MENOMONIE, Wis. — UW-Whitewater (6-0, 3-0) defeated UW-Stout Polytechnic (3-3, 1-2) 37-31 on Saturday. UWW forced five turnovers, including three interceptions, and turned takeaways into 14 points.
UW-Whitewater broke through with a 10-play, 70-yard drive, capped by
Justin Klinkner's (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) 19-yard touchdown pass to
Tommy Novotny (Milwaukee, Wis./Marquette) and
Grant Urban's (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) PAT for a 7-0 lead. The defense got the ball back on UWS's next possession when
Noah Moris (Union Grove, Wis./Union Grove) recorded a sack and
Dom Beres (Bartlett, Ill./St. Francis) recovered the fumble at the UWS 28. The Warhawks reached the Stout 10 on Klinkner's 16-yard completion to
Collin Fritts (Woodville, Wis./Baldwin Woodville) as the first quarter ended, leading 7-0.
Klinkner threw touchdown passes of 59 yards to
Luke Roeder (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville) and 30 yards to
Tyler Vasey (Crystal Lake, Ill/Prairie Ridge) in the second quarter, helping UWW build a 23-7 lead after Urban opened second-quarter scoring with a 25-yard field goal. The second touchdown capped a nine-play, 89-yard drive that started at the UWW 11 and included Novotny's 19-yard run and Klinkner's 3-yard third-down run. UW-Stout blocked Urban's 49-yard field-goal attempt and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown on the final play, leaving UWW ahead 23-14 at halftime.
Beres intercepted Chase Pemberton at the UWS 37 after a Moris hurry, and Novotny followed with a 30-yard touchdown run as the Warhawks extended their lead to 30-21 after Urban's kick. Earlier, UW-Stout opened the third quarter with a 50-yard touchdown pass, and UWW's ensuing 46-yard drive ended on downs at the Stout 29. After the Blue Devils added a 46-yard field goal to make it 30-24, UW-Whitewater closed the third quarter with a drive that reached the Stout 34.
UWW scored its only fourth-quarter points on defense when
Walker Powers (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) recovered a Blue Devil fumble in the end zone at 13:37, and Urban's extra point made it 37-24.
Carter Sessa (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) intercepted a pass on Stout's next snap, and
Deven Magli (Deforest, Wis./Deforest) added another interception for a touchback with 3:57 left to stop a red-zone drive. Stout scored with 46 seconds remaining, but the Warhawks took over after the onside kickoff and finished a 37-31 win.
Klinkner completed 22 of 32 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Novotny rushed 26 times for 160 yards and a touchdown and added four receptions for 36 yards and another score. Magli led UWW with 11 tackles and added an interception. Powers recorded a fumble recovery for a touchdown and added three tackles, including half a sack.
