The No. 2 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team rushed for 476 yards and forced eight turnovers Saturday in a 59-13 victory over Belhaven (Miss.) in a non-conference affair at Perkins Stadium.
 
The Warhawks (2-0 overall), who extended their home winning streak to 26 games, turned around a 13-10 deficit in the second quarter with a critical goal line stand and went on to tally 49 more unanswered points.
 
Sophomore running back Drew Patterson (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) rushed for three touchdowns for the second straight game and finished with 22 carries for 227 yards, the most by a UW-Whitewater running back since Levell Coppage posted 236 yards at UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 5, 2011.
 
Sophomore running back Jarrod Ware (Bradley, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) added 21 carries for 169 yards and a first-quarter touchdown for UW-Whitewater. Sophomore wide receiver Manny Jones (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) led the receiving corps with three receptions for 110 yards.
 
The Warhawks piled up 673 yards of total offense, the most since a school-record effort of 706 yards against UW-Platteville in 2005. The team's rushing output was the most in one game in at least a decade.
 
Junior defensive back Jake Gierlak (Algonquin, Ill./Jacobs) totaled seven tackles to lead the UW-Whitewater defense, which forced two fumbles and had six interceptions.
 
UW-Whitewater fell behind 13-7 at the 12:14 mark of the second quarter. The team committed four turnovers in the first half, the most in a game since the 2010 Stagg Bowl national championship game, when it made four in a 13-10 win over Mount Union (Ohio).
 
A 43-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Ben Franzen (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) cut the Warhawks' deficit in half with 8:45 left in the quarter.
 
Three possessions later, the Blazers (1-1) drove and had a first-and-goal from the UW-Whitewater 1-yard line.
 
On third and goal, senior defensive back Colin Buck (Greendale, Wis./Franklin) punched the ball out of quarterback Hunter McEachern's hands, and junior linebacker Matt Seitz (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback.
 
Four plays later, Patterson broke through the line and sprinted 54 yards for a touchdown to give the Warhawks the lead for good at 17-13 with 3:17 to play in the half.
 
UW-Whitewater took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 71 yards in nine plays. After a 22-yard pass-and-catch from senior quarterback Chris Nelson (Twin Lakes/Wilmot Union) to senior tight end Brent Campbell (Rockford, IL/Winnebago), Patterson ran 23 yards for the score and a 24-13 Warhawk lead with 10:43 left in the third quarter.
 
Patterson found the end zone for the third time with a 17-yard scoring run at the 13:34 mark of the fourth quarter to make it 31-13, and Buck picked off McEachern and ran it back 79 yards to the end zone to give UW-Whitewater a 38-13 advantage with 11:49 to play.
 
Freshman running back Cam Maly (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) scored two touchdowns in the period, and sophomore running back Ronny Ponick (Stanley, Wis./Stanley-Boyd) capped the scoring with an 18-yard run at the 5:56 mark.
 
After a bye week, the Warhawks return to action on Saturday, Sept. 24, against NAIA No. 3 Morningside (Iowa) on Hall of Fame Day and Alumni Day at Perkins Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
 
Last season, UW-Whitewater scored a touchdown in the final minute of regulation to defeat host Morningside 33-30 in a thrilling contest.