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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team begins its NCAA Division III championship defense against NAIA opponent Waldorf (Iowa) this Friday at 7 p.m. at Perkins Stadium.
 
The Warhawks open the 2014 campaign coming off their fifth national title in the last seven seasons in 2013. The team enters the season on a 17-game winning streak and has won eight of the last nine Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships.
 
UW-Whitewater has won 10 consecutive season-opening contests. The Warhawks last lost in its first game of a campaign in 2003 against perennial national power Mount Union (Ohio).
 
Head coach Lance Leipold, who begins his eighth season with the team and has a record of 94-6, said UW-Whitewater is eager to begin play.
 
"You look after practice and the guys are thinking, 'OK, we've been doing this for a while, Coach,'" Leipold said. "Now it's time to turn the page, and I know as we get closer to kickoff, the guys are really going to get excited."
 
Waldorf enters Friday's game with a 2-0 record, including a 68-42 victory over Trinity Bible College on Saturday. The Warriors opened their 2014 season on Aug. 23 with a 48-0 shutout win at Mayville (N.D.) State University.
 
"To play somebody that has had two games (before you play your first) is very uncommon," Leipold said. "Last year, they won one game, and they have two wins now, already double from last year. I'm sure they're going to come in feeling as good as they ever have."
 
Against Trinity Bible, Waldorf rolled up 630 yards of total offense, including 295 on the ground at an average of 8.7 yards per carry. The Warriors broke open a two-possession game with 21 points in the fourth quarter and scored on offense, defense and special teams.
 
Waldorf is led offensively by freshman running back Dedarius Smith and senior wide receiver DeKendrick Moncrief. Smith has rushed for 255 yards on just 34 carries, good for a 7.5 yards-per-carry average, and three touchdowns. Moncrief has made several big plays, totaling 252 yards on nine receptions, including four touchdowns.
 
"They want to spread you out and take advantage of their athleticism I think they have in some match-ups," Leipold said. "We have to do a great job tackling in space, not giving up big plays and hopefully winning those battles in the trenches."
 
Defensively, five players have posted 10 or more tackles, including sophomore defensive back Cory Evans, who paces the Warriors with 15 tackles and has a team-best five interceptions with 88 return yards.
 
UW-Whitewater returns nine starters and several other contributors to what should be a dynamic offense. Senior quarterback Matt Behrendt (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy), a preseason All-America and Offensive Player of the Year pick by Lindy's, returns under center to lead the Warhawks. Behrendt garnered all-region and all-conference accolades a season ago after tossing a program-record 40 touchdowns against just one interception. Senior wide receiver Jake Kumerow (Bartlett, IL/South Elgin), a 2013 All-American, also returns, posting school records in receiving yards (1,331) and touchdowns (19) last fall.
 
Four of the team's five starting offensive linemen, including All-WIAC junior Johnny Wiederholt (Muscoda/Riverdale), return to protect the league's No. 3 passing offense and second-ranked rushing offense. Second team all-league honoree Jordan Ratliffe (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Vincent), a junior, rushed for 1,259 yards and nine touchdowns, and is joined by senior Ryan Givens (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Riverside), who totaled 315 yards and three touchdowns on the ground a year ago.
 
Defensively, UW-Whitewater returns five starters, including first team preseason All-America senior Brady Grayvold (Norway, MI/Norway). The defensive back picked off a school-record nine passes, including six in the postseason, in 2013. He is rejoined in the secondary by senior Marcus McLin (Delavan/Delavan-Darien), a third team D3football.com All-American and first team All-WIAC pick a season ago.
 
Senior defensive lineman Mykaell Bratchett (Milwaukee /Hope School), an all-conference honoree last fall, leads the group up front. He tallied 54 tackles, including a team-high eight sacks, a year ago.
 
The Warhawks led the nation in scoring defense in 2013, allowing just 9.1 points per contest. The team also ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division III in fumbles recovered (19) and turnovers forced (44). The Warhawks led the WIAC in total defense, surrendering only 171.7 yards per affair.
 
Sophomore Lake Bachar (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton North) is the lone returner in the kicking game. Bachar handled kickoffs in 2013. McLin and senior All-American Justin Howard (West Bend/Homestead), who led the WIAC in punt and kick return average and all-purpose yards last season, project to handle kick and punt returns again this fall.