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The No. 6 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team concluded the 2015 regular season with a complete performance Saturday, downing UW-Stout 63-14 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference affair at Perkins Stadium.
 
The Warhawks (9-1 overall, 6-1 WIAC), who finished second in the conference and were ranked fourth in the NCAA West Region earlier this week, will learn if they're in or out of the NCAA Division III Playoffs Sunday at 5 p.m. as the NCAA announces the 32-team field live on NCAA.com.
 
Running back Jordan Ratliffe (Milwaukee/Milwaukee Vincent), one of 17 seniors recognized on Senior Day in Whitewater, rushed for a career-high 217 yards on 19 carries, all in the first half.
 
UW-Whitewater piled up a season-best 595 yards of total offense, including 338 on the ground, and held the Blue Devils (3-7, 2-5) to 215 on an average of 3.36 yards per play.
 
Junior quarterback Chris Nelson (Twin Lakes/Wilmot Union) finished 18-of-24 for 218 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Marcus Hudson (Delavan, Wis./Delavan-Darien) led the receiving corps with five receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore tight end Tony Gumina (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) posted seven receptions for 58 yards and a score.
 
Senior defensive back Ryan Winske (Omro/Omro) posted one of two interceptions on the day for the Warhawks, returning it for a 70-yard touchdown, the team's first pick-six since Brady Grayvold (Norway, MI/Norway) returned one 25 yards for a score in last season's Stagg Bowl against Mount Union.
 
Junior linebacker Paul Foster (Janesville/Craig) paced a balanced defensive effort with five tackles. Senior defensive back Shawn Shillcox (Two Rivers/Two Rivers) tallied the other interception for UW-Whitewater.
 
Ratliffe took the handoff on the first play from scrimmage and rumbled 75 yards for a touchdown.
 
After the Warhawks forced a three-and-out by the Blue Devils, Nelson completed 4-of-4 passes, including a 32-yard scoring strike on a post to Hudson to make it 14-0 with 11:38 left in the first quarter.
 
UW-Whitewater tacked on another touchdown after allowing a first-quarter score for only the second time all season. Nelson connected with senior wide receiver Joe Worth (Hartford/Hartford Union) from four yards out to make it 21-7 with 2:43 on the clock.
 
The Warhawks scored on their next two possessions. Nelson hit Gumina from 13 yards out with 11:31 to play in the second, and Ratliffe ran in from 28 yards midway through the period.
 
Later in the quarter, Winske picked off UW-Stout's Jay Alston and returned it for his first career pick-six.
 
UW-Whitewater found the end zone on its first two possessions of the third quarter on a 50 yard Nelson-to-Hudson connection and a three-yard run by freshman running back Jarrod Ware (Bradley, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais), who registered 97 yards on 16 carries for the day.
 
The Warhawks and Blue Devils traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter to account for the final margin. Freshman quarterback Cole Wilber (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills) snuck in from one yard out to cap an 11-play, 71-yard drive.