The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team took the lead with just under three minutes to play Saturday and held on late for a 34-28 victory at UW-River Falls in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.
 
After the Falcons (5-2 overall, 2-2 WIAC) tied the game with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter, Jaylon Edmonson (Racine, Wis./Case) returned the ensuing short kickoff 46 yards to the UW-RF 19-yard line.
 
From there, Matt Maldonado (Montgomery, Ill./Yorkville) put his 28-yard kick through the uprights to give the Warhawks (7-0, 4-0) a 31-28 advantage.
 
On the ensuing kickoff return, Daniel Baggett (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) forced a fumble that was recovered by Kyle Koelblinger (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) at the Falcons' 14-yard line.
 
Three players later, Maldonado hit a 31-yard field goal to double the UW-W lead to six with 1:51 on the clock.
 
On the first play from scrimmage on the next drive, Koelblinger picked off Kole Hinrichsen at midfield, and UW-Whitewater ran out the clock for the win.
 
Quarterback Max Meylor (Mt. Horeb, Wis./Mt. Horeb) threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns. Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) and Alex Peete (Ringwood, Ill./Johnsburg) led the Warhawks' rushing attack with 83 and 74 yards, respectively. Derek Kumerow (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) posted five receptiosn for 64 yards to lead all receivers.
 
Koelblinger led the defense with four tackles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. Linebackers Shane McGrail (Plainfield, Ill./North) and Aaron Sturdevant (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) tied for the team high with six tackles apiece.
 
UW-Whitewater scored touchdowns on its first two offensive possessions and forced three-and-outs defensively on UW-River Falls' first two possessions.
 
After a 41-yard punt return by Dain Hudson (Waukesha, Wis./West) that was moved back to the Falcons' 40-yard line on a penalty, the Warhawks took six plays to find the end zone. After a third-and-12 completion from Meylor to Ryan Wisniewski (Sparta, Wis./Sparta), Tyler Holte (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) caught a 6-yard touchdown from Meylor at the 10:34 mark of the first quarter.
 
Thomas set up UW-Whitewater's next touchdown with runs of 22 and nine yards, respectively. Meylor hit Wisniewski for a 23-yard score to make it 14-0 with 6:33 to play in the period.
 
UW-River Falls tallied 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a 21-14 advantage into halftime.
 
After a UW-W punt, the Falcons drove near midfield. On third down, Niko Lemke (Salem, Wis./Westosha Central) recovered a UW-RF fumble to give the Warhawks the ball at the Falcons' 44-yard line.
 
From there, UW-Whitewater tied the game at 21-21 on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Meylor to Sam DeLany (Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine) with 10:16 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Following a UW-River Falls punt, the Warhwaks took the lead on a 10-play, 70-yard drive that included a 16-yard pass from Meylor to Kumerow on fourth-and-4 from the Falcons' 33-yard line. Edmonson ran for 11 yards, and Peete completed the drive with a six-yard scoring run with 2:51 to go in the frame.
 
A turnover deep in UW-W territory set up UW-River Falls' game-tying touchdown and set the stage for the final six minutes of action.
 
UW-Whitewater hosts UW-Eau Claire during Homecoming next Saturday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m. at Perkins Stadium.