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Macalester Football Web Page
D3football.com
AFCA Division III Top 25
UW-River Falls Game Recap (Nov. 15)
 
The No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team will start its "second season" Saturday with an NCAA Division III Playoffs first round contest against Macalester (Minn.) at 12 p.m. at Perkins Stadium.
 
The Warhawks (10-0 overall), who have held the top spot in the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association Division III Top 25 polls all season, are making their 12th appearance in the NCAA Playoffs.
 
The Scots (9-1) are making their first-ever postseason appearance.
 
Both teams earned automatic bids to the 32-team national tournament. UW-Whitewater won its ninth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in the last 10 years, while Macalester won the Midwest Conference for the first time in school history.
 
The two teams have never met. Last season, the Warhawks also hosted the MWC champion in the first round of the playoffs, defeating St. Norbert 31-7 at Perkins Stadium.
 
Over its last eight playoff appearances, spanning from 2005-13, UW-Whitewater is outscoring its opponents 376-87, or approximately 47-11 per game, in first round contests.
 
Entering the 2014 postseason, the Warhawks rank among the nation's top 15 in scoring defense (second), rushing defense (sixth) and total defense (13th). UW-Whitewater is allowing just 8.6 points, 77.0 rushing yards and 253.9 total yards per contest.
 
Junior linebacker Justin Dischler (Milwaukee/Pius XI) leads the defense with 60 tackles, including a team-best 40 solo stops, and is tied for second in the conference with four forced fumbles. Sophomore linebacker Paul Foster (Janesville/Craig) ranks third on the team with 46 tackles.
 
Junior defensive lineman Zach Franz (DeForest/DeForest Area) leads the group up front with 26 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss, and is tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. Sophomore Brandon Tamsett (Waterford/Waterford-Union) leads the team with 8.0 tackles for a loss, while senior Mykaell Bratchett (Milwaukee /Hope School) is tied with Franz with 4.5 sacks.
 
Seniors Zach Nellis (Waupaca/Waupaca), Brady Grayvold (Norway, MI/Norway), Marcus McLin (Delavan/Delavan-Darien) and junior Ryan Winske (Omro/Omro) lead the defensive backfield. Winske is second on the team with 53 tackles and Nellis is fourth with 38. Grayvold is tied for the conference lead with six interceptions and is fifth on the team with 33 tackles, while McLin has 29 tackles and has recovered a pair of fumbles.
 
Offensively, UW-Whitewater stands among the nation's top 25 in turnovers lost (first), passing efficiency (second), first downs (18th), scoring offense (21st) and total offense (24th). The Warhawks are averaging 40.8 points and 473.1 yards per game, and have committed just three turnovers in 2014.
 
Senior quarterback Matt Behrendt (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy) leads the team's high-powered offense. Behrendt has completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 2,259 yards and 25 touchdowns, all marks that rank among the nation's top 50.
 
Junior running backs Dennis Moore (Elgin, IL/Elgin), Jordan Ratliffe (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Vincent) and Nick Patterson (Sussex/Hamilton) lead a balanced backfield. Moore leads the team with 627 yards, while Ratliffe has 486 yards and six touchdowns. Patterson paces UW-Whitewater with a 7.4 yards-per-carry average and seven touchdowns, while senior Ryan Givens (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Riverside) enters the postseason with 312 yards and three scores.
 
Senior wide receivers Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead) and Jake Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin) lead the Warhawks through the air. Howard leads the team in receptions (54) and yards (741), while Kumerow (44 rec., 707 yards) leads the Warhawks with 10 touchdowns. Junior Joe Worth (Hartford/Hartford Union) is third on the team with 30 receptions for 334 yards, while freshman Ricky Finco (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) has a touchdown catch in each of his last two games.
 
On special teams, UW-Whitewater ranks No. 1 in the nation in net punting, thanks in large part to sophomore punter Lake Bachar (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton North) and his average of 40.9 yards per punt.
 
McLin and Howard lead the team's return game. Howard leads the team with 262 kick return yards, while McLin has a team-high 144 punt return yards.
 
Macalester, which has won eight straight games entering Saturday's affair, is led by dual threat quarterback Samson Bialostok, who has 1,716 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air and 706 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground.
 
Running back Zandy Stowell leads the team with 1,243 rushing yards to go along with six touchdowns, and Ben Hillmann leads the receiving corps with 42 receptions for 556 yards.
 
Linebacker Ryan Fleming leads the defense with 89 tackles, while defensive lineman Reid Callahan paces the Scots in both tackles for loss (13.5) and sacks (6.5).
 
Linebacker Konnor Fleming is third in tackles with 59 and leads the team with three interceptions. Fleming and Jole Miller are tied for the team lead with eight pass break-ups apiece.
 
Macalester ranks 26th in the nation in both scoring defense (15.1 ppg) and total defense (280.7 ypg).