Top Left: Members of the 2007 championship team honored at half time
Top Right: Nearly 8,000 fans attend Warhawk home opener
Bottom Left: Facilities supervisor John Betts and Ben Bergeron, 4th grader from Milton raise championship flag
Bottom Right: 2007 seniors celebrate after being introduced at halftime
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, defending National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III champions, opened the season with a 24-9 victory over St. Xavier University (IL) at Perkins Stadium in Whitewater Friday night. The contest featured the pre-game dedication of the revamped stadium as the a major component of the Kachel Family Sports Complex, and recognized the seniors from the 2007 championship team in a halftime ceremony.
Box Score
Whitewater opened the scoring, with a one yard pass from Jeff Donovan (Wauwatosa/East) to tight end Nick Slupski (Greenfield/Greenfield), capping a 12 play 60 yard drive at 10:08 on its first drive in the first quarter.
The Warhawks made it 14-0 on a Jeremy Diebert 20 yard interception return at 2:16 in the first.
UW-W's Troney Shumpert (Milwaukee/Bay View) picked off another Cougar pass late in the first quarter to give the Warhawks possession at the SXU 16. Four plays later Jeff Schebler (Davenport, IA/Assumption) kicked a 26 yard field goal to up Whitewater's lead 17-0 at 14:42 in the second.
SXU got on the board, driving 66 yards in nine plays, with A.J. Nichols booting a 26 yard field goal with 2:56 left in the half.
The Cougars narrowed the margin to 17-9 with a 39 yard pass from Anthony Crop to Bill McKeon with 1:05 left in the third. SXU missed the extra point.
Whitewater closed the scoring with a Donovan's second TD pass of the game, this time for six yards to Jordan Wells (Elgin, IL/Elgin) at 4:07.
Saint Xavier out-gained Whitewater 340-219, with 293 coming through the air. Crop was 27-46 with three interceptions. All three of the turnovers led to Whitewater points.
Jordan Wells (Elgin, IL/Elgin) led UW-W with 7 catches for 97 yards, and Xavier Torres had 7 for 93 for the Cougars. Xavier linebacker Mike Lally led all defenders with 12 tackles, including three tackles for a loss.
UW-W came into the game ranked second, or third, in the NCAA III preseason polls. St. Xavier, 10-3 last year, was ranked ninth in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics preseason poll. The Warhawks open Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at UW-Eau Claire next Saturday. Their next home game will not be played until October 4th when they play UW-La Crosse at 1:00 in Perkins Stadium for Family Day. Call 262-472-2222 for ticket information.
For additional information:
UW-W football web site: uwwsports.com/index.asp?path=football
