The No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team improved to 2-0 in league play with a 45-24 win over UW-Eau Claire on the road Saturday.
 
UW-W tallied 28 first downs in the game while holding UW-EC to just 18. The Warhawk offense posted nearly 500 yards of offense including 276 on the ground and nearly 200 through the air.
 
The Warhawks took an early lead scoring on the opening drive of the game. UW-W registered a couple of big plays to get the offense rolling including a 21-yard rush up the middle by Jaylon Edmonson (Racine, Wis./Case), a 21-yard pass from Evan Lewandowski (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Lake Zurich) to Tommy Coates (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) and the touchdown play, a 15-yard reception by Drake Martin (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander). With Jeffery Isotalo-McGuire's (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle) extra point, the Warhawks took the early 7-0 lead.
 
The Blugolds struck back quickly needing just three plays to tally the equalizer on a 66-yard touchdown pass in their first drive of the game. Late in the quarter, UW-EC went 70 yards in nine plays to take the lead 14-7 with 2:01 remaining.
 
UW-W responded in kind with their next scoring drive that was capped by a 24-yard strike from Lewandowski to Tyler Holte (Elgin, Ill./St. Edward Central Catholic) to tie the game once again 14-14 early in the second quarter.
 
The Warhawk defense and special teams combined to give UW-Whitewater fantastic field position for the next series. The defense forced a three-and-out and Dyson Klubertanz (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) blocked the punt with teammate Drake Martin (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander) recovering at the UW-EC 14. Unfortunately, UW-W couldn't capitalize offensively.
 
Just three plays into the Blugolds' next drive, Kyle Gallagher (Niles, Ill./Notre Dame College Prep) got to the EC quarterback forcing a throw that was picked off by Egon Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North) at the Blugold 35. This time UW-W hit paydirt with a short pass to Coates up the right sideline for an eight-yard touchdown to reclaim the Whitewater lead 21-14 with 8:56 left in the second. The Warhawks never looked back.
 
The Blugolds turned an interception into a field goal to cut the lead to 21-17, but the Warhawks answered with Isotalo-McGuire splitting the uprights from 19-yards out to make it 24-17 before the break.
 
The Warhawks added three more touchdowns in the second half. Edmonson entered the scoring column with a four-yard rush up the middle in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) took the ball up the middle for an 11-yard touchdown that made it 38-17. Later, Jason Ceniti (Madison, Wis./Madison Memorial) bounced out of the pocket for a 10-yard touchdown scamper to cap the scoring.
 
Lewandowski was 21-35 for 190 yards and three passing touchdowns in the game. Thomas and Edmonson were the workhorses on the ground for the Warhawks combining for 172 yards on 27 carries. Coates and Holte hauled in five catches each for 123 yards and a pair of touchdown receptions.
 
Defensively, Parker Breunig (Sauk City, Wis./Sauk Prairie) led UW-W with six tackles including three solo. Hein added five tackles, an interception and a pass broken up. Roy Panthier (Elgin, Ill./Elgin) was disruptive up front with four tackles including two sacks for a loss of 15 yards, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.