The No. 3 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team rushed for a season-high 372 yards and totaled 599 yards of offense Saturday to close the regular season with a 56-10 victory at UW-Stevens Point in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game.
 
With the win, the Warhawks (10-0 overall, 7-0 WIAC) clinched the WIAC championship outright one week after punching their ticket to the NCAA Playoffs, which begin next Saturday. UW-W will learn its first-round opponent during Sunday's NCAA Selection Show, which is slated for 4:30 p.m. Central Time on NCAA.com.
 
Alex Peete (Ringwood, Ill./Johnsburg) posted 10 carries for 131 yards and two touchdowns, while Max Meylor (Mt. Horeb, Wis./Mt. Horeb) passed for 195 yards and three scores. Jaylon Edmonson (Racine, Wis./Case) ran for 121 yards and one touchdown, Ryan Wisniewski (Sparta, Wis./Sparta) tallied six receptions for 69 yards and one touchdown, and Derek Kumerow (Bartlett, Ill./South Elgin) caught five passes for 72 yards and one score.
 
Nate Tyley (Delafield, Wis./Kettle Moraine) paced the defense with five tackles, including one for a loss. Hawk Heffner (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) and Kyle Koelblinger (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) registered four tackles apiece.
 
After the Pointers (2-8, 0-7) kicked a field goal on their first drive of the game, Peete took a handoff from Meylor on the second offensive play from scrimmage and ran 67 yards for a touchdown to give UW-W a 7-3 lead with 11:53 to play in the first quarter.
 
Egon Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) helped preserve the Warhawks' lead with an interception on the first play of the next drive following a 57-yard kickoff return into UW-W territory by UW-Stevens Point.
 
Kumerow scored on a 2-yard rushing touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to cap an 11-play, 70-yard drive by the Warhawks for a 14-3 advantage.
 
After a Pointer punt, UW-Whitewater drove 69 yards on 13 plays, including a third-and-16 conversion on a 24-yards pass from Meylor to Wisniewski and a fourth-and-1 conversion, as Peete made it 21-3 with 4:39 remaining on a 1-yard touchdown run.
 
The Warhawks closed the half with an eight-play, 80-yard drive in just under two minutes to take a 28-3 lead into halftime. Meylor hit Wisniewski for a 7-yard score with just 11 seconds left in the period.
 
UW-Stevens Point cut its deficit to 28-10 on the opening drive of the second half, but UW-Whitewater responded following Edmonson's 50-yard kickoff return. Meylor hit Kumerow for a 25-yard touchdown to bring the lead back to 25 points with 10:08 on the clock in the third.
 
Following a three-and-out, Peete's 45-yard run set up a 4-yard touchdown pass from Meylor to Michael Berentes (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls) with 6:49 to play in the quarter. The Warhawks made it 49-10 on the next drive as Edmonson scampered 97 yards, the team's longest play from scrimmage of the season, for a touchdown following a defensive stand from the 2-yard line.
 
Evan Lewandowski (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Lake Zurich), who entered the game at quarterback for Meylor late in the third quarter, led UW-Whitewater on a nine-play, 48-yard drive capped on a 1-yard touchdown run by Preston Strasburg (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) with 3:45 remaining in the contest.