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D3football.com
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team begins its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of the 2014 season this Saturday against UW-La Crosse at 1 p.m. at Perkins Stadium.
 
Saturday's game also marks Hall of Fame Day, Alumni Day and Family Day on campus. Seven former student-athletes, as well as former head football coach Bob Berezowitz and longtime Warhawks supporter Dennis Salverson, will be introduced as 2014 Hall of Fame inductees at halftime.
 
Five of UW-Whitewater's national championship teams – the 1969, 1974, 1984, 1994 and 2009 teams – will also be recognized during halftime festivities on the respective anniversaries of their titles.
 
The Warhawks (3-0 overall), ranked No. 1 in the nation by D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association, return to play following a bye week. UW-Whitewater earned its opportunity for rest after an undefeated non-conference season, during which the team traveled nearly 2,500 miles round trip for two of its games.
 
"The week off was a chance to step back and evaluate ourselves, and to get excited about conference play," UW-Whitewater coach Lance Leipold said. "I think people are excited. We'll have fall weather, and it should be an exciting day. It's a matter of us taking care of business and playing well."
 
Winners of 12 of their last WIAC season-openers, the Warhawks enter Saturday's contest outscoring their opponents by an average of 54.3 to 6.7 points per game.
 
UW-Whitewater leads the conference in several statistical categories, including scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense (511.0 yards per game) and total defense (189.0 ypg). The Warhawks have yet to turn the ball over and have recorded eight takeaways, including seven interceptions.
 
Junior running back Nick Patterson (Sussex/Hamilton) leads a balanced UW-Whitewater rushing attack that is averaging a colossal 6.4 yards per carry. Patterson is averaging just over 10 yards per rush with 291 yards on 29 attempts, good for second in the league, and leads the team with four touchdowns. Senior Ryan Givens (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Riverside) has 23 carries for 133 yards and three scores, while junior Dennis Moore (Elgin, IL/Elgin) has rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 21 rushes.
 
Senior quarterback Matt Behrendt (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy) has completed better than 72 percent of his passes for 543 yards and a conference-high seven touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Jake Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin) leads the receiving corps with 19 receptions for 331 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Joe Worth (Hartford/Hartford Union), sophomore Ryan Storto (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North), senior Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead) and freshman Marcus Hudson (Delavan, Wis./Delavan-Darien) each have at least seven receptions entering play Saturday.
 
The Warhawks' defense has been just as balanced as the offense. Eleven players, including junior linebacker Justin Dischler (Milwaukee/Pius XI), the team's leader, have seven or more tackles. Dischler has 15 stops, while senior defensive back Zach Nellis (Waupaca/Waupaca), the reigning WIAC Defensive Player of the Week, has 13 tackles and a team-best two interceptions.
 
Senior defensive lineman Mykaell Bratchett (Milwaukee /Hope School) leads a strong unit at the line of scrimmage with 11 tackles, including team highs of 4.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks. Sophomores Brandon Tamsett (Waterford/Waterford-Union) and Ben Threloff (Chicago, IL/St. Rita of Cascia) have also caused havoc up front for opposing offensive lines, tallying three tackles for a loss apiece so far.
 
Senior defensive backs Brady Grayvold (Norway, MI/Norway) and Marcus McLin (Delavan/Delavan-Darien) continue to lead the secondary. UW-Whitewater leads the WIAC in pass defense, allowing just 139 yards through the air per affair.
 
McLin and senior Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead) lead the punt and kick return game. The Warhawks are averaging 28.2 yards per kick return and 13.9 yards per punt return. Both marks are good for second in the conference.
 
UW-La Crosse (1-2) defeated Dubuque (Iowa) back on Sept. 6 to open its season, but has lost back-to-back games against nationally ranked opponents. On Sept. 20, the Eagles fell behind 27-3 through three quarters against No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) and were unable to recover in a 41-22 setback in their home opener.
 
Quarterback John Tackett completed 16-of-28 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Tony Bilderback totaled four receptions for 94 yards and a score to lead the offense.
 
Linebacker Shane Rockweiler registered a game-high 16 tackles to lead the defense, which surrendered 322 rushing yards and 514 total yards.
 
Quarterback Trent Cummings is slotted first on UW-La Crosse's two-deep depth chart to start in front of Tackett. Cummings enters Saturday's game 8-of-18 with 139 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Bilderback leads the receivers with 233 yards and three scores, while running back Ben Hertrampf, the league's No. 4 rusher, enters the weekend with 221 yards on 46 attempts.
 
Leipold mentioned the Eagles' tendency to run play action with their combination of Hertrampf on the ground and Bilderback through the air.
 
"Both guys are very talented," Leipold said. "Ben has a good combination of speed and power, and has worked his way back from injury. You have to wrap up and tackle on him.
 
"Tony has had a very solid career. He's a big, tall, lanky receiver who runs well. Those types of receivers can always cause problems, especially if you're not overly tall in the secondary."
 
Rockweiler leads the defense with 28 tackles. Defensive lineman Jacob DeSantis leads the Eagles up front with 4.5 tackles for a loss, including two sacks. Defensive back Jacob Flegner leads the secondary with 20 tackles, an interception and three passes defended.
 
UW-La Crosse is tied with UW-Whitewater and two other teams with a conference-high eight turnovers forced.
 
"They're very aggressive defensively," Leipold said. "They're going to be coming down hill, attacking and blitzing. A lot of times, that's when turnovers take place. We need to be assignment-sound and not give them any opportunities or short fields."