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St. Rita Grad Ben Threloff Seeks Second Straight DIII Football Championship

By Justin Breen | December 18, 2014 5:24am | Updated on December 18, 2014 4:19pm
 St. Rita graduate Ben Threloff is a sophomore defensive lineman at Wisconsin-Whitewater, which is playing Mount Union for the Division III national championship.
Ben Threloff
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CHICAGO — Ben Threloff doesn't know how it feels to lose a college football game.

The St. Rita graduate and Wisconsin-Whitewater sophomore defensive lineman is 29-0 in two seasons heading into Friday's Division III national championship game against arch rival Mount Union (Ohio).

"It's totally fun to win. It's awesome. It's great," Threloff said.

Whitewater (14-0) beat Mount Union (14-0) 52-14 in last year's championship. The teams have met in the Division III finals nine times in the last 10 years, with Whitewater owning a 5-3 advantage.

"I think they're a great team," Threloff said of Mount Union, "but I think we're better."

Justin Breen says Threloff is a no non-sense type of person:

Threloff, 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, is third on the team with 4½ sacks and fourth with 8½ tackles for loss. After a solid football and wrestling career at St. Rita — he was all-state in football and reached the wrestling individual state finals three times — he decided to attend Whitewater because he wanted to win titles. Threloff said Division I schools, including Northern Illinois, showed interest, but he fell in love with the Whitewater campus and facilities during a visit.

"Here at Whitewater, I feel we play like a Division I school," Threloff said. "We have the mentality of being perfect. That's something that's always attracted me."

Kevin Bullis, Whitewater's assistant defensive run game coordinator/line coach, said Threloff has been a force since arriving in Whitewater.

"His maturity level on the football field has been just really impressive," Bullis said. "He's really focusing on the technique of the game and what we teach with the defensive line. He's really improved dramatically each week.

"He takes a lot of snaps for us, and for a young man, that's not easy to do. I'm really pleased with his development over the year, and he continues to excel."

Threloff's high school coach, Todd Kuska, said he's not surprised the former Mustangs standout is excelling at the collegiate level.

"When Ben played for us, I knew he was going to be a special player," Kuska said. "Ben had a tremendous motor on the field and a nose for the football. He was a tenacious pass rusher that would take advantage of everything that he could. It speaks very highly of the character of Ben and his teammates to be competing for their second straight national championship."

Threloff is pumped for Friday's 6 p.m. game at Salem Stadium in Salem, Va., which will be televised on ESPNU. He said a few family members, including his mother and "No. 1 fan," Michelle Dombro, will be in attendance.

"I love being part of this program," Threloff said.

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