The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team combined an opportunistic offense with a defense that stood its ground in the red zone Saturday afternoon for a 37-6 victory against UW-Stout in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams in front of 8,963 fans at Perkins Stadium.
The Warhawks (4-0 overall, 1-0 WIAC) posted a balanced offensive attack with 165 rushing yards and 193 passing yards, while the defense limited the Blue Devils' potent offense to one fourth-quarter touchdown.
UW-Whitewater held UW-Stout (3-1, 0-1) to 6-of-18 on third-down conversions and 2-of-6 on fourth down, including three times in UW-W territory.
Max Meylor (Mt. Horeb, Wis./Mt. Horeb) completed 14-of-17 passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, including two to
Ryan Wisniewski (Sparta, Wis./Sparta).
Alex Peete (Ringwood, Ill./Johnsburg) rushed for 69 yards on 18 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Shane McGrail (Plainfield, Ill./North) paced the defense with nine tackles, including 0.5 for a loss.
Egon Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) totaled eight tackles, and
Mackenzie Balanganayi (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) posted three tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, and four quarterback hurries.
After the Warhawks forced a three-and-out on the opening drive, punctuated by a sack by Balanganayi, the Blue Devils fumbled the punt snap, setting UW-W up at the UW-Stout 3-yard line.
Peete took the handoff on the first play of the drive and crossed the goal line to give UW-Whitewater a 7-0 advantage with 12:46 to play in the first quarter.
The Warhawks increased the lead at the 13:42 mark of the second quarter. A 28-yard pass over the middle from Meylor to Wisniewski capped an eight-play, 78-yard drive, and gave UW-W a 13-0 advantage.
Midway through the period, Balagnanayi and
Kyle Gallagher (Niles, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) combined for a stop on fourth-and-1 in UW-Whitewater territory. The Warhawks took over on downs, and Meylor connected with
Sam DeLany (Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine) on a 23-yard scoring play between two defenders to make it 20-0 with 4:51 left in the half.
The Warhawks started the second half with a 10-play, 75-yard drive. After a first-down run by Meylor on third-and-3, Peete plunged in from one yard out to make it 27-0 with 9:52 remaning in the third quarter.
The Blue Devils drove to the UW-Whitewater 5-yard line on the ensuing drive, but
Thomas Wojnowski (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) batted down a fourth-down pass in the corner of the end zone to give UW-W the ball back.
In the fourth quarter, after another UW-Stout turnover on downs, Meylor capped a five-play, 70-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Wisniewski, who eluded one defender and dove just inside the pile-on to make it 34-0 at the 13:00 mark.
Following a three-and-out by UW-Stout,
Dain Hudson (Waukesha, Wis./West) returned the punt 49 yards into UW-S territory, and
Matt Maldonado (Montgomery, Ill./Yorkville) kicked a 39-yard field goal with 8:33 to play.
The Blue Devils scored with 6:46 remaining to account for the final margin.
The Warhawks return to action next Saturday, Oct. 9, as they host UW-Platteville during Family Fest at UW-Whitewater. Kickoff at Perkins Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
