CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Western Kentucky thought it was in the midst of a storybook season with ultra-dramatic playoff victories the past two weeks. The perfect final chapter to its storybook was written Friday night. Unlike its previous two playoff games, there would be no fingernail-biting by Western, no last-minute comebacks needed. Instead, the Hilltoppers saved their very best performance for last, trouncing top-seeded McNeese State 34-14.In doing so, Western Kentucky will forever be the 2002 I-AA National Champions. This could have been our very best game this year, WKU coach Jack Harbaugh said. I wondered if there was any chance we could beat these guys. But these guys took this challenge and looked it straight in the eye. Considering McNeese State hadnt lost a I-AA game before Friday night and the fact the Cowboys clobbered the Hilltoppers 38-13 in late September, its easy to see why many thought McNeese State was a heavy favorite. But No. 2 seed Western Illinois was favored against the Hilltoppers in the quarterfinals and WKU was victorious. No. 3 seed Georgia Southern was favored over WKU in the semifinals and also fell. Western completed the terrific trio of wins by simply outplaying McNeese State. They earned it, McNeese State coach Tommy Tate said. They dont give these national championships away and they beat the 1, 2 and 3.When Western and McNeese State met earlier this year, the Cowboys jumped on the Hilltoppers and scored on their first three scoring possessions. This time it was Western who went ahead early and didnt relent. For the second consecutive game, WKU linebacker Karl Maslowski gave the Hilltoppers a terrific start. On McNeese States first offensive play of the game, Maslowski intercepted Scott Pendarvis pass and returned it to the McNeese 27. In last weekends semifinal game against Georgia Southern, Maslowski recovered a fumble on the Eagles second offensive play of the game. Maslowskis fumble recovery set up Westerns first score last weekend; the interception put WKU on top again. WKU fullback Jeremi Johnson grabbed a screen pass from Jason Michael and rumbled 16 yards to put WKU up 7-0 with 9:36 left in the game. It was real important to jump on them first, Maslowski said. We knew we had to get in there and just play the way weve been playing the second half of the year. The lead grew to 14-0 when running back Jon Frazier sprinted 55 yards on the first play of the second quarter. Frazier had a terrific first half for the Hilltoppers as he gained 125 yards on only 12 carries. He finished with 159 yards on 27 carries and two touchdowns. It was Fraziers ninth 100-yard game of the year and he tied the WKU school record for most 100-yard games in a season. Jon Frazier is a winner in every sense of the word, Harbaugh said. I couldnt be prouder of him. But Frazier also had to thank the Hilltoppers defense for saving him. With WKU up 17-3 late in the first half, he mishandled Michaels option toss near the left sideline. The Cowboys Chris White recovered it at the WKU 25 just before it rolled out of bounds. McNeese, though, had to settle for a John Marino 24-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the half. By being forced to settle for a field goal, it made the third consecutive half of a I-AA title game that McNeese went without a touchdown. In the Cowboys only other appearance in the championship game, it fell 10-9 to Youngstown State. It also sent the Hilltoppers to the locker room feeling fine with a 17-6 advantage. That was huge, WKU linebacker Sherrod Coates said. We knew holding them to a field goal would take the wind out of their sails. If holding McNeese State to the late field goal took the wind out of the Cowboys sails, the McNeese State boat officially sunk late in the third quarter. After McNeese State cut Westerns lead to 24-14 with 3:34 left in the third quarter, it seemed ready to hold the Hilltoppers offense to a third-and-out and seize momentum. But a third-and-13 screen pass to Frazier went for 54 yards. Then on a third-and-3 at the McNeese 6, a tough second-effort run by Frazier gave WKU another first down and Michael finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put WKU up 31-14.They were overpursuing (on defense), Michael said. We ran that play earlier in the game and couldnt complete it. Jon got it and made people miss with just a great run. We felt like it was our game to lose. With the help of the screen pass, Michael finished with 185 passing yards. Unlike last weekend, when the Hilltoppers blew a 17-point fourth-quarter lead only to win the game in the final minute, there would be no such dramatics Friday night. A 37-yard field goal attempt by Marino was blocked by Arthur Wilson to preserve Westerns 17-point lead with just under 11 minutes left in the game. I didnt think Arthur could jump two inches, Harbaugh joked.