The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team earned a hard-fought 28-20 victory at NAIA foe St. Xavier in a non-conference contest in Chicago, Ill.
 
The Warhawk (3-0 overall) closed out the non-conference season by holding the Cougars (1-1) to 3-of-15 on third-down coversions and posting 14 points off St. Xavier's turnovers.
 
Sophomore quarterback Max Meylor (Mt. Horeb, Wis./Mt. Horeb) passed 16-for-26 for 204 yards and two touchdowns. Junior linebacker Kaleb Kaminski (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) led the defense with 17 takles.
 
After a field goal by the Cougars, senior running back Ronny Ponick (Stanley, Wis./Stanley-Boyd) capped a drive with a 1-yard touchdown to give UW-Whitewater a 7-3 advantage with 10:18 to play in the second quarter.
 
St. Xavier scored the next 10 points before the Warhawks responded with another rushing touchdown as junior running back Alex Peete (Ringwood, Ill./Johnsburg) plunged in from one yard out to make it 14-13 with 43 seconds left in the first half.
 
The Cougars took their last lead before UW-Whitewater took the lead for good on a 34-yard pass from Meylor to sophomore wide receiver Sam DeLany (Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine) late in the third quarter.
 
The Warhawks tacked on seven more points when Meylor hit junior wide receiver Derek Kumerow (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) for a 19-yard score with 25 seconds on the clock.
 
UW-Whitewater opens Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Oct. 5 against UW-Eau Claire. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at Perkins Stadium.