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Submit Your Favorite Perkins Stadium Memory
As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Perkins Stadium, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Department of Intercollegiate Athletics presents the "Perkins Stadium at 50" series Presented by UW Credit Union, a look at some of the most memorable moments and games in the history of the stadium.
On Oct. 8, 2016, the UW-Whitewater football team scored in the final minute to defeat UW-Oshkosh 17-14 in front of a then-NCAA Division III record crowd of 17,535 fans at Perkins Stadium.
Several former participants in the game reminisced about their memories from that game on recent editions of Inside Warhawk Athletics Presented by Educators Credit Union.
Bailey Breunig (Prairie du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie), Defensive Back (2014-18)
"It was awesome because it was the biggest crowd we've ever had and it was the first start of my career. Running onto the field and seeing everyone in the stands, it was insane. And we got the win, so it was a win-win-win, I guess."
Cole Wilber (Mission Viejo, Calif./Dana Hills), Quarterback (2015-18)
"I couldn't get a call from the sideline. I had to go in to the sideline every single time, and I still couldn't really get it. I can't hear, I can't really see because there are waves of people. How we ended it with almost a seven-minute last drive, it just solidified the entire day."
Nate Trewyn (Janesville, Wis./Milton), Offensive Line (2016-18)
"It was third-and-nine with like a minute left. We were making a drive. We were in an outside zone, and Drew Patterson runs out on the left side and scores a touchdown with like 50 seconds left. At that point, it was the largest crowd in D3 history. That was one I'll remember for a while."
Rob Erickson, Defensive Coordinator (2015-19)
"It was the largest crowd at that time in Division 3 history. We won a very hard-fought, defensive battle at our place. We scored, I want to say, with like 40 seconds left in the game on a toss play. We had 17,000+ people there, so it was just a crazy atmosphere and crazy loud. It was something we talked about all the time on defense, that at the end of the game, we want to be on the field."
See below for the complete recap from that day, courtesy of uwwsports.com.
October 8, 2016 – UW-Whitewater 17, UW-Oshkosh 14
The No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team scored a go-ahead touchdown with less than one minute to play Saturday to earn a hard-fought 17-14 victory over fifth-ranked UW-Oshkosh in front of an NCAA Division III record crowd of 17,535 at Perkins Stadium.
On third-and-14 from the Titans' 16-yard line, sophomore running back
Drew Patterson (Sussex, Wis./Hamilton) swept left and, with seemingly no room to run, tip-toed the sideline and surged inside the pile-on for a touchdown to put the Warhawks ahead by three with 55 seconds on the clock.
UW-Oshkosh (4-1 overall, 1-1 WIAC) crossed into UW-Whitewater territory on the ensuing drive, but on third and 10 with six seconds left, senior defensive lineman
Brandon Tamsett (Waterford/Waterford-Union) and sophomore linebacker
Bryce Leszczynski (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) combined to sack Brett Kasper for a loss of 19 yards as time expired.
With the win, the Warhawks (5-0 overall, 2-0 WIAC) extended their home win streak to 28 games. Saturday's attendance is the highest on record in Division III history according to D3football.com.
Patterson finished with 20 carries for 81 yards and the fourth-quarter touchdown, and sophomore running back
Jarrod Ware (Bradley, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) rushed 15 times for 67 yards.
Sophomore quarterback
Cole Wilber (Mission Viejo, Calif./Dana Hills) (Dana Point, Calif./Dana Hills) finished 14-of-24 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown. Senior wide receiver
Marcus Hudson (Delavan, Wis./Delavan-Darien) led the receiving corps with six catches for 53 yards.
Sophomore defensive back
Famus Hasty (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led the defense with nine tackles and two forced fumbles, both of which stopped Titan drives deep in UW-Whitewater territory.
Junior linebacker
Matt Seitz (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) contributed seven tackles, and Tamsett collected 1.5 sacks.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Warhawks stopped three UW-Oshkosh drives deep in UW-Whitewater territory after the Titans opened the second period with a touchdown.
UW-Whitewater fumbled the ensuing kickoff, but held UW-Oshkosh on fourth-and-3 at the 5-yard line to force a turnover on downs.
Following another Warhawk fumble, Hasty stripped Devon Linzenmeyer at the UW-Whitewater 15-yard line to thwart another scoring chance for the Titans with 9:01 left in the quarter.
UW-Oshkosh drove inside the Warhawks' 10-yard line later in the frame, but Hasty came through again, prying the ball from Dylan Hecker and recovering the fumble at the UW-Whitewater 6-yard line.
The Warhawks drove inside Titan territory in the waning moments of the first half, but Wilber threw two deep incompletions as UW-Whitewater was shut out in a half for the first time this season.
The Warhawks opened the second half with a 12-play, 54-yard drive to set up a 36-yard field goal by
Will Meyer (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) to make it 7-3 with 10:40 left in the third quarter.
Two drives later, after a 42-yard punt by sophomore
Michael Schwichtenberg (West Bend, Wis./West) pinned the Titans at their own 6-yard line, senior defensive back
Vince Mason (Green Bay, Wis./Green Bay Southwest) picked off Kasper at the 15-yard line.
Two plays later, Wilber found senior tight end
Brent Campbell (Rockford, IL/Winnebago) over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown to give UW-Whitewater a 10-7 advantage with 1:57 on the clock.
UW-Oshkosh took a 14-10 lead after an 11-play, 53-yard drive netted a touchdown with 7:54 left in the fourth quarter.
The Warhawks' final drive spanned six minutes, 53 seconds, and was the team's second game-winning drive in the final three minutes of regulation in as many weeks.
