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Preseason Press Conference
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team is set to take the field for the first time since December of 2019 next Saturday, Sept. 4, as it begins its 127th season.
 
The Warhawks posted a 13-2 record in 2019, including a 6-1 mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and won a share of their conference-record 37th league championship. UW-W also made its 10th appearance in the Stagg Bowl – the NCAA Division III national championship game – that season, and finished as national runner-up.
 
Following a year of training and practice that included the canceled 2020 season, UW-Whitewater is the favorite of the league's coaches and sports information directors to make it three straight WIAC championships in 2021. The team is also ranked among the top four in three separate national preseason polls, including No. 2 in the Lindy's Sports Division III Top 25 and No. 4 in the D3football.com and College Football America rankings.
 
In non-conference play, the Warhawks host Carthage next week Saturday before visiting eighth-ranked Salisbury (Md.), a 2019 national quarterfinalist, on Sept. 11. UW-W returns home Sept. 18 to host No. 25 Berry (Ga.), a 2019 NCAA qualifier.
 
UW-Whitewater begins the seven-game WIAC schedule with back-to-back home games on Oct. 2 against UW-Stout (Alumni Day) and Oct. 9 against UW-Platteville (Family Fest). The team hits the road for the next two weeks at ninth-ranked UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 16 and at UW-River Falls on Oct. 23.
 
The Warhawks' Homecoming game will be played against UW-Eau Claire Oct. 30, and the team closes the regular season home slate Nov. 6 against UW-La Crosse on Shriners and Military Appreciation Day at Perkins Stadium.
 
The regular season concludes Nov. 13 at UW-Stevens Point.
 
Head coach Kevin Bullis, who is in his seventh year at the helm of the program, has led UW-W to three conference championships and four trips to the NCAA Playoffs, including one quarterfinal, two semifinals and one Stagg Bowl.
 
Captains for the 2021 season include Mackenzie Balanganayi, Kyle Gannon, Mark McGrath, Ryan Ponick and Ryan Wisniewski.
 
See below for a complete position-by-position look at the returners on the 2021 Warhawks.
 
OFFENSE
 
Quarterback
 
Max Meylor claimed the team's Newcomer of the Year award in 2019, throwing for 1,171 yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games. His 38-yard touchdown run in the national semifinal against St. John's (Minn.) put the team up by eight points early in the fourth quarter of a 35-32 win. Meylor finished the year with 280 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
 
Running Back
 
Alex Peete, a 2018 D3football.com All-American and two-time first team All-West Region and All-WIAC selection, looks to record his third straight 1,000-yard season in 2021. He rushed for 1,069 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2019. Peete is a 2021 D3football.com second team Presason All-American.
 
Jaylon Edmonson also returns in the backfield. He tallied 67 yards and one touchdown playing primarily on special teams in 2019.
 
Ponick, Michael Feeney and Preston Strasburg also return at running back for UW-Whitewater. Strasburg rushed for 285 yards and one touchdown during his first year with the program in 2018.
 
Wide Receiver
 
Ryan Wisniewski, a 2020-21 College Sports Information Directors of America second team Academic All-America® honoree, leads a strong returning group. The 2019 first team All-WIAC selection tallied team highs in receptions (57) and receiving yards (695), and added 118 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
 
Derek Kumerow tied Wisniewski for the team lead with five receiving touchdowns and caught 42 passes for 484 yards. Kumerow garnered honorable mention All-WIAC accolades following his breakout season.
 
Tyler Holte, Sam DeLany and Jacob Katzenberger also return. Holte posted 27 receptions for 402 yards and three scores, while DeLany registered 14 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Tight End
 
Returning tight ends include Jared Zausch, Michael Berentes, Michael Coates, Tanner Inglima, Jack Kropke and Zach Sherman.
 
Zausch was an honorable mention All-WIAC pick in 2019, totaling 14 receptions for 159 yards and one touchdown. Berentes caught nine passes for 45 yards and one score, and Coates collected one catch for nine yards.
 
Offensive Line
 
Gannon, a first team Preseason All-American, headlines the group of returners. Gannon was named second team Academic All-America® by CoSIDA in 2020-21, and in 2019 was a second team All-West Region and first team All-WIAC honoree.
 
Ethan Kee and Douglas Kosch join Gannon as returning starters. The duo lined up alongside Gannon to help the Warhawks lead the conference in rushing (195.7 yards per game) and average more than 30 points per game in 2019.
 
Brandon Ausprung, Brendan Cavanaugh, Nolan Feeney, Nathan Miller, Seth Roberts, Nate Van Lankveldt and Nathan Zak also return. Ausprung played in 10 games in 2019.
 
DEFENSE
 
Defensive Line
 
Balanganayi is the reigning WIAC Defensive Player of the Year and West Region Player of the Year, and is a 2019 second team D3football.com All-American. He totaled 42 tackles, including 12 for a loss and nine sacks, in 2019. Balanganayi garnered 2021 first team D3football.com All-America accolades.
 
Niko Lemke leads all returners with 12 sacks in 2019. A total of 15.5 of his 26 tackles were for a loss. Justin Allen generated five tackles, including one sack, a season ago, and Kyle Gallagher played in 13 games, totaling three stops. Jake Fieiras also returns from last season's team.
 
Ryan Berg, who played at tight end and offensive line in 2019, will transition to the defensive line in 2021. Jawaun Battle and Roy Panthier each return to the team after not competing in 2019.
 
Linebacker
 
Ryan Liszka, Shane McGrail and Aaron Sturdevant return with the most experience at the position. Both Liszka and McGrail totaled 25 tackles in 2019, while Sturdevant registered 21 to go along with one interception.
 
Hawk Heffner and Marquez Williams also return. Daniel Baggett, Tervell Jackson and Keagan Sobol all last played in 2018.
 
Defensive Back
 
McGrath is a first team Preseason All-American after being selected second team All-America, first team All-West Region and first team All-WIAC in 2019. He is the team's top returning tackler, contributing 59 stops as well as team highs in interceptions (4), passes defended (14) and blocked kicks (3).
 
Tommy Matoska also returns as a starter, amassing 46 tackles and five passes defended in 2019. Egon Hein brings back extensive experience in the defensive backfield, posting 26 tackles in 12 games in his first season with the team.
 
Other returners include Tyler Evans, Julian McPhail, Nate Tyley and Thomas Wojnowski.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
The Warhawks look to replace several key special teams positions, including kicker, punter and long snapper.
 
Zach Lichosik last played in 2018, when he punted 13 times for 497 yards (38.2 avg.) and kicked off five times for 281 yards (56.2 avg.). He converted his lone field goal attempt in that season.
 
Nate Custer was on the 2019 roster as a kicker/punter.
 
Holte, McGrath, DeLany and Edmonson all bring experience in punt returning. Holte recorded the most returns of the group with four for 22 yards in 2019.
 
Wisniewski and DeLany combined for 20 kick returns in the most recent season. Wisniewski, who was named honorable mention All-WIAC for his all-purpose work, led the team with 303 kick return yards. DeLany posted a team season-long 65-yard kick return in the Stagg Bowl.
 
Kumerow and Holte returned one kickoff apiece in 2019.