Box Score
Saint Cloud State University defeated the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 26-16 Saturday evening in Huskie Stadium in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, ending the Warhawks' string of twenty-one consecutive regular season victories.
Turnovers were the major story of the game. UW-W had one interception and lost three fumbles, resulting in 17 points for the Huskies.
Saint Cloud intercepted a Whitewater pass on UW-W's first possession, bringing the ball back to Whitewater's 37 yard line. Seven plays later Kevin Patrick ran the ball in from the one for the first score at 8:46. The Huskies' first drive of the second quarter resulted in a Brian Cristan 32 yard field goal, making it 10-0 Saint Cloud.
Late in the first half Whitewater used two consecutive sacks, one by Ryan Ogrizovich (Burlington/Burlington) and the other by Corey Schroedl (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson), to force a Huskie punt from their own two, which UW-W turned in to a drive starting at the SCSU 35. After three incomplete passes, UW-W's Jeff Schebler (Davenport, IA/Assumption) kicked a school record tying 52 yard field goal (Bryan Mader, 1997 vs. South Dakota Tech) to make it 10-3.
UW-W fumbled on the next possession, with SCSU recovering the ball at the Whitewater 36. Cristan booted a 31 yard field goal to make it 13-3 with 0:17 left in the half.
Whitewater's first possesion of the second half ended with a fumble, picked up by the Huskies at Whitewater's 20 yard line. Mike Hammerseng tossed a 7 yard TD pass to Derek Sedin to cash in and make it 20-3 with 10:24 left in the third.
Hammerseng and Sedin connected again late in the third, this time for 25 yards, to make it 26-3 (failed kick) at 2:45.
On the ensuing possession Whitewater went 69 yards on eight plays for a touchdown, ending with Max Wasikowski (Cudahy/Cudahy)'s one yard run. Saint Cloud led 26-10 at 14:56 of the fourth.
UW-W cut the margin again later in the fourth, totaling 80 yards in 11 plays, with senior quarterback Danny Jones (Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley) (Pleasanton, Calif.) hitting sophomore wide receiver Jordan Wells (Elgin, IL/Elgin) (Elgin, Ill.) for the six yard TD. UW-W's two point attempt failed, making the final score 26-16.
The loss overshadowed Justin Beaver (Palmyra/Palmyra-Eagle)'s move into the top spot in UW-W, and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, rushing history. Beaver (senior, Palmyra) rushed 24 times for 177 yards, pushing his career total to 4,444 yards. He moved past Chad Wurth's (2000-2003) UW-W record total of 4,301 yards, then moved on to eclipse UW-Stout's Luke Bundgaard (2000-2003), who amassed 4,427 yards, for the top spot in conference history.
UW-W punt returner Neil Mrkvicka (Greendale/Greendale) (senior, Greendale) returned 3 kicks for 32 yards, giving him 107 returns for 1,005 yards. He is second in the WIAC record books, just one behind Dan Bridges (1987-90) in career returns and in fourth place in career return yards, just 37 yards shy of Bridges' conference mark.
Saint Cloud, a NCAA Division II member, is 3-0. UW-Whitewater, ranked second in the D3football.com poll, is 1-1.
UW-Whitewater will open the home schedule, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season, Saturday, September 22 at 1:00 with UW-Eau Claire visiting Perkins Stadium. Call the UW-W ticket office at 262-472-2222 for ticket information. Tickets will also be available at the stadium ticket window on game day.
For additional information:
UW-W football site: www.uww.edu/athletics/mfootball
