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UW-Oshkosh Game Recap (Oct. 25)
 
The No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team visits 16th-ranked UW-Platteville Saturday for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest featuring two teams unbeaten in league play at 1 p.m. in Platteville.
 
The Warhawks (7-0 overall, 4-0 WIAC), the top-ranked team in the nation according to D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association, own college football's second-longest active winning streak at 24 games.
 
UW-Whitewater extended its run with a 24-7 victory over UW-Oshkosh on Homecoming Saturday in front of 13,627 fans, a school record at Perkins Stadium.
 
"It was a beautiful day weather-wise, and we had homecoming, so everything lined up that way," UW-Whitewater coach Lance Leipold said. "It was a good week for our program and for our university from a publicity standpoint. It was a great setting for small college football, and I think we went out and played a good football game."
 
The Warhawks scored on their first two drives and didn't look back. UW-Whitewater surrendered just 68 yards in the first half and allowed only a fourth-quarter touchdown – the first time it allowed an opponent in the end zone in more than 11 quarters – against the Titans.
 
Entering play Saturday, the Warhawks lead the WIAC in scoring offense (44.9 ppg), scoring defense (5.3 ppg), total offense (480.7 ypg) and total defense (203.1 ypg). The team also owns the league's top rushing and passing offense, and rushing and passing defense.
 
UW-Whitewater leads NCAA Division III in scoring defense, a category it led the nation in a season ago. The defense also ranks among the top 10 in the country in rushing defense (3rd), total defense (4th) and first downs (6th).
 
Junior linebacker Justin Dischler (Milwaukee/Pius XI) leads the Warhawks with 38 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss. Junior defensive back Ryan Winske (Omro/Omro) is just behind with 36, including a team-best 25 solo stops. Dischler and Winske have each forced two fumbles in 2014.
 
Senior defensive backs Zach Nellis (Waupaca/Waupaca) and Brady Grayvold (Norway, MI/Norway) also rank among the team's top five in tackles with 24 and 23, respectively. Grayvold's four interceptions lead the team and are tied for third in the conference.
 
UW-Whitewater is led up front by senior defensive lineman Mykaell Bratchett (Milwaukee /Hope School), who has 18 tackles and is tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. Junior defensive lineman Zach Franz (DeForest/DeForest Area) and sophomore defensive lineman Brandon Tamsett (Waterford/Waterford-Union) also have 18 tackles apiece, and Franz is tied with Bratchett for the team lead in sacks (4.5). Sophomore defensive lineman John Flood (Spring Grove, IL/Richmond-Burton Community) has also been instrumental to the team's success at the line of scrimmage. He is tied with Bratchett and Franz with 6.5 tackles for a loss.
 
Senior quarterback Matt Behrendt (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy), whose streak of pass attempts without an interception ended at 388 last Saturday, leads the offense. He is third in the nation in completion percentage (71.1) and leads the league with 17 touchdown passes to go along with 1,515 yards.
 
The Warhawks' balanced rushing attack features juniors Dennis Moore (Elgin, IL/Elgin), Nick Patterson (Sussex/Hamilton), Jordan Ratliffe (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Vincent) and senior Ryan Givens (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Riverside). Moore leads the team with 414 yards and two touchdowns, while Patterson averages a team-best 8.3 yards per carry and has rushed for a team-high six touchdowns. Ratliffe and Givens enter Saturday's game with three rushing touchdowns apiece.
 
Senior wide receiver Jake Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin) leads the team in receiving and has caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his last six games. He has accumulated 707 yards on 44 receptions (16.1 ypr) and has 10 touchdowns, good for seventh in the nation.
 
Senior Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead) and junior Joe Worth (Hartford/Hartford Union) are also key contributors to the offense. Howard ranks seventh in the league in all-purpose yards per game (80.3) and has 378 yards receiving. Worth enters Saturday with 18 catches for 225 yards and two scores.
 
UW-Whitewater's offense is 14th in the country in scoring offense and leads the nation with just two turnovers committed for the season.
 
The Warhawks also lead the nation in net punting, posting 40.29 net yards per punt thanks to strong coverage and the leg of sophomore kicker/punter Lake Bachar (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton North), who ranks second in the league in gross punting average.
 
UW-Platteville (6-1, 4-0), ranked 14th by the AFCA and 16th by D3football.com, enters Saturday's game following a 21-0 triumph over UW-Stout in Menomonie. The Pioneers scored all three of their touchdowns in the first half and held on in the second despite allowing 334 yards for the contest.
 
Running back Andy Puccini led the offense with 23 carries for 133 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Bryce Corrigan threw for 214 yards and two scores.
 
Linebacker Jacob Zilbar led the defense with 13 tackles (8 solo) and an interception.
 
UW-Platteville, which has outscored its opponents 125-27 over its last four games, ranks second in the conference in scoring offense (31.6 ppg), scoring defense (11.3 ppg), total offense (412.6 ypg) and total defense (267.3 ypg).
 
The Pioneers lead the conference in third down conversions (47-for-102, 46.1 percent), time of possession (32:14 per game), red zone defense (6-for-11, 54.5 percent) and punt return average (12.1 ypr).
 
"They've always been an excellent offensive football team," Leipold said. "They've been a four-wide, spread team for a long time. I think what's separated them is their ability to run the football. They may have their best defense they've had in my time here. You put that together and there's no question why they're in the position they're in. It's a tribute to (head coach) Mike Emendorfer and his staff."
 
Puccini is the WIAC's No. 1 rusher, averaging 121.3 yards per game. For the season, he's rushed 164 times for 849 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and a league-high eight touchdowns. Corrigan leads the conference with 241 passing yards per affair and has a 15-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Puccini and Corrigan each rank among the top five in the conference in total offense.
 
Wide receiver Trevor Whitehead averages a conference-best 7.29 receptions per game and has 465 yards and four touchdowns. Russell Martin leads the team with 560 yards and five touchdowns, while Mitch Munda enters Saturday with 32 receptions for 386 yards and three scores.
 
Linebacker Jacob Zilbar leads the team and ranks fifth in the WIAC with 60 tackles. He also has four interceptions, which is tied for third in the conference. Linebacker Andrew Belken is ninth in the league with 46 tackles.
 
Defensive end Andrew Robinson leads UW-Platteville up front with 25 tackles, including a team-best 7.5 for a loss, and a team-high three forced fumbles. Outside linebacker Alex Johnson leads the team with 4.5 sacks.