth with 75 points.
 
The defense should not be overshadowed by the offense's numbers as it posted huge efforts against Lebanon Valley and Lycoming as well as getting a big goal-line stand October 27 against Albright to remain unbeaten.  The unit as of last week was fourth in the country with 3.6 sacks per game and 11th with 8.6 tackles for a loss per contest.
 
The winner faces either No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor or No. 5 Wesley in the semifinals on December 8.
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