Box Score The Warhawk football team was 'firing on all cylinders' in Buffalo, New York Saturday according to the KOOL 106.5 call team of Gary Douglas and Arnie Peck. UW-Whitewater scored on its first seven possessions of the game leading to a 55-14 win over Buffalo State College on a rainy day at Coyer Field. 

Marcus McLin (Delavan/Delavan-Darien) provided the spark for Whitewater with a 61-yard return on the opening kickoff. Matt Behrendt (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy) would find Tyler Huber (North Prairie/Mukwonago) in the back of the endzone just four plays later for the first score of the game just 94 seconds in. An Eric Kindler (Germantown/Germantown) extra point made the score 7-0, equaling the number of points scored in last year's meeting in Whitewater.

The Warhawk defense forced a three-and-out to give the ball back to the offense. Thirteen plays and 57 yards later, almost six minutes ticked off the clock and Kindler added to Whitewater's lead with a 21-yard field goal.

UW-W's special teams kept the Warhawk defense off the field after Dylan Morang (Saint John, IN/Lake Central) forced a fumble on the kick return that was recovered by Chris Treptow (New Berlin/New Berlin West) at the Buffalo 31. Once again it took Whitewater just four plays to score and again it was Behrendt using his arm to find Kyle Christensen (Madison/La Follette) from three yards out. Kindler tacked on the extra point, the lead was 17-0 in favor of UW-W and the Warhawks still had 5:46 left in the first quarter.

Another three-and-out for the Bengals gave the ball back to the rolling Warhawk offense, and they capitalized, again. This time it took two plays and 40 seconds to cover 48 yards for a touchdown. Behrendt started the drive with a 12-yard completion to Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead). Then Steve Morris (Racine /Horlick) converted on an option pass with a 36-yard TD completion to Jake Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin). Kindler added the point after to make the score 24-0 after just 15 minutes of play.

The first quarter was all the Warhawks would need in the game with 189 yards of offense including 146 through the air, nine first downs, three touchdowns and a field goal. The Warhawk defense allowed 14 yards of total offense and one first down while forcing two turnovers for Buffalo State in the opening quarter.

UW-W continued to roll throughout the game with all of the momentum on the Warhawk side of the ball. Whitewater added 21 and 10 points in the second and third quarters respectively while the Warhawk defense allowed the Bengals just two scores.

UW-W totaled 397 yards of offense in the game, 226 through the air. The Warhawk defense held the Bengals to 182 total yards, forced four fumbles, intercepted two passes and got in on the scoring with three fumble recoveries for a total of 67 yards and two touchdowns.

Behrendt was 13-25 with 187 yards and four touchdowns, his career high. Behrendt found five different receivers throughout the game. Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead) had five catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Huber caught three passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Kumerow grabbed two Behrendt passes and another from Morris for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Patterson (Sussex/Hamilton) and Christensen combined for 27 yards receiving and a touchdown. On the ground, nine Warhawks posted carries in the win led by Jordan Ratliffe (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Vincent) with 11 carries for 57 yards including a 26-yard scamper.

Defensively, Ryan Cortez (Palatine, IL/Palatine) led UW-W with six tackles. Zach Nellis (Waupaca/Waupaca) added four tackles and a 37-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Andrew Keister (Evansville/Evansville) added another defensive score with a 30-yard fumble recovery. 

The Warhawks will return to Perkins Stadium Saturday, September 28 for a 1:00 kickoff against Waldorf College. Click here for ticket information. UW-Whitewater will host its inaugural Football Alumni Weekend with numerous festivities Friday and Saturday to celebrate past players, teams and accomplishments. 



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